Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Why did Vladimir Nabokov -- a brilliant, respected and often-quoted novelist, best known perhaps for his classic novel, Lolita -- do a razor-sharp editing job on Kafka's The Metamorphosis? And what is the meaning and the motivation behind Nabokov's intervention into the classic Kafka short story? This paper reviews Kafka's iconic short story and delves into the way in which Nabokov has editorially changed the direction and meaning of the narrative.
The Kafka story is considered among the most read and most discussed short stories in all literature. Why is it so well-thought-of? For one thing, it is dramatically different from ninety-nine percent of all short stories. For another, there is meaning within the bizarre events. Of course it is a ridiculous idea to change a man into a massive roach, and the beginning of Kafka's story has to be approached with an open mind for the reader. But the symbolism and the character changes are so stark they stay in the reader's mind long after reading about Gregor Samsa and his strange family. Samsa wakes up and "…finds himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect," that surely opens the eyes and challenges the mind of the reader.
This is a story that obviously has psychological significance; there are some critics who believe Kafka wrote this story in order to come to terms with his open rebellion against his father, with whom he had a relationship full of tension. Author Tom Hartman writes that because of Gregor's being unaware he was conducting life with human actions a "higher theme" is approached by Kafka. Gregor has an "unconscious denial" of his own freedom and humanity and hence, he has become "numb to his own humanity" (Hartman, 1985, p. 33).
Edith Krause brings Nietzsche's philosophy into the discussion of The Metamorphosis, suggesting that because of Gregor's demise, he is emblematic of a person who, in Nietzsche's words, "…feels wounded…in the deepest and most sacred part of his being… [And therefore has experienced the loss of] those vital 'commonplaces' that heretofore gave his life meaning" (Krause, 2005, p. 22). Whether or not that makes sense to the student...
Man's struggle against the absurd emerges in Ivan Ilych's death, as he contemplates the meaning of his life. Psychological alienation results as Ivan begins to doubt his existence. Nabokov explains, "Egotism, falsity, hypocrisy, and above all automatism are the most important moments of life" (Nabokov 239). Nature, by means of death, removes all of the things to which Ivan has become accustomed. He is dying and that is all
Balzac and Kafka: From Realism to Magical Realism French author Honore de Balzac defined the genre of realism in the early 19th century with his novel Old Man Goriot, which served as a cornerstone for his more ambitious project, The Human Comedy. Old Man Goriot also served as a prototype for realistic novels, with its setting of narrative parameters which included plot, structure, characterization, and point-of-view. The 20th century, however, digressed
Such a parsing of into which school Samuel Beckett can be slotted may seem to be nothing more than intellectual engagement -- not that there is anything wrong with this -- but it also serves as an important way of assessing both the "Irishness" and the humor of Beckett's writings. Unlike a writer like John Synge, for example, or William Butler Yeats, Beckett is generally not clearly identifiable as Irish
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