Assigning a particular reason for Gregor's transformation is an oft-tackled inquiry that has no real answer. The who, how, and why of the equation are left entirely blank, so one must grab on to the little we know about Gregor's pre-metamorphosed life. In my opinion, the greatest correlation is the crushing modern workplace in his world; his job is his primary concern and action that he voices, and the only part of his life he initially forms opinions on. Kafka is known to have been an insurance clerk as well; he knows the awful repetition of certain jobs. And in The Metamorphosis, Kafka is attempting to bash the monotonous and destructive work setting of the new world.
The opening paragraphs of The Metamorphosis create one of the greatest cold opens in all of fiction. An extremely odd, nonchalant first sentence all the way to this Gregor's insanely unconcerned demeanor makes for an unforgettable, bizarre writing prompt. "What has happened to me?" Gregor thinks, as he stares at his WRIGGLING INSECT LEGS and lies on his SCARAB BACK! My initial reaction to this was along the lines of "what is wrong with this guy?" But I suppose assigning normal psychology to a book about a permanent case of morning roach is fairly unwarranted. Nonetheless, the very first thoughts he has after examining his body are directly about his work.
"'O God.' he thought, 'what an exhausting job I've chosen! One the move day in, day out. The business worries are far worse than they are on the actual premises at home, and on top of that I'm saddled with this travelling, the anxiety about train connections, the bad and irregular meals, the constant stream of changing faces with no chance of any warmer, lasting companionship. The devil take it all!'" (65)
This is the first place where I became curious of a job-related-metamorphosis thesis. Kafka must be aware of the absurdity of Gregor's thoughts, and the strange correlation he creates. His description of commonplace jobs for his employment evoke a sort of degrading cycle, where every time he eats a new bad meal, has a poor trip, or worries about train connections a little bit of his humanity is stripped of him. His proclamation of "the devil take it all!" similarly depicts an end to this cycle, where the 'devil' should possibly rob his humanity away all at once, to at least take him away from this horrendous job. It may seem like a stretch to think his job was withering away his life and stripping him down to an insect-like role, but Gregor hasn't missed a day in 5 years. His alarm is set for 4am! And the fact that he just slept in for the first time in all of that era possibly indicates this surrender to whatever being granted his insectdom.
Although his quest to work is soon vanquished after the reactions of his boss and family, it seems as though it was the stem of the problem. Especially with the father exhibiting insect-like qualities at the end chapters of The Metamorphosis after he gets a job, the critique on new jobs is still present. Perhaps the final happiness shown in the last paragraph is a product of their shared work, where Grete, Herr Samsa, and Mrs. Samsa each get a respectable job to produce together, whereas Gregor's isolation and constant activity destroyed his humanity. Horray!
Friday, October 16, 2015
Friday, October 9, 2015
A Super Delayed Response to "The Hours"
Hey! I liked this movie! The first thing I thought, just looking at the cover, is that this is like a "mom nirvana" type movie. At least for my mom. Powerhouse dramatic actresses in Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Nicole Kidman, plus Ed Harris! When I told her that it was an involved, moving and disturbing film that rides largely on the acting performances, I think she started salivating.
But that's beside the point. One of the coolest things this movie did was almost splatter-paint the characters of Mrs. Dalloway into the world of The Hours. The identities, problems, feelings, and personalities were each compartmentalized and then tossed into a nice movie salad. The prime example of this would be the movie version of Richard. A relatively unexplored character in the book is given further complexities and identity in the film, by maintaining the closeness and house life with "Clarissa", but giving him the reflection and prose of Septimus, and the homosexual love qualities briefly expressed by Sally and Clarissa in the book (which basically all of the important female cast expresses in the film). This new character of movie Richard, by having the qualities of characters in the novel, keeps the encompassing themes of Mrs. Dalloway while giving a fresh take of a new person. The Hours is extremely successful in this overall regard, carrying over themes of the novel by using the individual character traits without making the characters seem unexplained or totally rehashed.
The novel version of Mrs. Dalloway was also perfectly embodied in the film. The deeply explored, multifaceted character is split and elaborated with three separate figures in the movie. Clarissa is the housewife, partythrower, slightly on edge version of Mrs. Dalloway. Caring for Sally and Richard in simultaneous wife-like relationships (that are similar to the Dalloway's interactions in the novel), while carrying out a lot of the physical actions of book Mrs. Dalloway. The 1950's Laura Brown was the somber, sympathetic side of Mrs. Dalloway, with deep seated isolation and disconnect from her husband that we occasionally see in the novel. And Nicole Kidman with her prosthesis nose portrayed Virginia Woolf, intermittently and effectively appearing in the story to reflect herself among the other two split personalities. Reading the novel before this makes The Hours a joy to watch for me. Each part of Mrs. Dalloway is picked apart but then nuanced in different situations. Kind of speaks for the complexity that Woolf wrote Clarissa Dalloway with, that her personal aspects can be made into three separate lead characters in three tangentially related plots.
But that's beside the point. One of the coolest things this movie did was almost splatter-paint the characters of Mrs. Dalloway into the world of The Hours. The identities, problems, feelings, and personalities were each compartmentalized and then tossed into a nice movie salad. The prime example of this would be the movie version of Richard. A relatively unexplored character in the book is given further complexities and identity in the film, by maintaining the closeness and house life with "Clarissa", but giving him the reflection and prose of Septimus, and the homosexual love qualities briefly expressed by Sally and Clarissa in the book (which basically all of the important female cast expresses in the film). This new character of movie Richard, by having the qualities of characters in the novel, keeps the encompassing themes of Mrs. Dalloway while giving a fresh take of a new person. The Hours is extremely successful in this overall regard, carrying over themes of the novel by using the individual character traits without making the characters seem unexplained or totally rehashed.
The novel version of Mrs. Dalloway was also perfectly embodied in the film. The deeply explored, multifaceted character is split and elaborated with three separate figures in the movie. Clarissa is the housewife, partythrower, slightly on edge version of Mrs. Dalloway. Caring for Sally and Richard in simultaneous wife-like relationships (that are similar to the Dalloway's interactions in the novel), while carrying out a lot of the physical actions of book Mrs. Dalloway. The 1950's Laura Brown was the somber, sympathetic side of Mrs. Dalloway, with deep seated isolation and disconnect from her husband that we occasionally see in the novel. And Nicole Kidman with her prosthesis nose portrayed Virginia Woolf, intermittently and effectively appearing in the story to reflect herself among the other two split personalities. Reading the novel before this makes The Hours a joy to watch for me. Each part of Mrs. Dalloway is picked apart but then nuanced in different situations. Kind of speaks for the complexity that Woolf wrote Clarissa Dalloway with, that her personal aspects can be made into three separate lead characters in three tangentially related plots.
Friday, October 2, 2015
BOOZE?!? Decoding the Ever-Present Alcohol in The Sun Also Rises
The Sun Also Rises, like countless other novels, has certain "running gags" that persist throughout. They fade in and out of focus, but remain ever present. Things like hating on Cohn, discussing irony, and occasionally acknowledgement Jake's injury would fall into this category. However, the strongest physical theme of the novel would have to be drinking and alcohol, one that I believe ebbs and flows in things such as Jake's mood, the perspectives of the characters, and even pastoral symbolism far more than anything other aspect of the novel.
While in the bar with Georgette, the first alcoholic drink we see consumed is pernod absinthe. Jake describes the qualities and details of the liquor on page 23:
"Pernod is green imitation absinthe. When you add water it turns milky. It has a good uplift, but drops you just as far."
The question is, why does Jake include this description? While informing the reader of the actual substance of the beverage, he goes out of his way to describe its depressant-like effects. His feelings toward the drink largely reflect his opinion of Paris as a city. Although Jake trots around the Paris and its many clubs and bars, the seeming fun of his adventures are nullified by his isolation. Jake mentions that he has been wandering recently on page 19, replying that he has "tried all that" in response to Cohn's urge to go South America. The wandering reflects his dissatisfaction and displacement in the Parisian scene, that the "imitation absinthe" pernod, a usually natural botanical combination made artificial, perhaps mirrors as well. After all, in the page previous (18) Jake mentions that the only people who live their lives up fully are bull fighters, indicating his passion for the different pastoral environment of Spain.
Once Jake actually enters Spain, the tone of his drinking becomes much less depressing and far more sociable. Take the fiesta scene on page 158:
"The fiesta was really started. It kept up day and night for several days. The dancing kept up, the drinking kept up, the noise went on. The things that happened could have only happened during a fiesta. Everything became quite unreal finally and it seemed that nothing could have any consequences"
Immediately the context of drinking changes in Jakes eyes. With liberal drinking during the fiesta, Jake seemingly submits to pastoral desire of the common people and draws a sharp contrast to his normally restrained, depressant use of alcohol in Paris. Although, there is a common theme emerging with Jake's consumption of alcohol; he utilizes it as a mental distraction. Whether it be his depression in Paris or the need to let go of boundaries and consequences in the fiesta, he drinks whenever he needs to emotionally detach himself. On page 150 he even drinks to numb himself from the constant worries and troubles of his friends. "Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people."
The theme continues of the alcohol being a reflector of emotion and and straightforward conversation on page 152, where Jake qualitatively analyzes the drunken tendencies of the main characters.
"Mike was a bad drunk. Brett was a good drunk. Bill was a good drunk. Cohn was never drunk."
This quick, apt description by Jake summarizes each character's ability to deflect while drunk, as well as the general opinion of each other held by this circle of characters. When Mike gets drunk, his words are not ironic. His drunken speeches get down to the things that are bothering him, which is mostly Cohn. Therefore, his angry and straightforward words make him a "bad drunk". Cohn is unable to deflect emotionally or ironically with the other characters because he never gets drunk. These two and their inabilities to join the ironic drinkers sets them apart socially from Brett Jake and Bill throughout the novel. Alcohol determines the characters motives and boundaries yet again!
All in all, the drinking in The Sun Also Rises takes on a variety of forms and consequences, from ironic banter to full on fights in Spain, but serves a purpose that the characters hold true to themselves and each other in deflection. Jake deflects his pastoral longing of Spain while in France and his feelings towards Brett. Mike deflects his general sadness in life, rage for Cohn, and disappointments for his financial situation and Brett. Cohn by staying sober loses his ironic shield and opens him up for jabs by Mike and social exile in the main characters grouping. Overall, each character and their interactions with alcohol define their position in the novel.
While in the bar with Georgette, the first alcoholic drink we see consumed is pernod absinthe. Jake describes the qualities and details of the liquor on page 23:
"Pernod is green imitation absinthe. When you add water it turns milky. It has a good uplift, but drops you just as far."
The question is, why does Jake include this description? While informing the reader of the actual substance of the beverage, he goes out of his way to describe its depressant-like effects. His feelings toward the drink largely reflect his opinion of Paris as a city. Although Jake trots around the Paris and its many clubs and bars, the seeming fun of his adventures are nullified by his isolation. Jake mentions that he has been wandering recently on page 19, replying that he has "tried all that" in response to Cohn's urge to go South America. The wandering reflects his dissatisfaction and displacement in the Parisian scene, that the "imitation absinthe" pernod, a usually natural botanical combination made artificial, perhaps mirrors as well. After all, in the page previous (18) Jake mentions that the only people who live their lives up fully are bull fighters, indicating his passion for the different pastoral environment of Spain.
Once Jake actually enters Spain, the tone of his drinking becomes much less depressing and far more sociable. Take the fiesta scene on page 158:
"The fiesta was really started. It kept up day and night for several days. The dancing kept up, the drinking kept up, the noise went on. The things that happened could have only happened during a fiesta. Everything became quite unreal finally and it seemed that nothing could have any consequences"
Immediately the context of drinking changes in Jakes eyes. With liberal drinking during the fiesta, Jake seemingly submits to pastoral desire of the common people and draws a sharp contrast to his normally restrained, depressant use of alcohol in Paris. Although, there is a common theme emerging with Jake's consumption of alcohol; he utilizes it as a mental distraction. Whether it be his depression in Paris or the need to let go of boundaries and consequences in the fiesta, he drinks whenever he needs to emotionally detach himself. On page 150 he even drinks to numb himself from the constant worries and troubles of his friends. "Under the wine I lost the disgusted feeling and was happy. It seemed they were all such nice people."
The theme continues of the alcohol being a reflector of emotion and and straightforward conversation on page 152, where Jake qualitatively analyzes the drunken tendencies of the main characters.
"Mike was a bad drunk. Brett was a good drunk. Bill was a good drunk. Cohn was never drunk."
This quick, apt description by Jake summarizes each character's ability to deflect while drunk, as well as the general opinion of each other held by this circle of characters. When Mike gets drunk, his words are not ironic. His drunken speeches get down to the things that are bothering him, which is mostly Cohn. Therefore, his angry and straightforward words make him a "bad drunk". Cohn is unable to deflect emotionally or ironically with the other characters because he never gets drunk. These two and their inabilities to join the ironic drinkers sets them apart socially from Brett Jake and Bill throughout the novel. Alcohol determines the characters motives and boundaries yet again!
All in all, the drinking in The Sun Also Rises takes on a variety of forms and consequences, from ironic banter to full on fights in Spain, but serves a purpose that the characters hold true to themselves and each other in deflection. Jake deflects his pastoral longing of Spain while in France and his feelings towards Brett. Mike deflects his general sadness in life, rage for Cohn, and disappointments for his financial situation and Brett. Cohn by staying sober loses his ironic shield and opens him up for jabs by Mike and social exile in the main characters grouping. Overall, each character and their interactions with alcohol define their position in the novel.
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