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KIM WOODS
We Real Cool
Gwendolyn Brooks, 1917 - 2000
THE POOL PLAYERS. SEVEN AT THE GOLDEN SHOVEL.We real cool. WeLeft school. WeLurk late. WeStrike straight. WeSing sin. WeThin gin. WeJazz June. WeDie soon.About the Poem
Forms
Rhyming
Quatrains
Themes
Drink
Dance
Fathers
Sons
About the poet
Theodore Roethke (1908-1963) was an innovator, both in subject matter and form, writing in the...
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Faber and Faber
Library of America
My Papa's Waltz
My Papa's Waltz
The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy.
We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself.
The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle.
You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt.
'My Papa's Waltz', copyright 1942 by Heast Magazines, Inc. by Theodore Roethke from The Collected Poems of Theodore Roethke (Doubleday, 1966/ Faber, 1968), used by permission of the publisher, Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. The recording was made in the 1950s at the YMHA Poetry Center, New York, NY, and is used by permission of the Library of Congress, Washington DC, and is used with permission of the Library of Congress.
About the Poem
Forms
Rhyming
Quatrains
Themes
Drink
Dance
Fathers
Sons
Discussion 1 week 3 ENG 125 Introduction to Literature
Running head: SAMSA’S ALIENATION 1
Samsa’s Alienation in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis
Sample Student
English 125: Introduction to Literature
Professor Smith
Month and date, year
SAMSA’S ALIENATION 2
Samsa’s Alienation in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis
One would normally think of the home and family as a sanctuary; however, the opposite
is true for Gregor Samsa in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Instead of receiving love from
his parents and sister, Gregor is outcast. His transformation into a vermin is a physical
manifestation of his already alienated state and demonstrates how the family viewed him as a
commodity instead of a son or brother that they loved. By analyzing Gregor’s room, his
relationships with others, and his own internal dialogue, one can see that Gregor, in fact, did not
transform at all.
Various aspects of the room in which Gregor lives illustrate that his life is not that of a
human engaging with the world. His room is described a “proper human room” (Kafka 1915).
The addition of the qualifier “human” is an example of verbal irony; Gregor has already
morphed into a creature at this point. The room is also “small” and mention is made of the “four
walls” (Kafka, 1915). Though many rooms are small and have four walls, the highlighted of this
fact by the narrator evokes a sense of enclosure or imprisonment.
The furnishings of the room (or lack thereof) support Gregor’s disengagement with
human connection. Nothing is related of photos of family or friends, and the room seems empty,
save for his bed and a few other items. We read that “textile samples lay spread out on the
table” (Kafka, 1915), thus informing us that Gregor, who works as a salesman, takes his work
home with him. The only picture Gregor does have in his room is one of a woman that he cut
out and framed (Kafka, 1915), thus suggesting he finds more interest in the image of a stranger
than with that of any person in his life. Save for some furniture, a table covered with work, and
an image of a stranger on the wall, Gregor’s room is empty and resembles a prison cell more
than it does that of a human being connected with the world.
Author
Comment [1]: Include a brief yet
meaningful one- to two-sentence lead-in.
Author
Comment [2]: The thesis presents a claim
founded on analysis and directly responds
to the prompt.
Author
Comment [3]: This “essay map” presents
the three supporting points in the order in
which they will be addressed.
Author
Comment [4]: Body paragraphs should
begin with a topic sentence that also relates
to the thesis.
Author
Comment [5]: The body paragraph
should contain specific textual evidence and
an explanation of how the evidence
illustrates the paragraph’s main point.
Author
Comment [6]: This topic sentence
continues the discussion in the previous
paragraph yet still offers the focus of this
one.
Author
Comment [7]: Note that quotations are
smoothly integrated into the discussion.
Author
Comment [8]: Proper APA in-text
citations should be included whenever
referring to a text.
SAMSA’S ALIENATION 3
One more item in the room that supports Samsa’s involvement in his work and alienation
from the world is that of the alarm clock which serves to symbolize the control that his job has in
his life. Despite being transformed into a bug, Gregor is more worried about missing work than
he is about his physical state. Brooding about how he would like to quit his job after paying
about his parents’ debt while tossing and turning in bed, he says to himself, “First of all though,
I’ve got to get up, my train leaves at five” (Kafka, 1915). Then, an entire paragraph is devoted to
Gregor’s worrying about missing his train and wondering if he had slept through the alarm.
Gregor then wonders how he will deal with the repercussions with his boss who would certainly
be angry with him for missing work. Gregor’s worries are supported when the chief clerk does
stop by the apartment wondering why he did not appear at work (Kafka, 1915). Sokel (1983)
notes that Gregor is further alienated from the products as his labor, as he does not even enjoy
the money he earns but gives it to his family. He explains, “Gregor’s sole reason for enduring
the hated position, the need to pay his parents’ ‘debt’ to his boss, drastically highlights the
doubly extrinsic purpose of Gregor’s work. For not only is his labor alien to his true desires, but
its…salary or commission that it affords him—does not even belong to him” (p. 487). Gregor’s
room and everything in it tell the story of his life: he sleeps, he works, and he has no connection
to other humans.
Gregor’s relationships with others also reveal his alienation and role as a commodity, not
a person. The interaction with the chief clerk at the office makes it clear the Gregor is valued
simply for his ability to make the company money. As already mentioned, the clerk at Gregor’s
office soon came by the family apartment to check on Gregor’s whereabouts. The description of
the visit makes it clear that the clerk was not at the home to inquire about Gregor’s welfare but to
reprimand him for not being at work. When Gregor did not respond to the family’s questions
Author
Comment [9]: The discussion
demonstrates an application of the literary
elements discussed in the textbook.
Author
Comment [10]: Note that secondary
material is used sparingly. It is to support
your own original argument.
Author
Comment [11]: Transitional language is
included in this topic sentence to signal the
move to the second point in the essay map.
SAMSA’S ALIENATION 4
(because he was physically unable to do so), “[t]he chief clerk now raised his voice, ‘Mr.
Samsa,’…You barricade yourself in your room...you are causing serious and unnecessary
concern to your parents and… you fail to carry out your business duties in a way that is quite
unheard of” (Kafka, 1915). When Gregor does finally respond (in a way incomprehensible to
all), they assume he is mocking them instead of trying to explain his predicament (Kafka, 1915).
The clerk is quick to fire Gregor, thus suggesting that Gregor is a commodity that can be easily
replaced.
The chief clerk is not the only person who views Gregor as a commodity; Gregor’s own
family sees him as a means to their own end and as something that is useless when it is no longer
able to make money. Early in the novella, Gregor thinks about the fact that Gregor was working
to pay off his parents’ debt and would need to work “another five or six years” to do so (Kafka,
1915). One would think that in such a situation that the rest of the family was incapable of
working, but this is not true, as the family soon finds other means of income upon Gregor’s
inability to work.
Perhaps the most telling scene of the family’s view of Gregor occurs at the very end of
section I when Gregor rushes out of his room in an effort to reach out to the clerk and save his
job. Though one might understand confusion on their part, Gregor’s family, in particular his
father, shun him and react violently. Upon seeing Gregor, his father “seized the chief clerk's
stick in his right hand…, picked up a large newspaper from the table with his left, and used them
to drive Gregor back into his room, stamping his foot at him as he went” (Kafka, 1915). The
father then started “making hissing noises at [Gregor] like a wild man” (Kafka, 1915). Clearly,
Gregor’s father sees Gregor not as a son but as an enemy. This is ultimately illustrated when he
shoves Gregor into his room, injuring him. After the scene calms, “For two whole days, all the
Author
Comment [12]: Brackets may be used to
make small modifications in a quotation in
order to retain correct grammar.
Author
Comment [13]: The discussion here and
throughout this paper does not simply retell
the story. Rather, the focus is on presenting
an argument. Specific details are included
to support claims.
Author
Comment [14]: Note the pattern in this
and all body paragraphs: introduce main
idea. Offer textual evidence and
commentary. Offer another point or two of
textual evidence, including commentary
after each.
SAMSA’S ALIENATION 5
talk at every mealtime was about what they should do now” (Kafka, 1915), leading one to
believe such talk was about how the family would provide for themselves, not how they would
care for Gregor. There is no care or concern demonstrated to Gregor by his father or anyone, for
that matter; rather, his father exemplifies the fact that the family only cared about Gregor when
he was useful to them. Now that he is not of use, he is simply a burden. Ryan (2007) makes
note of additional significance of Gregor’s role that is lost in translation. He explains that a term
used to refer to Gregor in the story’s original German was “Ungeziefer,” a word that has a
history of connotations varying from “unclean animal,” to “louse,” to “cockroach” and other
such undesirable creatures (p. 11). Regardless of the translation, it is clear that Gregor is simply
not wanted.
Sadly, Gregor’s own internal dialogue parallels how his family talks to and about him. In
fact, one might say that he has internalized the voices of his family and the clerk. One example
of this includes his reaction upon realizing he was an insect. As mentioned earlier, Gregor was
not concerned about finding a way to get his human body back; rather, he was concerned about
whether or not he was late to work. Even after the clerk’s visit, Gregor is keen on finding a way
to get to work: “If, however, they took everything calmly he would still have no reason to be
upset, and if he hurried he really could be at the station for eight o’clock” (Kafka, 1915). Gregor
plans for the family’s future even though they do not; in fact, they take for granted that they will
be provided for and “had so much to worry about at present that they had lost sight of any
thought for the future. Gregor, though, did think about the future” (Kafka 1915). Though one
might first think it is good of Gregor to work so hard for his family, Gregor has completely lost
his own identity in doing so. He simply sees himself as a means to their welfare, just as they do.
Author
Comment [15]: This topic sentence
introduces the third and final point
mentioned in the essay map.
SAMSA’S ALIENATION 6
Ironically, it is after Gregor morphs into an insect (or “un-thing,” as would be a closer
translation of the novella’s German title), that Gregor begins to demonstrate more human
qualities. One early example of this occurs near the end of the first section as the chief clerk is
about to leave. After rushing out of his room in an effort to appease the clerk, Gregor sees his
mother look at him and briefly forgets about the one thing that had previously consumed his
entire life: “’Mother, Mother,’ said Gregor gently, looking up at her. He had completely
forgotten the chief clerk for the moment…” (Kafka, 1915). As the story progresses, we read less
and less of Gregor worrying about his job and more about him thinking of his own emotions.
Reflecting upon his sister’s efforts to leave him food, Gregor wishes he were able to share his
gratitude with her. The narrator laments, “If Gregor had only been able to speak to his sister and
thank her for all that she had to do for him it would have been easier for him to bear it; but as it
was it caused him pain” (Kafka, 1915). This Gregor is quite different from the work-obsessed
Gregor at the beginning of the story. Gregor shows thoughtfulness for his parents even though
they do not demonstrate care for him as his sister does: “Out of consideration for his parents,
Gregor wanted to avoid being seen at the window during the day” (Kafka, 1915). These are not
the thoughts of an unfeeling, monstrous vermin but those of a caring, considerate brother and
son.
Gregor’s change from a travelling salesman to an insect in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis
was not truly a transformation; in fact, by studying his room, his relationships and this thinking,
it becomes clear that Gregor did not change at all. The true metamorphosis happens after
Gregor’s physical transformation. Turning into a bug made Gregor realize what was most
important in his life: not his job, but his human relationships. Sadly, his family is not able to
reciprocate his feelings of love and concern. At the close of The Metamorphosis, it is not
Author
Comment [16]: Here and throughout the
essay you’ll notice that a variety of sentence
structures are used. This helps to retain
reader interest and more effectively
communicate ideas.
Author
Comment [17]: This is another way to
include quotations: add an introductory
phrase. A quotation should never stand on
its own as a sentence. Using a variety of
methods to integrate quotations will
demonstrate your own control of the
material.
Author
Comment [18]: Conclusion restates the
thesis. It also reminds us of a significant and
ironic quality of Gregor’s transformation.
SAMSA’S ALIENATION 7
Gregor, but his family who have morphed into unfeeling creatures, while Gregor is the most
human of them all.
SAMSA’S ALIENATION 8
References
Kafka, F. (1915). The Metamorphosis (D. Wyllie, Trans.). Retrieved from Project Gutenberg:
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/5200/5200-h/5200-h.htm
Ryan, S. (2007) Franz Kafka’s Die Verwandlung: Transformation, Metaphor, and the Perils of
Assimilation. Seminar: A Journal of Germanic Studies, 43(1), 1-18.
Sokel, W.H. (1983). From Marx to Myth: The Structure and Function of Self-Alienation in
Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Literary Review, 26(4), 485-496.
Week 3 Discussion 2 ENG 125 Introduction to literature