My Plan of Action

1)              Read the book!

Firstly, one must read the book. While reading the stranger I annotated and took notes. I especially looked for ties to the themes of existentialism, as well as ties to the other novels we have read this semester. I found certain correlations between the protagonist of the Stranger and the protagonist of Metamorphosis, as well as ties between the protagonists of the Stranger and Hunger. For example, Gregor and Meursault seem to follow similar paths of self-discovery. They both have interesting relationships with the sky (setting/weather) and food (hunger).

2)              Have a group discussion!

Next, it is important to get other people’s opinions on the novel. In doing so, one can broaden their view on the prominent themes and connections to other books. Reading other’s blogs is also a helpful tactic to understanding the underlying concepts of the novel. For example, after the discussion on the stranger we found several prominent themes, motifs, and symbols.

·       Heat and sun

·       Irrationality versus Rationality

·       The sky

·       The water/Marie

·       Raymond and his dog

After this group discussion, it is good to go back through the book, for many times I notice these motifs in other parts of the book that I never realized while reading it the first time. Although I can only thoroughly read the book once, I still go back and skim parts that I feel were important.

3)              Ponder!

After going through the novel again, I have a clear idea of which aspects stand out, and which ones interest me. I was particularly interested in the comparative aspects of the Stranger and Metamorphosis, due to the fact that both of these novels dote upon the concepts of absurdity. After deciding to do a comparative essay, I have to narrow it down to something more specific.

·       Comparing Kafka’s and Camus’s use of absurdity

·       Comparing the use of setting in Metamorphosis and the Stranger

·       Etc.

4)              Dig Deeper!

Now that I have somewhat of an idea of what I want to do, I must dig deeper. This means looking for textual evidence of these correlations between the two novels. Here is where some additional research would help. Secondary sources such as the essay on the close reading of the Metamorphosis, or essays on existentialism would help here. Once I have found which comparison I want to focus on, I normally type out the quotations from the novels I would use in my essay, as well as the quotations from secondary sources. Now I have my main focus, and textual evidence.

5)              Formulate a thesis and write an introduction!

From here I can formulate a thesis. I would know whether or not it is a good thesis if it addresses a specific aspect of the novel(s) and it’s effect. Since it is a comparative essay it would look something like this:

·       Both Kafka and Camus use concepts of the absurd in their novels Metamorphosis and The Stranger to _________.

·       The use of hunger to portray the protagonists’ emotions is similar in Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Camus’s The Stranger

·       Etc.

Since this is an interpretive and opinionated essay, the consideration of counter arguments is not important. I am not trying to prove a point with this essay; I am just trying to portray a different point of view on the correlation between the two novels. In my introduction I will have basically outlined my essay. This shouldn’t be too hard since I already have my main concepts and textual evidence. From here I will proofread my introduction until it is perfect. I cannot start my essay without a perfect introduction.

6)              Ready, Set, Write!

Now that I have my proofread introduction and textual evidence, I can begin to write my essay. I like to write the rest of my essay in one sitting, so that my thoughts are not interrupted. Once I finish writing, I have my rough draft!

7)              Edit!

From here all I have left to do is edit. I will first edit my essay myself, looking at context and grammar/syntax. After I have edited my essay, I will get 2 or more people to look at it, and ask them for their comments. I will take their suggestions and edit my essay once more. I also find it helps to read my essay out loud to see if I like it or not. Once I have edited my essay, and read it out loud (and liked the way it sounded), I have my final product! If I have time before the due date, I normally give my essay a break and read it over a couple days later. This allows me to look at it with fresh eyes. 

Kafkaesque

Kafkaesque |käfkəesk|

adjective

-characteristic or reminiscent of the oppressive or nightmarish qualities of Franz Kafka's fictional world.

(New Oxford American Dictionary)

In his stories Metamorphosis and The Hunger Artist, Kafka expresses a style of writing, one that can only be described as ‘Kafkaesque’. This term is used to describe his unique style of writing, which is applicable not only to the literary world, but also to the cinematographic world, as depicted by the movie Kafka. His word consists of a collaboration of the absurd, irony, mundane, surreal, and dark humor. With the collaboration of these unique elements, Kafka is able to bring this ‘nightmarish’ quality to his work.

The most prevalent quality of his work is the use of ironic absurdity. The idealism of existentialism is portrayed in all of Kafka’s work that we have studied. Especially in the Metamorphosis, the ironic absurdity is prevalent, for even though what may seem to be the most absurd is the metamorphosis of Gregor into a bug, it is actually his family’s behavior that is absurd. The wrong assumption of what is absurd is what brings upon this irony, for what is absurd is not what one would expect it to be. Likewise in The Hunger Artist, we are again under the assumption that the act of starving oneself to death is what is absurd, however, the absurdity is again misplaced, for it is the viewers that are absurd. It is the hunger artist that has built his own cage, and it is society that remains ignorant. The use of the absurd to create irony is also depicted in the movie Kafka. In the midst of this complex plot, the absurd is not what one would expect it to be. As Nina discussed in her blog (http://3nina.wordpress.com/), the irony in Kafka comes into play at the end of the film, for as soon as he reaches realization, he begins to die. I quite liked her interpretation that these similar deaths of the three main protagonists (Gregor, the hunger artist, and Kafka) were not ironic, but in fact trying to prove an existentialist theory. Only when these characters reached realization, were they finally set free, and hence were able to die. From her point of view, each of their deaths holds a sense of freedom rather than a sense of irony, which seems to correlate with many existentialist ideals.

Kafka also uses the concept of the mundane to add to this irony. The absurdity of the mundane is portrayed in his work, giving a sense of irony. When comparing Metamorphosis and Kafka, one can see the use of the mundane to portray this absurd irony. In Metamorphosis, although Gregor has undergone a massive change, his family continues as if nothing has happened. One would expect a family’s reaction to be much more severe, but life goes on as always. Likewise, at the end of the novel, more irony is presented when the parents are about to make the same mistake with Grette as they did with Gregor. This repetition shows that they learnt nothing from the entire situation, and that nothing has changed. Likewise, in Kafka, after a long, complicated, and scary plot, everything returns to normal. As Kafka’s boss said “Why should today be any different?” This concept of the mundane also creates a paradoxical irony in comparison to the prevalent surrealistic characteristics of Kafka’s work. The fact that the absurd consists of the mundane elements, and not the surreal elements, adds to this underlying sense of irony that establishes this ‘Kafkaesque’ nature.

The combination of the absurd, irony, mundane, and surreal form a dark humor that is Kafkaesque. I only came to the realization of this dark humor during the movie when the crazy man was running around screaming. Although this was supposed to be ‘nightmarish’, I could not help but laughing, because the scene was just so ridiculous. This concept is expressed in the article ‘Laughing with Kafka’. I realized that the humor of Kafka was not witty jokes, but instead a humor brought with the absurd. The combination of the surreal and the mundane, incorporated with this irony and absurd, brings a sense of humor, for it is hard for one to not find certain things absolutely ridiculous. It is not the type of comical relief that most people look for, but it is certainly a dark sense of humor, brought upon by these absurd and surreal elements.

Although Kafka’s work deals with complex and futuristic elements, it is not those that give his word this Kafkaesque nature. It is his correlation between the real and the surreal that brings upon this nature. This is expressed in Kafka. Although the main plot is associated with scary and complex scientific experiments, ideas of class and politics are also incorporated into the plot. This is because these aspects were very important in Kafka’s life. These issues of class and politics are what bring the real element to Kafka’s work, which then brings a sense of irony in contrast to the surreal elements of his work. Kafkaesque essentially is the correlation of the real and the surreal, to portray a message regarding the absurdity of human nature. 

Formal Interpretation of a Passage

This following paragraph is an interpretation of a passage from The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (pg 77-78). 

Before:

Throughout this passage Kafka uses very distinguished and diplomatic language to portray Gregor’s thoughts and emotions. Through this diplomatic and optimistic language, the reader can get a sense of the kind of person Gregor is. Although he notices the sings of injustice in this family, he chooses to ignore them and take them in his stride. He notices that he is not appreciated, but instead of making a big scene and discussing how he is not appreciated, he merely mentions it with a false nonchalance, using diplomatic adjectives and verbs. This diplomatic language seems to portray Gregor’s attempt at synthesized happiness. Since the reader gets all their information from Gregor’s point of view, their view of the situation is obstructed by this obscure language. Due to the fact that this narrative is from Gregor’s point of view, and there is no need to be diplomatic in one’s own mind, it portrays an aspect of Gregor’s personality. It demonstrates how he is relatively submissive, and does not stand up for what he wants, which is an important aspect of this story’s progression.


After:

Gregor desperately tries to impress his family, and strides to remain indifferent when he does not receive the appreciation he wants. Although he speaks of his issues very diplomatically, his language portrays the underlying frustration he feels for his family.  By using this diplomatic language, Kafka portrays Gregor’s submissive nature, an important aspect in this story.

“He had been of the opinion that nothing at all was left over from his fathers business, at least his father had never said anything to the contrary, and of course he had not asked him directly. At that time Gregor’s sole desire was to do his utmost to help the family to forget as soon as possible the catastrophe that had overwhelmed the business and thrown them all into a state of complete despair.”

The language used here portrays Gregor’s compliance. The variation between the language used and the underlying message itself shows this submission.  When discussing their financial matters, he says, “of course he had not asked him directly”. This holds some irony, for the father is treated as the patriarch when in fact it is Gregor who is bringing home the money. Although he makes no complaints, he proceeds to discuss how it was his “soul desire” to save his family from this “despair”, which turned out to be not as severe as he had thought. He said had worked with “unusual ardor” to save his family from poverty, even though their situation was not that bad. In this language, Gregor seems to be justifying his actions, and convincing himself otherwise of the injustice in his father’s stealth when dealing with the family’s (more like Gregor’s) money. Such avidity shows how Gregor is extremely willing to please, especially to gain the “sense of glory” from his family. Moreover, he continues to explain his disappointments in the same diplomatic tone of voice, almost holding a tinge of bitterness. Although his hard earn money was “gratefully accepted” and “gladly given”, he does not cease to mention the lack of that “special outpouring of warm feeling”. In this, the reader can get a sense of Gregor’s disappointment, which he is unwilling to voice. His meekness is again portrayed when talking about his sister. He speaks very passionately about sending her to the Conservatory, however he still feels it is “merely” a dream, for his parents shot down “even these innocent references to it”. Although he had made up his mind to tell his parents, he planned to speak to them about it with “due solemnity” rather than tough persistence. This diplomatic language portrays the distinction between what Gregor says and what he really wants to say. He has his own opinions, he is just afraid to voice them.  Gregor’s compliant nature is a key aspect of this story, for his obedience takes him to the point of being a sacrificial martyr. 

His Happy Makes Me Sad

After reading the very peculiar story The Metamorphosis (Part 1) by Franz Kafka, I tried to grasp the existentialist message of the story. What really stood out to me was Gregor’s heartbreaking optimism. Since it is written from Gregor’s point of view, the reader can see what a truly genuine and caring man he is. He has sacrificed his whole life for the benefit of his unappreciative family. From the way Kafka describes him, he seems like such a sweet man. It is apparent that his family is aware of his sweet nature, and is prepared to take advantage of that. His optimism toward life can be seen as synthesized happiness; however, when reading this story I found it completely heartbreaking.

“Oh God, he thought, what an exhausting job I’ve picked out for myself! On the road day in, day out” (pg 54). What I find ironic here is that he has not picked out this job. He is being forced to work at this job, due to the debt his father owns his boss. This statement first off shows a slight sense of optimism, and also a self-induced belief. Although he is being forced to work at this job, in thinking that he was the one that made this choice, he is able to synthesize happiness. After complaining about his hardships of his job he says, “Anyhow, that might be quite a good thing for me, who can tell?”(p 54). Again, this melancholy optimism may suggest a synthesized happiness, but it just seems like Gregor is forcing himself to believe a lie.

“Yet at any rate people now believed that something was wrong with him, and were ready to help. The positive certainty with which these first measures had been taken comforted him” (pg 64). Gregor is a bug. He has just been fired. His boss has just lectured him on his irresponsibility. People cannot understand him when he speaks. Yet, he feels happy that his family is showing some sign of love. It is quite sad that his family only starts to care when the chief clerk comes to fire him, and his voice sounds like an animal. Being the patriarch of the family, his parents should have begun to worry about him at about quarter to seven, when they could not understand him and he wasn’t leaving his room. Here is another example of Gregor’s heartbreaking optimism. The fact that he gains happiness, whether it is natural or synthesized, from such a small act of kindness, is truly upsetting.

“They should all have shouted encouragement to him…and in the belief that they were all following his efforts intently, he bit down frantically on the key with all the force at his command” (pg 65). This out of all statements, I found to be the most depressing. First of all, he felt content merely because the chief clerk noticed he was making an effort to turn the key. He felt that this was great encouragement. This is a perfect example of Gregor’s synthesized happiness. He gained a little bit of encouragement, but he had to convince himself that his entire family was encouraging him as well, in order to gain the strength to turn the key. He was well aware that they were not encouraging him, and he wished they would, but he was still optimistic about the situation.

Such instances portray Gregor’s humble character. He is in need of the love that he deserves, but he never seems to receive it. Most people would wallow about the fact that they are not receiving the love they deserve, but Gregor on the other hand displays naïve optimism. He knows that his family does not care, but he tries to convince himself that they do, in order to achieve synthesized happiness. Whether or not Gregor is truly content with these small acts of kindness, we will never know, but his constant optimism in tough situations is truly heartbreaking for the reader.