Love or Fear 3-22-14

     Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is the story of a traveling salesman named Gregor Samsa. Samsa lives a fairly simple life that consists mostly of work. He lives with his parents and his sister; all of whom do not have much money. One morning, Samsa awakes to find that his mind no longer functions in a human body but rather a huge insect. However, Samsa is not immediately shocked by this and acts like he only woke up with a cold or fever. " Why don’t I keep sleeping for a little while longer and forget all this foolishness,”(Kafka 1). Samsa clearly doesn't care much about his own well being or health, and many examples are shown of how he does care for others with great passion. He reveals that he is working primarily to pay of debt that his parents have acquired. Through what I have read so far, it is not yet apparent if Samsa is doing this as a favor to his parents or out of fear of them. 

Another example of his selflessness is when Samsa's boss arrives to question about his absence at work. Samsa is struggling with normal movements in his new body and does not want to startle anyone. "His greatest reservation was a worry about the loud noise which the fall must create and which presumably would arouse, if not fright, then at least concern on the other side of all the doors," (Kafka 1). Samsa is literally tearing his body apart trying to get to the door in order to let his family and employer know that he is OK yet still worries about waking or frightening anyone. It does not seem that Samsa's priorities, nor the priorities of the people in his life, are exactly in order. He does not care about his current physical state but instead worries incessantly about keeping his job and keeping his parents happy. His dad also does not seem to worry about his son's health but rather the only source of income that he has had for the last many years. His sister however, does at first seemed genuinely worried. These characters most likely reflect Kafka's family life at home in his childhood. In conclusion, Gregor Samsa is a character created with the personality and family that by a man who probably experienced similar moments in his own life.

An Axe and Frozen Water BP 27 3-17-14

Franz Kafka

Birth/Youth: Franz Kafka was born in Prague, Bohemia on July 3, 1924. He grew up in a wealthy Jewish family that had 6 kids at one point. However, both of Franz's younger brothers died as babies, leaving him the only boy with three sisters. Not only did Kafka have no other boys in his family to play with, he also had poor relationships with both his parents. His mother did not understand her sons dreams to be an intellectual writer, and his father had a harsh personality that made home life stressful for everyone living in it. Kafka had good grades throughout school and eventually entered the Charles Ferdinand University of Prague; where he would eventually graduate with a degree in law.

Adult Life: After getting his degree, he began to shift around many careers in law, none of which he ever enjoyed. During his times of bouncing around from job to job, he continued to find time to write. After a couple failed marriage engagements with Felice Bauer, he eventually tied the knot with Dora Dymant. Once married, Dora and Franz moved back Prague to deal with Kafka's ailing health. Because of his tuberculosis and other poor health problems, he retired from all law positions but continued to write until the year he died. His desire to write left him stressed and with constant migraines and upset stomachs as well. Although he died young, his works will live on forever.

Influence: Kafka's works will always be remembered for his intriguing way of explaining humanity. In Metamorphosis, he helps people who may be struggling through a time of transition or transformation understand that they are not alone. People also often view Kafka's works as liberating in their words. "A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us," is a famous quote from The Metamorphosis. A line like that makes it clear that Kafka believes literature and reading are keys to understanding life. Which, if all people believed, would  make the world a better place. Kafka makes it clear that each person is unstable and can only be put righted by reading and understanding. Lots of German literature is still influenced by Kafka.

Death: Fortunately, Kafka's good friend and literary editor, Max Brod, did not listen to Kafka's dying wish and published his works after his death. Kafka did not think that his unfinished works could be published, yet Brod made them public anyway. Tuberculosis was Kafka's main cause of death, however he was plagued by many health problems. He was buried next to his parents in Austria. In 1988, Kafka's handwritten version of The Trial was sold for almost two million dollars. He died young but will always remain a person of the utmost respect in the world of literature.

Works Cited:

• "Franz Kafka Biography." Biography.com. A+E Networks, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
• "Penn Reading Project." Penn Reading Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.
• "Kafka - Biography." Kafka - Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.
• "Kafka's Life (1883-1924)." The Kafka Project. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.
• "Franz Kafka." Franz Kafka. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.

Restart BP 26

          Thursday and Friday, my class watched the film What Dreams May Come. The movie tells the story of a man who searches for his wife in the afterlife after he is killed in a car accident and she commits suicide. In many ways, this movie has similar themes and follows many ideas that are much alike Dante's Inferno. However there were differences as well. One major difference is that in the film, the main character Chris Nielson is able to find his wife in the depths of hell and bring her back into heaven. Dante makes the point very clear that no man (except himself), can escape Satan's grasp in the underworld. Chris and his wife are also able to reincarnate onto earth to "restart" their lives. Dante follows strictly Christian virtues therefore does not say that reincarnation can happen. After looking past the differences, it is possible to find many similarites as well.

In Dante's Inferno Dante punishes each person depending on their sins. In What Dreams May Come, Chris's wife is put in her own personal hell because she committed suicide; also a major sin in Inferno. Also on the topic of suicide, a tree is shown directly before the suicide of the wife. Dante describes the punishment of people who commit suicide as being turned into a tree and being pecked at by harpies for eternity. Another similarity is that both Dante and Chris are led by a guide to navigate the underworld. These guides are people who both Chris and Dante admire and even look up to. In Chris's case, his son, daughter, and former professor all help him get through his transition from life to death. For Dante, Virgil leads him through Hell. Virgil is the only person in all of Inferno who Dante puts above himself besides Beatrice. In Conclusion, What Dreams May Come and Dante's Inferno have many things in common as well as many contradictory subjects. Both make similar points with very different stories.

The Teacher and the Student [3/10/14 Reflection (Canto's 19-32)]

    The past few weeks have been spent watching presentations and preparing for my own. Last week, Cantos 19-32 were presented. The main theme for that group of Cantos is fraud; circles 8 and 9. The majority of the punishments had something to do with fire or burning. A couple specific examples I remember are being buried then having one's feet burned forever, being thrown into boiling tar, and also being stuck in a single flame eternally. Dante puts these fraudulent people very low in hell, but for good reason. Dante explains in many of the Cantos how he knew some of the people in these parts of hell, however he rarely liked any of them. For example, in Canto 26, Dante points out how his home city of Florence has many of its citizens damned for fraud and deception.

Virgil was a very important character in all of these Canto's as well. Not only did he lead Dante in the right direction, he also was the only source that Dante had to learn from. During the presentations, the presenter often spoke of this teacher-student relationship in the "Conversation with the Guide" slide. Virgil spoke to sinners, guards, and anyone else who may have helped Dante understand what is going on in each area in this hell. One example I remember someone speaking about is when Virgil convinced the demons to allow Dante to cross the bridge into the next level. Besides Beatrice, Virgil is the only person who Dante places above himself; at some points even calling Virgil master. Overall, Cantos 19-32 speak of Dante's opinions on fraud as well as his respect and admiration for his guide and protector Virgil.