Metaamorphosis And Heart Of Darkness

Midterm 2 Essays
Heart of darkness and Metamorphosis
Both the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and the short story Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka signify and are about going beneath the surface. Although these books were written by different authors and published several years apart, they share numerous similarities in the overall message of the story. The heart of darkness is about imperialism and takes a step into telling a tale of individuals that embarked on the imperialistic journey from Europe to Africa. The brief story metamorphosis is about a man named Gregor who transforms into an insect. The fact that both stories are so different regarding the plot yet so similar in their overall meaning proves that both these novels advance
beneath the surface to give a deeper meaning. The heart of darkness explores two main characters through Marlow and Kurtz.
This novel is about imperialism, but progresses beneath the surface of those involved in the act of imperialism that is so highly criticized. Marlow goes to Africa, where European companies are building and trading and in doing so he hears of a man named Kurtz. Kurtz is well known and respected and he believed he was above the “savages” which were the African workers. After a certain amount of time there Kurtz turns into one of the “savages” himself. By reaching beneath the surface of his status, race and profession Kurtz allowed himself to witness humans as humans regardless of all the labels that have been created and used to separate us. Marlow, a European, says that while traveling, he is in fact astonished by the humanity he shared with the Africans. Although this novel portrays the Africans in a negative manner the protagonist Marlow and Kurtz tend to understand and progress beneath the surface of their imperial mission and truly learn and believe that they are in fact the same as their workers and the natives. As the novel progresses and Kurtz, Marlow and the Europeans are heading back Kurtz turns ill. Marlow is the last person to visit Kurtz and Kurtz's last words are truly horrifying as he says “the horror, the horror” as he breathes his last breath. This seems to be due to his unwillingness to ignore the hypocritical rule of the Europeans. Reaching deep beneath the words it is evident that Kurtz recalled his time as an “invader” in Africa and those tormenting memories of the injustice caused resulted in his last words being “the horror, the horror”. Marlow is left speechless. He returns to Europe and soon after this a representative from the company visit Marlow and ask for the papers and correspondents that Kurtz had given Marlow before his death. Marlow does not give them what they want. A man saying, he is Kurtz's cousin visits Marlow and he speaks about who Kurtz was beneath
the surface. Marlow learns that Kurtz was a man of great talent in music and art. This shows that there was talent and passion beyond the outer surface of Kurtz, although his actions in Africa proved otherwise. Marlow then proceeds to visiting Kurtz's fiancé. She asks what his last words were, and Marlow lies and says it was her name. This shows that beyond the colonizers there was talent, emotion and family members waiting for individuals like Kurtz to return. His tale ends, and they are returning to London when the narrator suggests that they are entering a dark area, suggesting that this “civilized” place isn’t far from the jungle in which they occupied. Kurtz is an example of going beneath the surface of regularity as to his cousin and fiancé he was a great talented man, but in fact he was a man who had caused trauma on his road to colonization and the heads on the fence were an example of his brutality. This novel goes beneath the surface of what the viewers read, and various metaphors are used to establish a clear understanding of the novel’s overall meaning. The short story metamorphosis is a story that goes a long way due to the meaning behind the tale. The protagonist Gregor wakes up and realized he’s transformed into an insect which leaves him in great shock. As his boss and parents first recognize Greg after his transformation they too are shocked and angry. Gregor’s father becomes aggressive towards him as he now cannot work and cannot help his family who is in debt. Going beneath the surface, it is evident that his father has forgotten all about Gregor’s diligent work for years in a split second and has begun to be hostile towards Greg. His life continues in a dull and isolated room as his family has now turned to despise his existence. When he is no longer of use to his family and needs their support, they view him as a burden and will continue to do so throughout the short story. Gregor has been helping his family for five years, ever since his father's’ business went bankrupt. To his surprise, he overhears his father speaking about saving up money which showed that Greg could've had an easier life instead of working diligently all those years. A month passed by when his mother faints at the sight of Gregor who is now an insect and his father attack him. His family finds jobs and even sell their jewelry and possessions to gain extra cash. They hire a cleaning lady who picks on Gregor and looks down on him, although that insect were once an honorable man working rigorously to provide and support his family. To gain extra money the family finds three tenants to rent one of the extra rooms. The tenants accidently notice Gregor and in great fear they demand to move out without paying the rent. In anger, Gregor’s sister states that he must be taken care of and they eliminate him and she reaches the limit and also says that the insect is not Gregor. He is beat emotionally and as he lies in his room his emotional and physical pain along with the guilt of not being able to work and provide for his family proves to be too much for him and he breathes his last breath. This story reveals a deeper meaning and emphasises on a side of life in which humans feel and experience, and one that readers can relate to. Gregor worked arduously to provide for his family, yet they had money saved and proved they could work once he turned into an insect. Even on his deathbed, he felt guilty of not being able to help his family. He gave his all for his loved ones and when he needed them all, they turned their backs on him as if he was a stranger. Metamorphosis goes beneath the surface of family ties and shows that all the love Gregor's family had was due to him providing them with materialistic objects. It continues to reveal the deeper meaning and show that once an individual faces a rather difficult situation they are left alone without the support of their loved ones. The Metamorphosis leaves a deep, meaningful, and a valuable lesson to its readers. Both the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and the short story Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka exemplify in going beneath the surface of a story and leaving the reader with an unforgettable lesson. Although both the novel and short story were written in different times they share more similarities than differences. It is evident that both stories have a deep meaning and advance beyond the surface of the tale and take a deeper understanding and analysis to fully take away the meaning of the novel and the brief story. The heart of darkness is about imperialism while Metamorphosis is about the sudden transformation of a man into an insect. Both the novel and short story were written at different times and have vastly different plots yet they both with inspiration and majesty reach beneath the surface of the tales and give a meaningful lesson one cannot forget.