Tie to a Major Literary Theory – Advertisement

The reason why I picked Romanticism to parallel between the Metamorphosis was because I felt that Gregor was a hidden Romantic. He had a picture of a Woman, and it was extremely important to his sanity that it stay in the room. In example, when his parents started taking all of his furniture out of his room, the most important thing to him was this picture of a woman in a fur coat. He actually went and laid on the wall where the picture was that way they wouldn’t see the picture and take it from him. This was the most important thing to him, and when they actually found out that he had been hiding the picture, they took the picture and he started to loose his touch on sanity. Once he lost this last little glimmer of hope that was Romance and the idea that he might change and turn back to normal to find love, he simply deteriorated and couldn’t continue on.

It would have been fairly simply to just parallel Symbolism with the Metamorphosis because this book was full of hidden symbols and meanings that one has to think about to truly understand. However, I wanted to challenge myself and show that other things can also apply if you search for them.

Demonstration of Impact - Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups of understanding of the importance of human interaction
  • 1 1/3 cups of sadness
  • 3 teaspoons of family betrayal
  • 1/2 cup confusion
  • 1 cup meaning of life
  • 1 teaspoon happiness
  • 2 large organic eggs

Easy Cupcake Recipe Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

Combine understanding of the importance of human interaction, happiness, confusion, and sadness in a large mixing bowl. Add family betrayal, hidden symbols, and meaning of life into bowl. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed.  Scrape side of bowl with a spatula. Don’t worry, the importance of human interaction will be a little lumpy at first, over time it will smooth out and become worked into the batter.

Add organic eggs to the mixture. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape bowl again.  Beat on high speed for 1 minute 30 seconds until well mixed. 

Spoon cupcake batter into paper liners until 1/2 to 2/3 full.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, and without any heartache still attached to it.

Cool 5 minutes in pans to ensure that all of the desired emotions are able to adapt to the temperature and not get lost in the unconscious mind.

Once cupcakes are completely cooled, frost with your favorite frosting, with the recommended frosting including sprinkles to hide the bitter aftertaste of the ending of the story.

Reasons behind my Recipe

I felt that this story was full of underlying symbols, and hidden feelings that Kafka couldn’t necessarily express in real life. That being said, I felt it was important to add a little bit of confusion in the recipe because if one didn’t have more knowledge about Kafka, they wouldn’t understand certain aspects of the novel.

Family betrayal was a huge part of this book, and after reading it showed me that even though they are your family, sometimes they can turn on you and completely abandon you. With that in mind, after reading this book it left me with a sense of sadness, thus adding sadness into the recipe. However, in any good cupcake recipe they always have opposing ingredients, such as sugar and salt, and thus happiness had to be placed in the ingredients list as well to balance out the sadness. The Metamorphosis did have some happy parts, such being when his sister took care of him and provided for him. 

The main ‘ingredient’ of this book that truly changed me, however, was the understanding of the importance of human interaction on the human mind. One never really has to think about such things as the lack of interaction, because from the time we are born we interact with everyone around us. Gregor obviously was raised the same way as us, but became isolated in his own house and hadn’t interacted with anyone in over 2 months. In such a short amount of time, Gregor was already feeling depressed and extremely saddened by his predicament and started to crave any human interaction at all. After a while, he became unsure of which interactions were appropriate and started to become a ‘burden’ to his family because he lost all of his human traits.

The ending of the story also made me bitter towards it, because I felt that it was a horrible way to end a story of isolation. The way Gregor died was horrible, and how quickly the family moved on left a bitter taste in my mouth, thus the need for sprinkles. 

Applicability Analysis - WORDLE

For this certain project, we were asked to find a current event that happened recently and show how it tied in with The Metamorphosis, and the story I found was about isolated tribes in Brazil, with one lone man in particular as the last of his tribe.

Language Analysis - Cartoon Strip

Language was extremely important in The Metamorphosis, because once the family couldn't understand Gregor anymore, they started to go crazy and hated his existence. 

Theme Analysis - Myth

This myth directly correlates with The Metamorphosis because it strives to describe the idea of man’s isolation, a major theme in the story, and explain why as humans we are not supposed to be alone. Other myths might describe how a zebra got their stripes, but this myth was created to explain the isolation of humans and the effects that it has on that person, and why it should be avoided at all costs.

“Mama, what happens to people when they don’t have any friends?”

“Well, darling, let me tell you a story that my mother told me when i was young...

...Once upon a time, there was an old man.

This old man had only one friend with whom he loved dearly,

 it being a tree he had taken care of his whole life.

One day, an evil wood-chipper cut down his beloved tree.

This poor old man sobbed over his tree for weeks,

until all of his tears dried up and he couldn’t make anymore.

This poor man had lost the only thing he cared about, 

and was entirely alone.

His life was meaningless, 

he simply walked around outside talking to himself 

because there was no one there to listen anymore.

After some time, 

he lost all of his touch on reality and began sliding into insanity.

Nobody, of course, was there to witness his transformation,

or help him get out of it.

He was completely and utterly lost.

His heart was so full of sadness because of the loneliness

that this poor man endured, 

that he simply died one day of never having anyone to talk to.

He died of a broken, lonely heart...

and that, my dear, is why humans must have friends, because we are

social creatures who simply cannot live without interaction

among friends, neighbors, and sometimes enemies. 

Once we lose that interaction, our mind starts to lost

base with reality. 

We begin to forget who we are. 

So, by never having any friends, that’s where crazy, sad people come from.

You must always try and be kind to everyone, even if you don’t 

necessarily like them.”

“As long as I have friends, I won’t go crazy, right?”

“No, sweetheart. It’s just a story to help describe what happens to lonely people.”

Symbolism Demonstration - Coat of Arms

This Coat of Arms has six symbols that I felt were directly correlated or shown in The Metamorphosis. The picture below is the description of each symbol, and what they mean in the book.

Conflict Demonstration - Short Story

This is an alternate sequel to The Metamorphosis that I wrote, to show the conflict and how it could have been changed.

~*~

        “Gregor hasn’t been getting any better.. if anything his body is deteriorating,” came the muffled whisper from the closed door. His family was having a discussion after dinner, as became custom since Gregor’s sudden transformation. 

“What can we do about it? The doctor ran away, and I’ve certainly lost all hope for any miracle,” came the even quieter voice of his mother. Gregor sighed, a deep, mournful sigh that said everything he couldn’t with his inhuman vocal cords.

“What was that?!” cried his sister Grete, “I’m tired of him making those God-awful noises! I can’t take it anymore!”

“Be quiet, and snap out of it! If you’d help me find a solution we won’t have to worry about noises, and my poor Gregor would be back to normal.” Mrs. Samsa scolded her daughter.

After some bickering, and an overwhelming amount of frustration, Gregor’s usually obnoxiously boisterous father finally spoke up.

“I’ve got an idea,” Mr. Samsa started, “but it’ll mean going to an unlikely source for help. And, honestly, theres no guarantee that it won’t kill him.”

“It doesn’t matter, we have to try everything. It doesn’t matter the risk....”

Gregor, disgusted with his family and having heard enough, crawled away from his bedroom door and found solitude under his couch, instantly passing out into a deep, dreamless sleep.  

*~*~*

Grete rushed into the Gypsy shop that was located in the middle of the ghetto in Prague. Having already been frightened by some figures standing near a dark alley a couple blocks down, Grete welcomed the eerie shop. It smelled faintly of incense, with it’s whole back wall being shelves that was shared equally between books and countless vials filled with strange liquids. 

“Hello...?” she quietly said, suddenly feeling very out of place in this strange shop.

“Welcome. How may I be of service?” Came a smooth voice from behind her.

Startled, Grete whirled around and her hand flew to her heart. “Ohh!” She shrieked, “You scared me.”

“I’m sorry,” said a young man, seated at a circular table in the corner of the shop. Repeating his previous question, Grete remembered her purpose and walked towards him.

Moving closer to the strange man, she lowered her voice and asked, “Actually, this may sound silly, but my family and I have no other option. There’s a rumor that Gypsies are able to make potions to heal any kind of illness--is this true?”

The strange, yet strikingly attractive man only smiled for an answer. 

“Um... well, if that’s the case I really need your help. I’ll pay whatever price.” said Grete.

“In order for me to help you, don’t you think it’d be wise to tell me what the person is suffering from?” the Gypsy man told Grete.

“Oh, right. Well, to be frank, my brother has turned into a giant beetle. It happened about a month ago....”

“Ah, I see. No more, I don’t need to know anymore,” said the strange man as he began making his way towards the bookshelf in the back of the room. “It should be in this book,” he mumbled to himself as he began thumbing through the pages. Half-way through, he stopped on a page and almost immediately started pulling vials off the shelves. 

“Here it is,” he said as he was reaching for a vial on the top shelf, “there’s about a  fifty percent chance that this will completely cure the little ‘problem’ that your brother has. But, I warn you, if it doesn’t work he will die... I don’t know if you are willing to take that chance.”

Not even in a span of a second, Grete replied, “It doesn’t matter the cost. We can’t take it anymore, whether he lives or not. One way or the other, there has to be a change.”

Taken aback at her quick reply, the handsome Gypsy only shook his head and continued to mix different vials together for Gregor’s remedy. 

*~*~*

       “Mother! Where are you?!” yelled Grete as she slammed the front door to their apartment closed with her foot. Holding the gypsies remedy in a paper bag with both hands, she ran to the dining room and placed in on the table.

Looking up from her sewing, Mrs. Samsa gave her daughter a quizzical look. Mr. Samsa was fast asleep in the rocking chair, but was startled at the slamming door. “What’s all the commotion?” he grumbled.

“Is that what I think it is? They actually could make a cure for Gregor?” Mrs. Samsa asked skeptically, while putting her sewing needle down. “Jim, come and look.”

A loud complaint from the chair and a grunt later, Mr. Samsa was standing next to his daughter and wife, looking at the brown paper bag in the middle of the table.

“The Gypsy said that there’s a fifty percent chance this will cure Gregor.” Grete said as her mother caught her eye.

“We have to try,” said Mr. Samsa. Puffing out his chest and standing erect, his voice put on a tone of authority as he told the family that the cost didn’t matter, even if it meant taking Gregor’s life in the process.

“I agree, Father. I’m tired of this.”

“Gregor isn’t going to willingly take it,” came the families delicate logical member, “we’ll have to entice him into it.”

“Cheese! He can’t resist cheese! How about we pour the potion in a bowl, and let the cheese float on top of it. There’s no way he won’t eat it.” Grete excitedly said, as she  started going towards the kitchen. 

Mr. and Mrs. Samsa shared a look that said everything they couldn’t, Mrs. Samsa’s eyes full of worry, while her husbands were nonchalant. 

“Whatever happens, Elizabeth, it’ll be okay.” Mr. Samsa said to his wife in an inconsiderate tone. “If he dies, it’s for the better. I don’t want a dung beetle for a son. He’s an abomination.”

A crash from the kitchen broke their tension, and Grete called out to her mother.

“Mom, you know the vase you got last Christmas?” 

Mrs. Samsa sighed, already knowing what happened. “Just forget it Grete, hurry up with the cheese and bowl.”

Coming through the kitchens swinging door with her hands full of different sized bowls, Grete laid them all on the table. “Take your pick.”

“Let’s just get this over with already,” Mr. Samsa grumbled as he reached for a random bowl, giving it to his wife.

“Okay, now.. All Gregor has to do is drink some of it. I’ve got the cheese,” Grete said as she placed it in a bowl, “give me the potion.”

Taking it out of the paper bag, Mrs. Samsa helped her daughter pour it so the cheese was on top. Smiling to herself, and wishing for the best, she comforted her mother with a hug, and started towards Gregor’s room.

*~*~*

The next morning, the eyes that opened were no longer a flat black bug-eye, but striking blue eyes welling up with tears at the realization that he was no longer a beetle, but was freed from the horrible prison that he was trapped in for the past month. 

“Everythings okay now.” he whispered to himself as a tear made a trail down his face, drying up just before reaching his smile. 

Setting Demonstration – Travel Brochure

This is a travel brochure for Prague, which is most likely where The Metamorphosis was set.

Author Information - Eulogy

“”I need solitude for my writing; not like a ‘hermit’ - that wouldn’t be enough - but like a dead man.” 


       One word that could never not be attributed to Kafka is ‘dedication’. He lived, breathed, and believed in writing... and did everything to fulfill his destiny that was his words.

Posthumously becoming popular for his writings, he never got to see the appreciation that countless people have for him. Having died early, He never got to experience life as an accomplished author. Throughout his whole life, he worked other jobs in order to pay his bills and allowing him to nurture his writing habits. He quit his job in 1908 at an insurance company, because he felt that he wasn’t getting enough time to write. But, as everyone knows. one needs money to live. Kafka quickly found another job at an accident insurance institute, to which he became a diligent worker that was extremely capable, even though he claimed to hate the job.

Sadly, his family life didn’t hold much more of a draw to him than his job. He was born into a middle-class German-speaking Jewish family, with his father being Hermann and his mother Julie. His father was a boisterous, loud, obnoxious man who completely fulfilled the ‘Kafka’ name in Franz’s eyes. Their family had many misfortunes with children, however, for two of their youngest boys died in early life, leaving Franz the eldest of three sisters. As the oldest, he was personally responsible for helping the countless nannies and governesses that the family employed.

Kafka helped as much as he could, but getting an education was important to him and his family. He was fluent in Czech, although he never wrote in it, but instead chose to stick with his native German. He attended various German schools throughout his educational career, but chose to not further his Jewish education. He completely despised going to the synagogue, and hated having a Bar Mitzvah once he became of age. Completing his exams in 1901, he continued on to the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague with the intent to study Chemistry, but then switching to law after two weeks. He became close to some colleagues there, including Max Brod who would become a lifelong friend to Kafka. Sticking with law, he received his degree of Doctor of Law on June 18th, 1906.

After all of his education was over, he was fully dedicated to his writing. However, in 1912, he met Felice Bauer and began a five year on-again off-again relationship with her, with them almost getting married twice. Kafka finally broke it off, and a few years later had a string of other women he went with. Throughout his different romances, around the mid 1920’s, he discovered he had tuberculosis. He moved back home for more treatment but ended up dying of starvation on June 3rd, 1924 in austria at the age of 40. 

Once he died, he gave all of his books and personal writings to his friend Max Brod, with specific instructions to destroy them. Brod, however, had other plans. He was given over 20 notebooks, original book manuscripts, and 35 letters Kafka had written in his lifetime. Most of his writings weren’t finished, as well as his book ‘The Castle’. Brod took the liberty to finish these for him.

Kafka will be forever idealized as an amazing writer, however he had many little quirks that were not very known. He was thought to suffer from a schizoid personality disorder, which is an extremely rare trait to be found in authors. This, they believe, is attributed to some of his rather off-the-wall and eerily bizarre ideas that are prevalent in certain aspects of his books. His writing was exceptionally unique, and will forever be etched in history as one of the greatest literary minds.

Character Demonstration – Facebook Profiles

This is a character demonstration of two of the main characters from The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa and his sister, Grete.
Grete's Facebook Profile

Gregor's Facebook Profile