great works ii – 2850 jta 12:25-2:05: love letters from the world

The thesis statement I plan to use for my final project is as follows; In Kafka’s story, “The Metamorphosis,” Gregor’s transformation from a successful, working family man into a despised and feared creature strongly coincides with Kubler’s Five Stages of Grief Model; denial, anger, bargaining and acceptance. I plan to use the volcano diagram to represent my interpretation of the Five Stages of Grief Model by analyzing the different stages of a volcanic eruption. In the first stage, the diagram shows the occurence of plate tectonics, which is when plates moving against each other creates friction,occuring underneath the ground. Although pressure is building up, the volcano does not yet erupt. This correlates to the first stage of the grief model; denial. Similarly to how denial is the refusal to accept facts/reality, when plate tectonics occurs, it is apparent that something unpleasant is about to happen. However, the volcano does not yet accept the reality that changes are about to occur within the volcano and as a result, does not yet erupt and remains still. The next stage that occurs in the grief model is anger, which is a natural feeling when someone is upset. Likewise, in the volcano model, the volcano can no longer deny the inevitable path of nature and as a result, it is triggered to release its anger. It then erupts in the form of huge fiery clouds and lava flows and shoots out chunks of hot rock and red ash. Next in the grief model comes the stage of bargaining, which is when one attempts to bargain with whatever he or she believes in order to reach a compromise. In the case of the volcano, the volcano can either keep shooting out smoke and lava or it could choose simmer down. After this comes depression, which is an acceptance of the situation along with natural feelings of sadness. In the model of the volcano, the lava takes awhile to cool down, as the volcano is still feeling sad/depressed and needs time to recupperate. Finally, the last stage in the grief model is acceptance, which is when an individual comes to terms with their current situation and accept the fact that there are things that can’t be undone. With regards to the volcano model, the volcano is able to accept whatever situation that caused it to be upset, and as a result, the smoke and lava finally simmer down and finally, disappears entirely.

Connection between Endgame, the video and the play is the theme of absurdism. The poem describes the scene where the swan trapped in the lake under the ice is hopelessly trying to exile. Even though there is a pure brightness around, “The horror of the earth will remain where it lies”. This can be interpreted in a way that no matter how hard one tries to struggle in life, some outside forces will be in his/her way and eventually one will realize that there is no sense to struggle, no sense to strive in life. In the video, at the end, this man realizes that no matter how hard he tries to get the water, there are some external forces that will prevent him from getting it. In that way he looses his interest in life and stops trying getting what he wants. Similarly, the characters in Endgame have all lost their hopes and each is stuck in the same situation and nothing changes in their lives during the whole play. (Maia)

As Maia pointed out, both the video and the play touch upon the concept of absurdism, which a central theme in Endgame. In the poem, the swan seems hopeless and although she tries many times to escape her circumstances, her attempts remain futile. This suggests the meaningless world in which the swan, who is stuck in a frozen world, lives in. The swan’s efforts are meaningless, and it is suggested that the swan will die because it cannot escape. In a similar manner, as Maia pointed out, the video “Breath” also highlights on the theme of absurdism. It is set in a vary dark, bleak room an there is no dialogue or characters present aside from a pile of garbage. There is the sound of a crying child, which indicates that life is meaningless just like a pile of garbage. Both the video and the poem relate to Endgame in that the story presents a very bleak outlook on life. Seemingly, all of the characters have lost hope in life and settle in their current situation and do not make any effort to change their circumstances. (Lauren)

Although both the chief officer and Gregor’s dad both experience feelings of shock and fear at Gregor’s transformation, Gregor’s dad was ultimately more accepting of his transformation and was able to restrain his shock better than the chief officer. On the other hand, the chief officer was unable to hide his mortification towards Gregor’s transformation. Kafka writes ,”But the chief clerk had turned his back on Gregor the moment he had begun speaking, and only stared back at him with mouth agape, over his trembling shoulder” (218). The chief officer’s reaction towards Gregor is of sheer terror and he is not receptive towards Gregor in any manner. His first reaction towards the situation is to run away. On the other hand, Gregor’s father is able to stay more calm. Kafka writes, “Regrettably, the consequence of the chief clerk’s flight was finally to turn the senses of his father, who to that point had remained relatively calm, because, instead of himself taking off after the man, or at least not getting in the way of Gregor as he attempted to do just that he……..attempted to drive Gregor back into his room” (219). This illustrates how, instead of running away from Gregor, Gregor’s father faces his fears and approaches him directly. He  remembers that, in spite of Gregor’s transformation, he is still his son.

In Strindberg’s introduction to “Miss Julie,” it is evident that Strindberg regards women as inferior towards men. No matter how hard a woman tries, she will never reach a level that is equal to men. Strindberg labels Jean as a “half-woman,” and writes how her hatred towards men ultimately leads to her downfall. I believe that Strindberg’s evaluation of Miss Julie represents Miss Julie in the play. After Jean decapitates Miss Julie’s pet canary, Miss Julie lashes out ,”Oh, I should like to see your blood flowing–to see your brain on the chopping block, all your sex swimming in a sea of blood (28).” This illustrates how Miss Julie hates the opposite race so much to the point that she would like them to all be extinguished. Another quote which exemplifies her extreme hatred towards men is when she tells Jean ,”And it is due to my father’s training that I have learned to scorn my own sex” (32). This quote demonstrates how due to her upbringing, Miss Julie realizes that women are the inferior sex, which could explain her hatred towards men as written by Strindberg.