Metamorphosis Literary Analysis Essay
NAS Sheet for “The Metamorphosis” Part 1
Writer: Kafka
Title: The Metamorphosis
Plot:
At the beginning of the story, the main character Gregor Samsa, wakes up to discover he has become a giant bug. He struggles to get out of bed, so he is unable to get ready for work. This makes him feel terrified that he may lose his job, and worst of all, disappoint his family.The plot if very straightforward, however much of the plot is spent describing how much effort it takes for the main character to get up and unlock his bedroom door. Along with that, the author spends a great deal of the plot describing the giant bug. This could be done for several different reasons. The main conflict present in the first part of the story could be one of two things; one, to …show more content…
Gregor, he is late for work and cannot lose his job, and the other, to his family and boss, is the disgust they are filled with when they realize that Gregor has become a giant bug.
Character:
The main character is Gregor, a man who turns into a giant bug, which causes him to potentially lose his job. Gregor is a traveling salesman and is the money maker in the family, making him the protagonist. He has to pay for his father’s debts after his father’s business fails, and along with that he also has to pay for the house the family lives in. A key point about Gregor after he has changed into a giant bug is the fact that he still has a human soul. To him, he is still thinking that he can get up and go to work, even though it is nearly impossible for him to do so. This fact also hints at how over worked he feels, because the reader can see into his mind and feel that he is trapped in this job he does not like, however he must not lose his job, otherwise his family would suffer. The character of Gregor is very realistic, many readers, even today can relate to him. Stuck in a dead end job, trapped because of social pressures, even if those pressures are coming from family member who rely on the support of the one person. The fact that Kafka chooses to makes Gregor the bug, rather than any other family member is quite interesting. It could be a hint about the dynamics of the family and Gregor and could be seen as a test for them.
The family, can be classified at this moment, the father and the mother. A reason the sister does not fit into this description is because, she feels the most sympathy for her brother and still tries to care for him at this moment. However, the father and mother are disgusted by their newly changed son. Along with that, they do not seem truly worried with his well-being, rather with the fact that they just lost their source of income. Because of this, they can be classified at the antagonist. The author does not name these characters in the story, only keeps them as mother and father. This could be due to the fact that, in Gregor’s mind, that is how one would address their parents and it is a sign of respect, and at this point, Gregor is still in contact with his human self and is behaving like one, despite outward appearances.
The sister, Grete Samsa, is the other character in the story so far who feels sorry and cares for Gregor in his new state of being. This could be seen as sisterly love. There is not much description of her, other than that she is to be heard crying when her brother first refuses to open the door. Whether this is because she is worried for his wellbeing or the fear of that her brother might lose his job, it is never truly clarified. However, at one point, she is the only one asking Gregor is he feels well, not just reminding him that he is late for work.
Setting:
The setting is not described much outside of the house which Gregor lives in, however, the reader can infer that the story takes place in Czechoslovakia, due to the fact that the author was born and grew up there. In the story though, Kafka does describe the light travelling through the curtains as Gregor sees it as a bug and the smells he can now smell. But other than that, there is not much detail put into the setting so far in part 1.
Theme, Mood, Imagery:
In the first part of the story the theme of “The Metamorphosis” is that life can absurd and one must live to please oneself.
Metamorphosis can be classified as a existentialism novella, and this is because it places an emphasis on the individual and their need to be free to develop themselves. At this moment, Gregor is trapped in his job and this is what is affecting him and is the point of him turning into a bug. Despite the things that are happening to Gregor, the mood of the story seems to be light, as he is calm and accepting of his current fate. He tries to overcome this horrific curse by staying positive, and even thinking that he can still go to work even though it is clear that he cant. Some of the imagery that Kafka uses include how the light and smells are now different to Gregor in bug form. He also goes into great detail about the description of the bug shape and appearance. Kafka does this to show the reader that the bug is not a type that a person would be accepting of, rather he is cockroach or beetle like. And many humans would try to rid their house of this bug and because of this, the reader can see how the family truly feels about their son being a bug and how the wish to be ridden of
him.
POV:
This story is told is 3rd person limited. The reader can hear the thoughts of Gregor alone, all while “watching” the story as a play or from above looking in. Kafka chooses this as the POV of because it shows detachment from the characters and gives a less biased view. A key point though is that the reader does get a glimpse into the mind of Gregor, which is important because it helps the reader grasp the concepts of what is running through his mind. Without hearing the thoughts, the reader would not get the sense of calmness that Gregor feels even though he is giant bug.
NAS Sheet: The Lottery
Writer: Shirley Jackson
Title: The Lottery
Plot:
On June 27th, all of the people of the village gather in town square. Each head of the household is summoned by Mr. Summers. The men drew a slip of paper out of a black box, and Mr. Hutchinson had been selected. Then each member of his family draws a slip of paper and his wife is chosen to be stoned. She refuses, however the villagers attack her. The plot is straightforward, however some parts are implied, such as what the “prize” is in the end. Judging by Mr. Hutchinson’s reaction, the reader can infer that he was not going to receive anything pleasant, however the author did not reveal their fate until the very end. If the plot was not as straightforward as it was, then the reader would struggle with understanding the plot because a majority of scenes in the story have implied meanings, which is hard enough to decipher as it is.
Characters:
Ms. Hutchinson is a key character in the story. She stands out from society especially when she arrives late to the lottery. She does not care about rules too much, and this is seen when she protests her husband’s name being drawn from the black box. She does whatever she can to get out of the lottery, such as trying to substitute herself with her daughter.
Mr. Summers is one of the main characters of the story. He is a very powerful businessman who is in charge of the lottery. The people never question his authority, despite the fact that he does control their fate. He is pitied by society because he has a terrible wife and he has no children. He represents progress in that he tries to change tradition. For example he changed the lottery tradition by putting strips of paper into the box rather than wood chips.
Setting:
The story takes place in a small village in the summer. Since there is not a specific location, this means that the setting is general and refers to the place as a whole, not as individual communities. The fact that the lottery takes place on the same day every time is significant to the story, and it represents tradition.
Theme:
The overall theme of the story is tradition. The lottery takes place on the same date at the same time every year. It is a ritual that Mr. Summers tries to modify. He represents progress because he tries to change the tradition. He gradually makes changes such as using slips of paper instead of wood chips; however he was never able to make drastic changes.
Style:
The author’s style is very journalistic. She keeps emotion out of the story and writes everything as if she was writing about an event that she was physically at. This mirrors the villagers in that they remain emotionless throughout the ritual. The only one who stands out is Ms. Hutchinson, because she expresses what she feels whereas others do not. Imagery:
The author uses small amounts of imagery throughout the story. For example, she describes the women as “wearing faded house dress and sweaters” and described Mr. Summers as wearing “clean white shirt and blue jeans”. Minor descriptions like these are what help the reader vividly picture the story in their mind.
Mood:
The overall mood of the story is suspense. The reader and the villagers have no clue who is going to be chosen from the lottery. This is what helps draw the reader into the book even more, because they are eager to find out the end result.
Point of View:
The point of view of the story is third person objective. The narrator is completely detached from the story, which shows the reader the process of the lottery. If the story was told from third person omniscient it would most likely improve the story because the reader would be able to know what the characters were thinking.
Writer: Kafka
Title: The Metamorphosis
Plot:
At the beginning of the story, the main character Gregor Samsa, wakes up to discover he has become a giant bug. He struggles to get out of bed, so he is unable to get ready for work. This makes him feel terrified that he may lose his job, and worst of all, disappoint his family.The plot if very straightforward, however much of the plot is spent describing how much effort it takes for the main character to get up and unlock his bedroom door. Along with that, the author spends a great deal of the plot describing the giant bug. This could be done for several different reasons. The main conflict present in the first part of the story could be one of two things; one, to …show more content…
Gregor, he is late for work and cannot lose his job, and the other, to his family and boss, is the disgust they are filled with when they realize that Gregor has become a giant bug.
Character:
The main character is Gregor, a man who turns into a giant bug, which causes him to potentially lose his job. Gregor is a traveling salesman and is the money maker in the family, making him the protagonist. He has to pay for his father’s debts after his father’s business fails, and along with that he also has to pay for the house the family lives in. A key point about Gregor after he has changed into a giant bug is the fact that he still has a human soul. To him, he is still thinking that he can get up and go to work, even though it is nearly impossible for him to do so. This fact also hints at how over worked he feels, because the reader can see into his mind and feel that he is trapped in this job he does not like, however he must not lose his job, otherwise his family would suffer. The character of Gregor is very realistic, many readers, even today can relate to him. Stuck in a dead end job, trapped because of social pressures, even if those pressures are coming from family member who rely on the support of the one person. The fact that Kafka chooses to makes Gregor the bug, rather than any other family member is quite interesting. It could be a hint about the dynamics of the family and Gregor and could be seen as a test for them.
The family, can be classified at this moment, the father and the mother. A reason the sister does not fit into this description is because, she feels the most sympathy for her brother and still tries to care for him at this moment. However, the father and mother are disgusted by their newly changed son. Along with that, they do not seem truly worried with his well-being, rather with the fact that they just lost their source of income. Because of this, they can be classified at the antagonist. The author does not name these characters in the story, only keeps them as mother and father. This could be due to the fact that, in Gregor’s mind, that is how one would address their parents and it is a sign of respect, and at this point, Gregor is still in contact with his human self and is behaving like one, despite outward appearances.
The sister, Grete Samsa, is the other character in the story so far who feels sorry and cares for Gregor in his new state of being. This could be seen as sisterly love. There is not much description of her, other than that she is to be heard crying when her brother first refuses to open the door. Whether this is because she is worried for his wellbeing or the fear of that her brother might lose his job, it is never truly clarified. However, at one point, she is the only one asking Gregor is he feels well, not just reminding him that he is late for work.
Setting:
The setting is not described much outside of the house which Gregor lives in, however, the reader can infer that the story takes place in Czechoslovakia, due to the fact that the author was born and grew up there. In the story though, Kafka does describe the light travelling through the curtains as Gregor sees it as a bug and the smells he can now smell. But other than that, there is not much detail put into the setting so far in part 1.
Theme, Mood, Imagery:
In the first part of the story the theme of “The Metamorphosis” is that life can absurd and one must live to please oneself.
Metamorphosis can be classified as a existentialism novella, and this is because it places an emphasis on the individual and their need to be free to develop themselves. At this moment, Gregor is trapped in his job and this is what is affecting him and is the point of him turning into a bug. Despite the things that are happening to Gregor, the mood of the story seems to be light, as he is calm and accepting of his current fate. He tries to overcome this horrific curse by staying positive, and even thinking that he can still go to work even though it is clear that he cant. Some of the imagery that Kafka uses include how the light and smells are now different to Gregor in bug form. He also goes into great detail about the description of the bug shape and appearance. Kafka does this to show the reader that the bug is not a type that a person would be accepting of, rather he is cockroach or beetle like. And many humans would try to rid their house of this bug and because of this, the reader can see how the family truly feels about their son being a bug and how the wish to be ridden of
him.
POV:
This story is told is 3rd person limited. The reader can hear the thoughts of Gregor alone, all while “watching” the story as a play or from above looking in. Kafka chooses this as the POV of because it shows detachment from the characters and gives a less biased view. A key point though is that the reader does get a glimpse into the mind of Gregor, which is important because it helps the reader grasp the concepts of what is running through his mind. Without hearing the thoughts, the reader would not get the sense of calmness that Gregor feels even though he is giant bug.
NAS Sheet: The Lottery
Writer: Shirley Jackson
Title: The Lottery
Plot:
On June 27th, all of the people of the village gather in town square. Each head of the household is summoned by Mr. Summers. The men drew a slip of paper out of a black box, and Mr. Hutchinson had been selected. Then each member of his family draws a slip of paper and his wife is chosen to be stoned. She refuses, however the villagers attack her. The plot is straightforward, however some parts are implied, such as what the “prize” is in the end. Judging by Mr. Hutchinson’s reaction, the reader can infer that he was not going to receive anything pleasant, however the author did not reveal their fate until the very end. If the plot was not as straightforward as it was, then the reader would struggle with understanding the plot because a majority of scenes in the story have implied meanings, which is hard enough to decipher as it is.
Characters:
Ms. Hutchinson is a key character in the story. She stands out from society especially when she arrives late to the lottery. She does not care about rules too much, and this is seen when she protests her husband’s name being drawn from the black box. She does whatever she can to get out of the lottery, such as trying to substitute herself with her daughter.
Mr. Summers is one of the main characters of the story. He is a very powerful businessman who is in charge of the lottery. The people never question his authority, despite the fact that he does control their fate. He is pitied by society because he has a terrible wife and he has no children. He represents progress in that he tries to change tradition. For example he changed the lottery tradition by putting strips of paper into the box rather than wood chips.
Setting:
The story takes place in a small village in the summer. Since there is not a specific location, this means that the setting is general and refers to the place as a whole, not as individual communities. The fact that the lottery takes place on the same day every time is significant to the story, and it represents tradition.
Theme:
The overall theme of the story is tradition. The lottery takes place on the same date at the same time every year. It is a ritual that Mr. Summers tries to modify. He represents progress because he tries to change the tradition. He gradually makes changes such as using slips of paper instead of wood chips; however he was never able to make drastic changes.
Style:
The author’s style is very journalistic. She keeps emotion out of the story and writes everything as if she was writing about an event that she was physically at. This mirrors the villagers in that they remain emotionless throughout the ritual. The only one who stands out is Ms. Hutchinson, because she expresses what she feels whereas others do not. Imagery:
The author uses small amounts of imagery throughout the story. For example, she describes the women as “wearing faded house dress and sweaters” and described Mr. Summers as wearing “clean white shirt and blue jeans”. Minor descriptions like these are what help the reader vividly picture the story in their mind.
Mood:
The overall mood of the story is suspense. The reader and the villagers have no clue who is going to be chosen from the lottery. This is what helps draw the reader into the book even more, because they are eager to find out the end result.
Point of View:
The point of view of the story is third person objective. The narrator is completely detached from the story, which shows the reader the process of the lottery. If the story was told from third person omniscient it would most likely improve the story because the reader would be able to know what the characters were thinking.