The Metamorphosis Part 3

Today, October 17,2013, the class talked about literary elements Kafka uses to convey meaning in The Metamorphosis. Bethany though Kafka used irony to illustrate meaning. She went on to explain how ironic it was that Gregor’s family completely hates him at the end of the story. They forget all of the hard work Gregor had done to help them and how they become ungrateful to Gregor’s immense dedication to their wellbeing. Bethany also explains about the dramatic irony that can be found in part three. Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something that the characters in the story do not know. Ms. Khol specifies her example of dramatic irony when Gregor’s parents wish he could understand them when the reader and Gregor himself know Gregor can understand humans. I also had thought of Kafka’s irony use in The Metamorphosis, however I did not pick up on the dramatic irony Bethany discovered in part three. Good eye!

As our discussion of The Metamorphosis continued, Brooke revealed her thoughts about Gregor’s transformation into a bug symbolizing depression. When my eyeballs had firs graced The Metamorphosis, I had linked the bug as a symbol of Gregor’s isolation, but I never thought to parallel Gregor’s transformation to depression. Brooke backed up her argument when she talked about Gregor’s want to stay in bed. She expressed wanting to stay in bed and do nothing a symptom of depression. The quote, “”What if I slept a bit longer and forgot all this foolishness,” he thought,” shows Gregor’s desire to reside in the comfort in his bed all day instead of going to work. Ms. Niska gave additional evidence to validate her theory by saying Gregor’s sudden dislike of his favorite foods is also a sign of depression. The passage, “it was rather that the milk, which had always been his favorite drink, and which his sister certainly placed here for a reason, didn’t taste good to him at all,” shows Gregor’s lack of interest in something he used to like. If Brooke had not brought up this angle on The Metamorphosis, I never would’ve thought of it. It is an interesting point with quite a bit of evidence to back it up.