Kafka and Grimm

Kafka baffles a very distinct paper line themed to alienation than Tolstoy The Metamorphosis is non discriminating in its all in allusion to how Gregor feels, nor is it sly in its presentation of how Gregor is treated. Upon awakening one relegate of day Gregor finds that he has been transformed into a monstrous vermin. De scandalise this reality, Gregor does not control himself with his own c been but focuses on the dreary weather proscribeddoor(a) the rain, the wind. He does not fully realize his situation in least(prenominal) and goes about his diurnal routines without worrying about his great transformation When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.He was lying on his back as hard as armor plate, and when he lifted his head a little, he proverb his vaulted brown belly, sectioned by arch-shaped ribs, to whose dome the cover, about to slideway off completely, could barely cling. His m any (prenominal) legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the equaliser of him, were waving helplessly before his eyes. (P. 3). This description of change is extreme and yet, despite its s foreverity or alternating course of life, Gregor does not recognize it as anything in particular. Through this, the reader realizes the extent of Gregors alienation from himself, when much(prenominal) a personal difference is presented to him from his own body he chooses not to recognize it, and thus, the theme of alienation from self is made clear from the lay out of the novella.Through Gregors family the reader realizes a sense of extreme change. Despite Gregors displaced emotion of his own body and geography, his family recognizes quite clearly the situation. It is in this here and now that Gregors previous alienation of him takes on a more fleshly and apparent form as jutn when Gregor first locomote or crawls out of his bedroom after his discourse of loathing his job, And now he cou ld see him, standing closest to the door, his hand pressed over his open mouth, slowly backing away, as if repulsed by an invisible, unrelenting force.His mother in spite of the managers presence she stood with her hair still unbraided from the night, sticking out in all directions first looked at his father with her hands clasped, then took twain steps towards Gregor, and sank down in the midst of her skirt spreading out round her, her face completely hidden on her breast. With a hostile scene his father clenched his fist, as if to drive Gregor back into his room, then looked falteringly around the living room, shielded his eyes with his hands, and sobbed with heaves of his powerful chest. (P. 15). It is in this revealing narrative that the reader grasps how grotesque Gregor has become. He has already been change himself from his family, and keeping to himself, and not being relatable and thus, his family truly cannot recognize him anymore, it merely took the sensual represe ntation of his alienation for this to occur.It is through Gregors family that the theme of alienation persists. Gregor had been the supplier of the family and with recognition, Those had been wonderful times, and they had never returned, at least not with the same glory, although subsequently on Gregor earned enough money to meet the expenses of the entire family and actually did so. They had just gotten used to it, the family as well as Gregor, the money was real with thanks and given with pleasure. (P. 27). Thus it would seem that Gregors alienation has erupted because he is displeased with his job, yet he keeps his job because that is his role in his family and with this in mind, it seems that Gregor does not want to be placed in that role any longer.The theme of alienation is seen in Kafkas narrative, Into a room in which Gregor ruled the bare walls all alone, no human being beside Grete was ever likely to set foot. (P. 30). So, with his family no longer seeing him as the s upplier the manifestation of harbored feelings rise in the form of a vermin and Gregor cannot cover the truth of his existence any longer from his family his family rejects Gregor, and he dies.Thus, Gregors close is the ultimate alienation, and his rejection by his family is the tribute to such a theme, Gregors serious wound, from which he suffered for over a month the apple rebrinyed imbedded in his flesh as a visible souvenir since no one dared to remove it seemed to tolerate reminded even his father that Gregor was a member of the family, in spite of his present pathetic and repulsive shape, who could not be treated as an enemy that on the contrary, it was the commandment of family duty to swallow their disgust and belong him, endure him and nothing more. (P. 40).The concept of metamorphoses is not a foreign idea in literature as the Brothers Grimm have used this proficiency in many instances. The transformation side of a fairy story is found in a plethora of tales includ ing, The Frog King or Iron Henry, and to an extent, subaltern Red-Cap. Each of these stories illustrates a stage of transformation either as a curse, or as a means to get something. In The Frog King or Iron Henry a prince is transformed into a frog in a tale of bewitchment. The story differs on the concept amidst whether the princess kisses or throws the frog in prepare for the frog to transform back into a prince.The tale of this kind is different from Kafkas due to the nature and the way in which the transformation changes the main character. For Gregor, the metamorphoses relates to his family and other problems with life, while with the prince/frog the concept of the tale revolves around the change of the volume around the prince/frog such as the princess and Henry, the servant.The transformation of the people around the prince/frog is well established with the snide behavior of the princess ever- changing into a more civilized person, and the princes servant Henry who had kick his heart with gold bonds in order so that it would not break on the prince having been cursed into being a frog. Thus, the fundamental difference between these two stories rests with the outside characters being changed in the Grimms tale and the physical change in Gregor only relating to him.In another Grimm tale Little Red-Cap a little girl who adores her grandmother goes to see her only to find a barbarian in her place dressed in her grandmothers clothing in order to deceive the little girl and to dupe her. Although the element of consumption is similar in Kafkas story as in Gregor feeling consumed by the world he lives in and does not feel satisfaction in and thus is consumed by it, so does the wolf desire to consume the little girl.The story of transformation in Little Red-Cap involves changing an animal into a human and thus the change regarded for these two stories revolves around a human changing into an animal (insect) and an animal changing into a human each for the purpose of consumption but in different regards. Gregor changes into an insect in relation to an unfulfillment of life while the wolf changes into a human in order to be fulfilled. For both stories their desires are not met as the wolf is only fulfilled with stones and then struggle and Gregor is not given a chance to find fulfillment as he was a wastrel in life having neither terminal nor purpose and thus his ebb of desire lessens and lessens until he is killed.Work CitedKafka, F. The Metamorphosis. Crown. 2003.http//www.familymanagement.com/literacy/grimms/grimms20.htmlhttp//www.familymanagement.com/literacy/grimms/grimms01.html