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

1. Is there similarities and differences between Bartleby in “Bartleby the Scrivener” and Georg in “the Judgement”? By using Campbell’s Heroic Journey (Traditional Hero, Anti-Hero, and Satanic Hero), compare the two main characters.
2. Does Gregor’s family in the “Metamorphosis” merely hate Gregor’s physical appearance? Is there anything the family does not see or does not want to see like the prisoners who do not see the outside world in the “Plato’s Allegory of the Cave“?

1. Did the character Monkey from Journey to the West answer his call and find his true purpose through Campbell’s Heroic Journey model or did he in fact fall back to his old self?

2. Does Bartleby have the trait of nobility like that of a tragic hero or does his story actually exemplify an anti- hero because of his lack of response to the issue at hand?

1.The “Metamorphosis” and “The Judgement” by Kafka both have common theme. What theme do you think they both share and why ?
2. From all of the texts we’ve read choose three characters, one from each and identify either one as a traditional hero, satanic hero or anti-hero. Provide evidence from the text and describe how all these heroes differ from each other.

-Bintou

1. What is the significance of family situation in Kafka’s Metamorphosis? How do family ties in the story help illustrate the meaning of the metamorphosis?
2. How can Bartleby be portrayed as a hero in Bartleby the Scrivener? Were his actions heroic and did he successfully accomplish what he set out to do?

1. In Kafka’s The Metamorphosis do you believe that the transformation Gregor has experienced has allowed him to express his inner thoughts more? How do these thoughts express his feelings that he has towards his family?
2. How does the theme of isolation relate to The Judgement, and The Metamorphosis? Also, why may you think Kafka used the same name for the main characters in these two works? Could there be an actual connection?

1. What are some of the common characteristics that all stories from all different cultures agree about regarding the definition of a hero? Comparing and contrasting different stories could help in this analysis.
2. Why does the lawyer in the “Bartleby the Scrivener” relate so strongly to Bartleby? They seem on the surface to be such opposite characters, one who is serves his function to society and one who refuses to associate with wordy matters. Why does the lawyer care so much about Bartleby?

Thank- you for your perceptive, thought provoking comments! Here are some of your more salient observations:

(Also, just a friendly reminder: Remember, even if you are listed as a part of a group, you do not receive credit unless you actually post. As well, if you only comment on another post (just do Post 2) and do not create your own post (Post 1) then you also do not get credit for being present.)

Allegory of the Cave:

Susanna points out that there is a stark difference, because Gregor learns nothing (as opposed to the prisoner who escapes the cave); Muneeb comments that both narratives have the theme of being “trapped” and indeed, that is a valid way of comparing the two stories. Gregor’s death, seen in this way, could be his acceptance of that situation; Francesca points to the theme of isolationism, and this certainly connects the two works; Jacqueline makes the interesting observation that Gregor’s family shows growth and so does come to terms with the truth, but the prisoners of the cave refuse to “face the truth”; Nicole, however, feels that both Gregor and the escaped prisoner see the truth of their lives; Tara makes the interesting observation that the prisoners who do not escape are like Gregor’s family, and refuse to accept the reality of the situation; Bintou makes a very interesting comment when she says that Gregor’s family is very like the prisoners who don’t escape, in that they know this “cockroach” is their son and brother, but refuse to acknowledge it; Joseph points out that Gregor does know the truth of his role in the world, but gives that up; Keauna makes a very compelling comparison between the escaped prisoner and the family, after Gregor’s death, that the family finally can move on and take their place in the world; Jamie points to an important connection, that both the family and the prisoners want to stay safe in their “old” way of thinking; Onu makes an interesting comment about the use of light and dark in both works, and how this reflects the attitudes of the characters; Joaquin points to the compelling theme of isolationism in both works, and how this is connected to the dark; Katerina makes a very interesting comment about how both works explore the idea of escaping reality; Jamie points out that these two stories are about people’s reactions to change, and that they would all rather stay safe and limited; Jorge G. sees both protagonists as having learned some important truth, but that no one in their society wants to learn that truth.

Kaspar:

Jiwoo sees a difference between the endings, saying that Gregor in fact learns his (unfortunate) position in his family, while Kaspar learns nothing and wants to learn nothing; Rebecca sees “The Met.” and “Kaspar” as both showing protagonists who crave “attention from others” (yes, I see that too); Michelle makes the interesting observations that both Gregor and Kaspar do not question there isolation from others; Songyun points out that these two protagonists end quite differently. Gregor’s passing is actually quite positive for the family (so has Gregor made a sacrifice to help his family?) and Kaspar, on the other hand, is “lost.”

I feel that these texts are both great pieces that share certain similarities however I find it even more interesting how in a way they are opposite. In Kafka’s story, The Metamorphasis, I feel like Gregor goes from being in the light of society, he had his chance and didn’t do what he could have done (the multiple opportunities presented by society) instead he was consumed with one thing (work). In Allegory of the Cave, I find the situation is reversed. The people are consumed by one thing as well, but it’s their environment. When one of them is exposed to the light, everyone is in disbelief like how Gregor is now a cockroach. In the story it states how Gregor stays up all night, in the dark, and how he prefers dark spaces. As if he was hiding from society. While the other group never realized what society truly looked like.
-Onu Mezbah

I believe both endings make reference to isolations. In “The Metamorphosis” by Kafka this Isolation is a little bit more physical even though the fact that Gregor has no social life also shows isolation in a mental level. “How otherwise could Gregor miss his train! You know that boy has nothing but work in his head!” Gregor’s mother stating his sons lack of social life and other relationships. However, in the ending there is a transition, at first everyone was concerned about Gregor being an insect and they had him very present in their minds but then his relevance starts to diminish and at the end he died with no one in his family taking him in consideration as a family member. In the cave, I see this isolation completely mental. This prisoners were all together going through the same situation until one got freed from his chains and when he tried to help the others they rejected him. This prisoners were so used to the dark and the shadows that their minds were absolutely blank and could not understand other points of view. It was this lack of understanding that caused fear and this fear that caused anger in them.
Joaquin Azcue

In contrasting “The Allegory of the Cave” and “The Metamorphosis” I would like to compare the theme escaping of reality. According to Plato in “The Allegory of the Cave” the prisoners think reality is the cave that they are imprisoned in. They are unaware of the world, until one of the Prisoners escape and comes back to tell them what he found. In my opinion the Prisoners refused to believe him because they are scared of reality, they have become accustomed to the version of reality in the cave. Kafka in “The Metamorphosis” shows an escape of reality when Gregor transforms into a cockroach. This transformation alters Gregor’s reality; by the end of the reading he is fully aware he will remain a cockroach. Gregor’s family refused to accept him as a cockroach, they all showed emotions of sadness, anger and being scared. Due to his family not accept him, he escapes his new reality by killing himself.
Katarina Stojanovic

Kaspar and Metamorphosis

Rebecca:

I view Kaspar as the exact inverse of The Metamorphosis. Gregor transforms from being a talking, walking, working human being that supports his family into a motionless, helpless being. Kaspar, on the other hand, transforms from being a motionless, helpless being to a talking, walking, working human that can find a job. The similarity between the two is that both are working in a routine, rote, way, simply because of what is expected of them by the people around them. But both are, at the same time, completely self centered, and needing constant attention from others. “Just as it doesn’t occur to me that there can be anyone else outside me.” (Kaspar) Both Kaspar and Gregor are self consumed and craving and depending on attention from others.

Michelle:

The short stories The Metamorphosis and Kaspar both have their similarities. In The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa, wakes up as an insect, a cockroach. The odd thing about what Gregor did as soon as he found out he transformed an insect rather than a human being is that he went back to sleep to forget about what happened. Kaspar is locked away in a cellar but the similarity this short story has to The Metamorphosis is that Kaspar does not question nor worry about why he is in a cellar as well as why a man in all black keeps coming to visit him. Gregor and Kaspar remain calm in both their situations. As Gregor goes from a insect that couldn’t do much with his new body, he starts adapting to it by climbing the walls and and the ceiling. Kaspar goes from someone who just lays down, sleeps, and eats in his cellar to someone to slowly learns how to talk and walk. Both, Gregor and Kaspar adapt to their situations slowly but surely. Another small similarity in the short stories is that both characters find pieces of bread and milk in their rooms at some point.

Songyun:

The Metamorphosis and Kaspar have different endings. If we can accept Gregor’s passing as a natural culmination of life, without passing moralistic judgement, the ending is quite happy. Gregor’s family is happy, but they also mourn has passing. They feel relieved and the future seems bright to them, The parents notice that their daughter has grown up and decide that it is time to find her a husband. At the end of the trip, she is the first to stand up and stretch. Still the fact that they forsook their family member always remains upsetting. The family described “sitting back, comfortable in their seats, they discussed the prospects of their future.” In Kaspar,  the man on the floor misses his father, it seems as though he is unable to walk, but he actually learns how to walk once the man in black comes back and teaches him. He simply does not want to walk or learn. The man in black seems to give Kaspar a sense of purpose. In the end, he is left standing in place as if he is lost or does not know what to do with himself.

Susanna Domosi:

I believe that there is a stark contrast between “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato and the ending of “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka. In the allegory, the fhuman exists the cave to learn the truth about the world. He gains knowledge by seeing beyond the images of shadows in and when returning to the other humans still in the cave, he is not understood. The experience of the human exiting the cave and learning about the world can be seen as a transformation, which then can be argued is a similarity because Gregor in ‘The Metamorphosis” also goes through a transformation into a bug. The difference between the two is that Gregor does not gain knowledge or insight about the world, but is rather negatively affected by his transformation and end up dying. The human gains expanded knowledge because of his transformation, yet Gregor is made a more primitive creature because of his transformation.

Jiwoo Han:

              I want to compare the graphic text “Kaspar” with the ending of “The Metamorphosis”. I think that there is a pretty big difference between the two. In the Kaspar, a man comes up to him and tell him what to do. The man teach him how to write and read, and even make him stand up and walk. But he does not have intention of learning anything at all and what he likes to do is to lie down and fall asleep. At the end of the story, “I stay standing where I am”. When the man leaves him, he does not sure what to do and know what is going on. On the other hand, in the Metamorphosis, Gregor is aware of how things going on. “His good intentions seemed to have been acknowledged; it had just been a momentary fright he had given them” (Franz 238). This statement shows Gregor comes to know the meaning of his presence to his family, and then he ends up dead.