Coursework †Metamorphosis Essay Example for Free

Coursework – Metamorphosis Essay Gregor must work at a job he hates to pay off his family’s debts. The family is in debt, but he is the only one who has a job. While he wakes up early and goes on the train until late at night, his father has a leisurely life. Kafka writes, â€Å"for his father breakfast was the most important meal time in the day, which he prolonged for hours by reading various newspapers. † Instead of working, he is eating and reading newspapers for many hours. At this time, Gregor must work to support the whole family. Later, he finds out that the family has enough money to live on for a few years and maybe Gregor did not have to work so hard. Kafka writes, â€Å"with this excess money, he could have paid off more of his father’s debt to his employer and the day on which he could be rid of this position would have been a lot closer. † He is like a servant, and this is not natural for a family member. Changing into the insect is symbolic of being liberated from this life. Since he is now a bug and cannot work, he does not have to be responsible for paying off the family’s debt anymore. Instead, the family has to be responsible. Therefore, the metamorphosis is also symbolic of the family being liberated because they do not depend on Gregor anymore. They depend on themselves for support. After the change, the mother and sister must do the cooking and the family must all get jobs. Once that happens, the family quickly decides that they do not want or need Gregor anymore. They are independent and decide that Gregor is not an important part of the family. Question 2: If the story was set in contemporary America and Gregor was working two jobs, the plot would change in many ways. If he is working two jobs, it is probably because they are barely able to pay the debts. The family would already be working, they would not get new jobs so easily, and there would be no servant girl or lodgers. If Gregor had two jobs, the other family would probably be working too. This would change the plot significantly. If all the family is working, Gregor would not be the only one responsible for the debts. After the metamorphosis, the family would not have enough money. If they are already working and Gregor loses two jobs, the family would be more in debt every day. Also, in the story, the family starts working soon after Gregor is changed to an insect. However, today it is not so simple to get a job like in the story. If the family has to get new jobs, it would take a long time and their debts would be higher. In addition, there would not have been a servant in the story. Kafka writes, â€Å"The servant girl was now let go. A huge bony cleaning woman with white hair flying all over her head came in the morning and evening to do the heaviest work. The mother took care of everything else in addition to her considerable sewing work. † If Gregor was working two jobs, the family would not have a servant girl or cleaning woman. They would not have enough money and the family would do this work themselves. Also, the family gets rent from three lodgers. Today, lodgers are not so common so the family would be forced to find other ways to get money. The story does not say if the rent is a lot of money, but one of the family would have to get another job to replace the rent. Question 3: I researched â€Å"The Metamorphosis† and found two very good resources: 1. The Modern World. 16 Mar. 2007 http://www. themodernword. com/kafka/index. html. This website is a collection of information about Franz Kafka and â€Å"The Metamorphosis. † It has a biography, review of the story, and a collection of other resources like papers, research, and websites. 2. Bloom, Harold, ed. Franz Kafkas the Metamorphosis. New York: Chelsea House, 1988. This is a book with many essays about â€Å"The Metamorphosis. † I read â€Å"Metamorphosis of the Metaphor† by Stanley Corngold and â€Å"From Marx to Myth: The Structure and Function of Self-Alienation in Kafkas Metamorphosis† by Walter H. Sokel. In â€Å"From Marx to Myth: The Structure and Function of Self-Alienation in Kafkas Metamorphosis,† Walter H. Sokel writes Gregor turns into an insect because he has self-contempt. Sokel writes, â€Å"Seeing himself as vermin, and being treated as such by his business and family, the traveling salesman Gregor Samsa literally turns into vermin† (105). I agree with the author when he says vermin represents the way Gregor is treated, but I do not agree that Gregor sees himself this way. Gregor does not like his job, but must go to work to â€Å"pay off my parents’ debt† to his boss. His family uses him because he can make money and pay off the debts. His boss uses him because he can make money for the company. Kafka writes about Gregor, â€Å"He was the boss’s minion, without backbone or intelligence. † He cannot even miss work if he is sick. He certainly is treated like vermin by his family and boss. However, I do not see that Gregor thinks he is vermin until after he turns into an insect. He seems to be proud that he supports his family.

Saving Lancaster :: essays papers

Saving Lancaster There are problems facing people everyday, some worse than others, but none anymore pleasant. We see problems ranging from the environment to crime, gangs, diseases, wars and so many more. William Finnegan saw a major problem arising for the residents of Lancaster, California where he went to find out why two skin head gangs are so prevalent in the area. Parents working low wage jobs for long hours far from home made absent parents a huge problem as well as lack of education greatly due to poor funding. Finding the causes of large social problems helps to discover solutions and get people thinking about problems instead of just accepting them. A solution that would have a large impact on the city would be to use cooperate welfare to bring big business to the area, because it will help create local jobs, a circulation of money, and more money for better educational facilities and teachers. Many people would agree that Cooperate welfare is a problem in it self and are strongly against it. However, it is very common and does serve positive purposes. Cooperate welfare gives tax breaks and other incentives to encourage big businesses to come to a certain area. If the Antelope Valley could get businesses into the over populated city they would be able to provide local jobs for many families. This is important, because many of the parents in the valley are just making enough to get by. Both parents are usually forced to work and a major percentage of these families are single parent households with one income. They end up working long hours at low wages and for that reason are unable to be home for their children. The children begin going elsewhere to look for a place of company after school. Education starts in the home, so already they are losing out on half of the valuable education they need. Funding for schools comes from the government and it's obvious that richer areas have better schools. Cooperate welfare would bring more money to the area which would provide better funding for schools. Once a better educational system is established the schools can work on programs teaching kids about ignorance and racism at an early age. Also, providing sport teams, music classes, and other activities for children to get involved in would help keep more kids in school. Teen boredom seemed to be another major factor driving teens to the gang life. Getting businesses like dance clubs for minors, boys and girls clubs, movie theaters, shopping

Frankenstein Essay Essay

Gothic horror story that captures reader’s attention leaving them with questions of their own morals and of the main characters. The novel arouses questions like, who should be allowed to create life? Is it right to kill for a greater good? Are some secrets best untold? These are all questions of morality and individuals will come up with their own opinions and answers based on their upbringing. In Frankenstein, main characters Victor Frankenstein and ‘The Monster’ are morally put to the test with decisions that will greatly affect their lives. In the end many readers find themselves wondering who are the antagonist and protagonist of the novel; Did Victor do wrong by creating The Monster, or did the Monster do wrong by killing innocent people? In this case both made morally bad decisions but in the end one decision had more of a lasting impact. The Monster’s quest of killing is only justified due to the fact that he was hunting his creator. To begin with this analysis it is necessary to start with Victor because he is the creator of the Monster. Victor’s passion in the field of science led him to his discovery. Victor was a self educated man until the age of 17 when he left his home in Geneva to pursue higher education at the Ingolstadt University. His favorite professor, Mr. Krempe, pushed Victor to broaden his studies to all fields of science and that is when his fascination with life and living objects began. Victor’s obsession with recreating life kept him at the university for over two years studying cadavers and how the body worked. Victor’s motive was not to create a human being that would do his chores for him and take care of him, he hoped his â€Å"present attempts would at least lay the foundation of future success† (Shelley 33). His mind was in the wrong place; he was set on what doors it could open in the field of science but failed to realize the chaos it would create in society. Problems were sure to arise because Victor’s new creation challenged everything people learned in school and religion. God was to have created humans and life on Earth and gave them the ability to recreate naturally, not some young scientist digging graves and putting body parts together. Victor’s second poor moral decision was his reaction to the Monster as it was brought to life. The Monster’s size and proportions were that of something superior to anything, yet Victor could not stand to look at how ugly his creation. He rushed out of his room and did not return the next morning to find out the Monster had fled. In reality Victor was the Monster’s father and there was no mother. Victor’s reaction to first seeing the monster and fleeing it immediately were the first memories the Monster had and this had a lasting effect on him. Not only was the Monster abandoned at birth he was also feared greatly by others, forcing him to live in hiding in the woods. Like Victor the Monster educated himself but in a much more unorthodox way. According to Lawrence Lipking’s, FRANKENSTEIN, the True Story, the Monster sees himself â€Å" In his own eyes, at least, he develops as if nature, not man, had formed him, and rejection by society deforms him† (Lipking 428) . He learned through peeping in on a family that lived in the woods near him. Coincidentally they were also teaching an Arabian to read and write, so the monster observed carefully and learned as well. The Monster now had a sense of language and what this life was about. He left these woods and began a new journey to find his â€Å"unfeeling, heartless creator†¦on [him] only had I any claim for pity and redress, and from [him] I am determined to seek that justice† (Shelley 98). The Monster greatly sought out a companion after his stay in the woods observing the family. Victor stripped him of being raised by a family so it was the Monster’s intention to find Victor and have him create a female companion for him. Victor was still in remorse from his first creation so he had no intentions to bring life to another. This dark secret he kept from everyone was coming back to haunt him and those close to him. The Monster gave him a choice; â€Å"If you consent, neither you nor any other human being shall ever see us again: I will go to the vast wilds of South America,† or the he would continue with his evil, menacing ways and come after Victor’s loved ones (Shelley 104). At first thought Victor obliged because the truths behind the deaths of William and Justine were in jeopardy of being exposed. How far would he let this lie keep building? Well to no surprise Victor makes another poor decision. Instead of granting the Monsters one request for happiness he decides not to create a female monster and returns home to Elizabeth and his father. Victor’s decision to not help the Monster came back to haunt and destroy him. First the Monster went after Henry, Victor’s best friend, and next Elizabeth. The Monster promised him that â€Å"I shall be with you on your wedding night† and he kept that promise (Shelley 120). Victor assumed this meant the Monster was coming that night to kill him but to his surprise the Monster was after Elizabeth and strangled her the night of their union. Shortly after Victor’s father passed away due to the sudden deaths surrounding him and the truth that Victor had finally let out about the beast. It was official Victor had lost everything that was dear to him. The Monster had stripped him of everything he loved and this urged Victor to make his last and fatal decision. His intentions were to head north to the icy and deadly habitat where the Monster took refuge. His new obsession was to find and destroy and what he had created in his first obsession. When most hear the word monster they typically identify them as being the antagonist of the novel. In this case Mary Shelley reverses the roles and makes the Monster the protagonist. Sure he did murder Victor’s entire family, but in a way you can say Victor did the same to the Monster’s family by denying him a spouse and the potential of a family. Lipking describes it perfectly, â€Å"Good people do evil, perhaps because of flaws in character but perhaps an excess built into their virtues† (Lipking 433). People acquire their morals on their upbringing and it is safe to say that the Monster really had no morals. The Monster was abandoned the day he was conceived and did not know anything except what he learned from the family in the woods. The morals he picked up were along the lines of helping others if anything. He first saw the family helping the Arabian learn to read and write, so he learned to lend his helping hand by collecting firewood for the struggling family. Victor Frankenstein makes his first unmoral decision in the novel by taking the role of creating life into his own hands. Second when he abandons the Monster. Third when he hides the truths behind Justine and Williams deaths. Lastly when he denies the one request the Monster had for a mate. Victor did have a proper upbringing but he is the one who struggled with his choices in this novel. From the beginning Victor should not have taken life into his own hands. Part of what is so special about children is the mystery behind them. You never know if the child will get mom’s blonde hair, dad’s brown, or for some reason ends up with red hair. From birth they are a part of you and you can see that as they age and become more like you. Victor cheated the system by trying to create what he wanted out of a child. Sure his creation was superior in size and strength but there was nothing instilled in this monster that resembled its creator in any way, it was hideous and horrifying. Lipking quotes Rousseau’s Emile in his essay, stating â€Å"everything is good as it leaves the hands of the Author of things; everything degenerates in the hands of man† (Lipking 425). This defines the transformation the Monster went through as he started as Victor’s prized possession and ended up as his enemy. The hidden truth was what brought death upon Victor and his family members. If he had accepted his creation for what it looked like he could have been the father figure the Monster needed to stay away from killing. It could have been their own little secret them kept them closer together. Victor failed to realize that â€Å"perhaps the hands of man can better nature. In that case [his] fault was not his ambition but his failure to look on his work and find it good† (Lipking 432). With the size of the Monster and the knowledge Victor possessed they could have changed the world of science and its limits.

The Revolution Of The Revolutionary Revolution - 1195 Words

Hunter Sharp Mon/Wed 2:15 Final Paper There have been revolutions which were dominated by important personalities, creating personalist regimes. Revolutionary leaders including Napoleon Bonaparte, Vladimir Lenin, and Fidel Castro have been both an embodiment of revolutionary ideas and an antithesis to many of the original ideals of their respective revolutions. Napoleon Bonaparte During the French Revolution, the poor and oppressed majority are fighting to get a place in society, and get natural rights regardless of their social class. Napoleon rapidly rose through the ranks of the military and emerges as a leader then Napoleon gains power and becomes an antithesis to the original ideals of the revolution. Some of the laws, orders, and the Napoleonic Code created when Napoleon was emperor of France shows that he did become an antithesis to many of the original ideals of the revolution. Although Napoleon did give the oppressed French some rights, he still went against the original idea of the French Revolution which was to give every Frenchmen their natural rights regardless of their social class or gender. According to the Napoleonic code divorce was made a little easier for women, but they still did not have rights. Girls were also not allowed to go to school, while boys were allowed. Napoleon censored the press from releasing negative articles about him which violated freedom of the press. Napoleon further became an antithesis when he forced Germans to go into the FrenchShow MoreRelatedThe Revolutionary Revolution And The Revolution913 Words   |  4 Pagesnation. First, he believed that only by using a â€Å"triple alliance† of cadres, revolutionary organizations and the arm y, which represented the most significant three parts in the revolution, could China go back to the right track. 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The Islamic Extremist lead by Ayatollah Khomeini wanted to install an Islamic regime inside of Iran that would follow Islamic law. Religious clerics viewed the Shah as not being a positive leader of Iran and wanted him overthrown and the country left as is. Iranians such as the middle class and students wanted to install an IslamicRead MoreThe Revolutionary Revolution And The Mexican Revolution2470 Words   |  10 PagesMexicans in Revolution, 1910-1946: An Introduction, â€Å"The roots of the Revolution reached back to the successful programs of the government of Porfirio Dà ­az and his regime, called the Porfiriato, that governed the republic from 1876 to 1911.†1 Francisco Madero, a representative for the common people and a candidate in the presidential election in 1910, promoted a resistance that opposed the reelection of Diaz. Eventually, the struggle to overthrow Diaz resulted in the Mexican Revolution. 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Like any great revolution, the oppressed will first become awareRead MoreThe Revolutionary War And The American Revolution915 Words   |  4 PagesThe American Revolution was an important turning point in that process as it marked the beginning of the end slavery in the northern states and, by contrast, its intensification in most of the southern states. When I think about how the Revolutionary War affected enslaved African Americans it was quite interesting. After reading the testimony of one the ex slave right around the the time of the Revolutionary War still seemed harsh. Samuel Elliot was born into slavery and was a farmer. When many ofRead MoreMao Zedong : The Revolutionary Revolution1607 Words   |  7 PagesIf you applied the chaos theory to Chinas Revo lution, Mao Zedong would most definitely be the butterfly whose wings set off a series of disasters in China. He assembled the Chinese youth in 1966, to initiate the â€Å"Cultural Revolution† . This revolution was a violent operation eliminating thoughts, customs, old Chinese culture, and habits, removing â€Å"counter-revolutionary† party members, and heightening Mao’s personality cult . In this paper, I will condense evidence collected from books, documents