Rong Zeng
Zachary Tashiro
Anna Christ
Stanley Chow
Franz Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis, portrays a traveling salesman named Gregor Samsa who supports his family financially prior to his transformation into a giant insect. The short story focuses on family and social dynamics, in other words–how the relationship between Gregor and his family, and Gregor and his manager are altered after his transformation. We decided to divide our questions up into the categories of family and social dynamics, hypothetical, and biology, and opted to delve into the category regarding family and social dynamics. In doing so, we hope to gain a better understanding of the relationships between Gregor and each member of his family to ultimately answer why it is that each relationship gradually dissolves.

Family and social dynamics
How does Gregor’s transformation alter the dynamics of his family?
What is the significance of Gregor’s regimented job?
What is the significance of the family replacing their maid with a cheaper one?
What is the significance of Gregor’s sister’s sweeping sessions?
Biology
What is the significance of the setting?
What is the significance that Gregor is completely indifferent to the fact that he’s become a cockroach?
Hypothetical
What if instead of an animal, his gender changed. How would the story be different?
What if Gregor’s race changed, how would the story be different?
How do animals play a role?

How does Gregor’s transformation alter the dynamics of his family?

Prior to Gregor’s transformation, Gregor worked as a traveling salesman to support his mother, father, and sister. Gregor wakes up one morning to see himself transformed into a giant insect, as he tries to roll over and and realizes that he cannot, he notices that he has overslept and missed his train to work. His mother, concerned that he will be late for work, knocks at his door. Gregor attempts to answer his mother, but finds that his voice has changed and this elicits worry from his sister, Grete, who begs him to open the door. However, unaccustomed to his new “form,” it takes mighty effort for Gregor to get off his bed and open the door. By then, the chief clerk has shown up to remind Gregor of the consequences of being late and notes that Gregor’s recent work has been unsatisfactory. Gregor protests and says he will open the door soon, but no one on the other side of the door can understand what he is saying. Eventually, he opens the door and his appearance causes his mother to faint, the manager to run from the apartment. Gregor takes off after his manager, however Gregor’s father chases him back into his room with a cane and a rolled up newspaper then locks the room.
We see right from the start that Gregor’s transformation alters the dynamics of his family negatively. His parents look at him with disgust, regardless of the fact that he is their son and later on we see that his sister, Grete, also begins to despise him. His father is forced to work again to support the family financially and his mother wants to see Gregor as her son, but her fear and revulsion of Gregor’s transformation is too much. Grete initially does try to take care of Gregor by feeding him and sweeping his room because they once had a close relationship, despite that she is quite disgusted by Gregor. However, Grete grows to despise Gregor because of the burden his existence places on each member of the family. She tells their parents they have to get rid of Gregor or else they will all be ruined. Their father agrees and wishes that Gregor could understand them and leave on his own. Unbeknownst to them, Gregor does understand and he dies in his bedroom.

What is the significance of Gregor’s regimented job?

The only reason Gregor took this job as a traveling salesmen was because he father’s business failed and Gregor had to support the family financially. Gregor takes this role as the money-maker for his family without complaint because he knows that’s what he must do even though he doesn’t like it. We can infer this from the story when Kafka writes, “if it weren’t for my parents’ sake, I’d have quit ages ago” and “once I’ve got together the money to pay off my parent’s debt to him…I’ll do it for sure” (p.22). Money is a big concern for the Samsa family, and Gregor is constantly thinking about it. Having such a regimented job is important for Gregor and his family, since they depend on Gregor incomes. This was the family’s only means of income, so when Gregor transforms and can no longer go to work this means the family no longer has money coming in. Kafka writes, “already during the first day his father laid out all the financial circumstances and prospects to his mother and to his sister as well” (p.41). The father and Grete have to both start working to make up for the loss of Gregor’s income, and this still isn’t enough. The family even takes in a few boarders to make some extra money, which then ends in an argument with the borders once they discover Gregor. The family depending on Gregor’s job to support them, once he transformed it put the whole family in financial trouble that they could not escape until his death, when they no longer have to pay for his living and their jobs had promising futures.

What is the significance of the family replacing their maid with a cheaper one?

In The Metamorphosis the significance of the final maid is how she is able to interact with Gregor. In the story she is an elderly woman who joins the family after the last maid quits because of Gregor. However this new maid is the only character in the novel who is able to face him without any fear. In the story the original maid was unable to stand up to Gregor and was constantly bullied by him. The original maid was someone who was constantly terrified by Gregor. By opposition with the charwoman she is someone who is brutally honest and blunt along with being able to stand up to whatever state Gregor is in without any fear. Although the charwoman isn’t a very nice person, she likes to look upon Gregor and laugh at him. As someone who does not fear his appearance as a bug she is able to talk to him without being afraid and running away, because of this, the charwoman becomes one of the few people who actually acknowledge Gregor without resenting him like his sister or family do. Her major importance is when Gregor dies. Since the Samsas cut her off while she is explaining how she got rid of the dead body, we are left with many questions as to how she was able to transport the carcass without anyone seeing.

What is the significance of Gregor’s sister’s sweeping sessions?
In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Gregor’s sister Grete acts as his final connection to his family after he is turned into a bug. After Gregor’s transformation, Grete feeds him with a bowl of milk and some bread. In addition, she removes the furniture from Gregor’s room in order to better accommodate his new insect form. Unlike the rest of the Samsa’s, Grete didn’t think that Gregor’s worth resided only in his economic benefit to the family. Instead of planning to get rid of him, Grete chose to feed and comfort him, an act showing her acknowledgement of his humanity. Grete and her sweeping sessions become a bridge between Gregor’s desire to live and his family’s need to survive. Before his transformation, Gregor’s purpose in his family was to provide for them financially. When he lost the ability to work after turning into a giant insect, he also lost his role in his family as the breadwinner. By regularly checking in on him despite his lack of purpose, Grete prevents Gregor from losing one last thing, his identity as the son of the family and as Grete’s brother. If Grete had decided not to do this, he would have died much quicker, as the rest of his family had already rejected him.

In conclusion, we divided our questions into three categories: family and social dynamics, hypothetical, and biology. We chose to label the other two categories as hypothetical and biology the questions cover a different aspect of the text. The hypothetical category covers the what-if questions and prompts us to think about how the story would be different if one aspect changes. On the other hand, the biology category makes us think about the significance of the biological aspects already in the story. All-in-all, the questions of each category give us a general perspective of The Metamorphosis and help us think deeply and understand the text.

I don’t think the law is meant to represent the literal law(the government). I think the law represents the law of life and the man represents the individual who must navigate though life.  Each gate past the initial gate symbolizes the obstacles an individual has to overcome in their lifetime.  The gatekeeper tells the man, “from room to room, stand gatekeepers, each more powerful than the other.”  As in life,  there are obstacles a person has to face, each more difficult and challenging than the one before.  Like the gates to the man, the individual in life always has a challenge to face, with more to come after.  When the gatekeeper steps away from the gate, the gatekeeper’s warning stops the man from going any further.  In life, warnings often deter people from moving past their obstacles.  Toward the end of the man’s life, the gatekeeper reveals to the man that the entrance was assigned only to him,”Here no one else can gain entry, since this entrance was assigned only to you.”  Each individual has their own obstacles to face and it is only up to them,whether or not they overcome them.  Had the man known this, he may have gone past the gate instead of just seeing through the gate when it was first opened by the gatekeeper.  In Before the Law, Kafka teaches the lesson that one must take control of their own life by going through their gates and instead of asking for their gates to be opened, but to open their gates themselves.

Poetry is a writing form with loose guidelines, making it the perfect vessel to share abstract ideas without the restraints of proper formatting.  Romantic poets used this form of writing in attempts to translate their personal experiences.  The unrestricted nature of the form allowed them to write figuratively rather than literally, and allowed them to create vivid descriptions of images that are more powerful than their literal counterparts.  The role of the reader is also changed.  Rather than mere observers of a story, readers minds are replaced with that of the author’s.  In addition to the image that the author presents to them, they are also given the eyes in which to see this image.  Not only is the reader given “what” to experience, they are also given the “how”.

Tu Fu’s Spring Prospect and The Opening of The Koran both use poetry as a way to place the reader in a higher state of consciousness.  However, each piece does so in their own unique way which defines the perspective in which it is to be read and experienced.  Tu Fu sets the perspective of his poem by giving the reader an omnipotent view of the current state of his country. “The nation shattered, hills and streams remain (Line 1)”.  By removing his writing from the first person perspective, the reader must experience the piece from a perspective outside the limits of his own body(a bird’s eye view of the world).  The Opening of The Koran also changes the way in which the reader views the world.  However, instead of viewing the world from above like in Spring Prospect, the reader views the world from below.  “In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate(Line 1).”  In this piece, the reader is belittled and humbled by the presence of an almighty God where in Tu Fu’s piece, the reader transcends his own literal reality to that which might equate to a god.  While both pieces change the reader’s perspective in different ways, both pieces are highly effective when it comes to shifting the reader’s mindset.  To fully understand these pieces is to fully immerse oneself into each and every word written on the paper and both pieces have paved this road for the reader to walk on.  This is the “how” to experience.

While the images that the words convey are to be read and visualized literally, the meanings of them are not.  Instead, each visualization’s purpose is to create emotion and feeling within the reader.  “Feeling the times, flowers draw tears(Line 3)”.  Here, Tu Fu personifies the sadness he feels in the image of dew on flower pedals.  While he does not explicitly say he is feeling negative, he turns the feeling itself into a character.  Instead of just knowing that Tu Fu is experiencing this feeling, the reader has to live it in this form.  “It is You whom we worship and You whom we ask for help. Show us the upright way (Lines 5-7)”.  In The Opening of The Koran,  the reader asks God for guidance.  As the reader recites these lines, he becomes humbled by the idea of God.  Interestingly enough, there is no image in this particular passage.  One might even add that God is “sublime” and this lack of an image immerses the reader in complete fear.  This is the “what” to experience.

Romantic poets and their poetry teach us new ways to view the world.  While these perspectives may not always be practical, there is much wisdom and insight to be gained when one is fully immersed in these writings.

The Prestige is a film from 2006 directed by Christopher Nolan taking place in 1900s England about two rival magicians who spend their lives in pursuit of outdoing the other’s latest illusion.  The main trick that they competed over was the illusion of vanishing and reappearing.  The two magicians of this rivalry are Robert Angier (played by Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden ( played by Christian Bale).  One night, Borden showcases a new trick with two doors on either side of his stage.  Right before he walks into one door, he tosses a rubber ball toward the other door, where he reappears and catches the ball.  After seeing this trick, Angier visits Nikola Tesla in America(played by David Bowie) and asks him to build him a machine to clone himself in hopes of copying and beating Borden.  During their conversation, Angier asks Tesla ,”Well hasn’t good come form your obsession?”  Tesla responds, “Well at first…but I followed them for long.  I am their slave and one day they will choose to destroy me.”

The theme in Tesla’s conversation with Angier alludes to the theme of Frankenstein’s conversation with  Robert Walton. Frankenstein warns Walton of his venture,”Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge” (53).  Frankenstein recognizes Walton’s passion for knowledge and hopes to save him from his own downfall by sharing his own story.  Likewise, Tesla tells Angier,”Go home, forget this thing.  I can recognize an obsession, no good will come of it.” Both Tesla and Frankenstein use their experiences to warn their predecessors of what may come for them if they choose to continue their ways.

The lesson to be taken away in the The Prestige that also translates to Frankenstein is that life is sustained through birth and not through creation.  To perform his trick with the aide of his new machine, Angier would  create a copy of himself and then drown his original self in a water tank through a trap door underneath the stage. However, Borden’s method was much simpler.  He had a twin that would play the part of his clone.  Bordern’s method was sustainable, while Angier’s method came at the cost of a trip to see Tesla in America and constantly having to drown his original self after creating a clone. Borden’s method was natural and pure, while Angier’s method was unnatural and ultimately self-destructive.  In Frankenstein, Frankenstein uses  various body parts to create an unnatural lifeform which ultimately leads to the death of his family members and his own demise.  Rather than focus on building his relationship with his family and protecting them, Frankenstein becomes sidetracked with his pursuit of “the secret of life.”  Angier, with his constant pursuit of amazing his audience, ends up sacrificing his own mental well-being by dedicating his life to beating Borden.  Both Frankenstein and Angier had personal agendas that was beyond what was natural and within their grasp.  Their stubborn actions made the product of their passions take a hold of them instead.  

“I see by your eagerness, and the wonder and hope which your eyes express, my friend, that you expect to be informed of the secret with which I am acquainted; that cannot be: listen patiently until the end of my story, and you will easily perceive why I am reserved upon that subject.  I will not lead you on, unguarded and ardent as I then was, to your destruction and infallible misery.  Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow.”  pg 53

Here, Frankenstein begins to tells Walton of how the creation of his creature has affected his life.  Frankenstein naturally expects that Walton would be interested in his invention of the creature, as both men share a similar thirst for knowledge.  However, instead of diving into a conversation about science, Frankenstein chooses to warn Walton about the dangers of acquiring more knowledge.

Most people want to share their story with the world, especially scientists who have made some kind of breakthrough.  Frankenstein’s masterpiece is his creature, yet instead of boasting about his creation or passing on his discoveries, he warns his newfound friend Walton about the dangers of pursuing knowledge.  Frankenstein suggests that it is better to know less, or as people today would say,”ignorance is bliss.”  This raises the question of whether or not it is possible to live happily in pursuit of something(in this case knowledge), or does choosing one come at the cost of the other?

To live in pursuit, one has to sacrifice happiness in their life.  In the beginning of the passage, Frankenstein notes the “wonder and hope” which Walton’s eyes express.  Walton’s wonder is his curiosity that has led him to become an explorer and he hopes for discovery and the satisfaction of achieving it.  By seeing the “wonder and hope” in Walton’s eyes, Frankenstein is reminded of what he was like before he created his creature.  He was in wonder of what knowledge could lead him to creation of the creature and he had hope of realizing his vision of the creature.  Realizing that Walton was like himself in the past, he chooses to discourage Walton’s pursuit.  At the same time that Frankenstein was driven by his own ” wonder and hope”, he was also driving himself toward a miserable life.  He expects that if Walton were to follow his own “wonder and hope” he would inevitably also end up like him.  Frankenstein wishes he “believed his own native town to be the world” suggesting to Walton that its better not to pursue knowledge if he wants a happy life.  It would be far better, in Frankenstein’s opinion to be content with one’s own livelihood and avoid pursuing a dream that ends up owning you.

There is always this push and pull between my calm/present mind  and my uncontrollable/chaotic one.  Naturally, it seems to want to run away on its train of thought.  This creates doubts, anxieties, and even random bursts of nostalgia.  However, awareness is the first step to slow down this train and make it come to a smooth stop.  Now that I know my mind is wandering, I have the opportunity to take action.  The second step is to bring my focus to the present moment and space I am in. To a state of just being.  This clears my mind to a point where there are now little to no thoughts in my head.  The train has come to a stop. The third step is to make it go where I want it to to go.  Following the tracks that the professor has laid out, my mind will go to a territory it hasn’t been to before.

If I ever leave my brain on auto-pilot, which often it is, here is the end result.  I forget about why I’m here in the first place.  Why do I allow myself to be bored out of my mind like this.  I’m in New York FRIKKIN City yet I choose to place myself here out of all the possible locations in this town.  I mean, I guess I need my degree to get a nice job, but how would I even know what career I want if I haven’t tried it yet?

Is this all school is?
I don’t even enjoy this,
I should have stayed home.

Chaos always finds a way into my mind.  Maybe it’s just entropy, but it’s certainly distracting.  Every time I try to clear my mind by focusing on the lecture I end up thinking about focusing on the lecture, instead of actually paying attention.  To actually achieve focus, I’ll have to do it through other means, that is to be as present in the moment as possible.  Since my body is here, I have to find a way to get my mind to do the same thing.

Ceiling lights flicker,
A man and a powerpoint,
We watch and listen.

I close my eyes.  One long and slow breath in, and one long and slow breath out. “I am here, I am present” I tell myself.  As I unfold the table from beside the chair, I notice the slight squeak that the metal parts make as they slide across each other.  I feel the thump as the table makes it way to its final resting spot.  It’s a comforting sound, one that reassures me that it’s not going anywhere.

Pen against paper,
Black ink making its mark known,
Class is in session.

Hello Class!
My name is Stanley Chow, a second semester sophomore here at Baruch majoring in Marketing Analytics.  In my free time I like to play volleyball, explore the city, and try/learn new things.

Immanuel Kant’s definition of Enlightenment is an individual’s ability to to think independently. To Kant, the natural state of mankind is one of “laziness and cowardice”.  By escaping such “laziness and cowardice” one grows out of a life where the act of thinking is done by someone other than oneself, “I need not think, so long as I can pay; others will soon enough take the tiresome job over for me.”

Enlightenment is difficult to achieve as the mankind finds comfort in his own immaturity, even if it chains him down from progress.  The process by which enlightenment is achieved is called rational thought, where the attribute of immaturity in someone is removed.  However, as easy as it is to remove bias and prejudice, it is just as easy to replace,”new prejudices, like the ones they replaced, will serve as a leash to control the great unthinking mass.  Even if one were able to remove their own immaturity, stability in this new life is not guaranteed,”and if anyone did throw them off, he would be unaccustomed to free movement of this kind.”

Right now, we do not live in an age of enlightenment, though the possibility of achieving it is real. Though we live in an information and data driven world, society has not yet adjusted to this floodgate of easy-to-access content.  It therefore becomes easy and perhaps even natural for one to fall into a comfortable hole dug by their own biases.  In a world where curation of content is specific to the individual, there is a  norm where one gets the illusion of being able to freely think about the wave of knowledge being presented to them when in reality, their sources are determined by their opinions, instead of their opinions being an assessment of their sources.