Servility versus Humanity

"Metamorphosis" traces the physical, emotional, and intellectual dehumanization of Gregor Samsa. I therefore most agree with the illustrious Expert #3. Though this lauded expert expresses that Gregor’s dehumanization is foreshadowing of dehumanizing events in the twentieth century such as the Holocaust and the two World Wars, I think that Gregor’s transformation from a human to an insect is particularly symbolic. Kafka is demonstrating the loss of humanity through servility and blind submission to authority and circumstances.

Before he is an insect, Gregor behaves in a very insect-like manner toward both this employer and his family. He allows his employer to treat him appallingly and does little to defend himself when he is accused of embezzlement for merely being late for work. His family lives off of his salary like parasites and though Gregor may or may not recognize it, he willingly allows it to occur for fear of losing their approval. Since his family shows no apparent emotional connection to him, he appears more insect-like and thus less human to the reader. By behaving in such a cowardly and docile manner, he loses his humanity both literally and figuratively. Since he does not question the authority figures in his midst and robotically obeys every order he is given, he willingly begins to surrender his soul. When he is literally no longer human, he does nothing to attempt to correct the situation and does not question why such a thing has happened to him.

When he is alienated from his essential humanity (in the wise words of the glorious Expert #3) he is able to see the emptiness of his former ambition and how little he meant to his family. His humanity slips away almost entirely when he loses the ability to feel any joy and sinks into the symptoms of depression. Before his transformation he had no will to live his life as his own and for himself. Thought he eventually loses his will to live entirely, he did not have much of a life to give up anyway. In this way, Kafka is using "Metamorphosis" as a cautionary tale against living one’s life in order to avoid the wrath of authority figures. Doing so removes the meaning from life and can even literally destroy one’s humanity. (377)

The Light At The End of The Tunnel

Ivan Ilych’s illness and eventual slow, painful death begins when he falls while hanging draperies in his new house. He behaves very ostentatiously when relating the incident to his family by saying that such a fall would have killed an average man but he survived because he is “a bit of an athlete”. The narrator describes the grandeur of Ivan Ilyich’s home in great detail and then concludes that the house had “all the things people of a certain class have in order to resemble people of that class.” In all of Ivan Ilyich’s endeavors throughout his life until his final months, he tries only to do what society requires of him and advance his social position. It is quite ironic that the source of his eventual death results from his most visibly grandiose attempt at living in a manner that he thinks best suits him.

His illness intensifies his life so that the things that had once been symbols of his success become overbearing burdens. The already quarrelsome relationship he had with his wife became more poisonous as his illness progressed. Before he became ill, attempting to minimize his time with her was sufficient for retaining his sanity. Once pain in his side and bizarre tastes in his mouth began to plague him, his muffled dislike for her progressed into unabated hatred. He initially found his work invigorating and exciting because of the sense of dignity and authority that it brought him. However, long sessions in court soon became tiring and embarrassing when his thoughts became clouded and his exacting judgment dulled by agony.

His physical pain draws attention to itself because Ivan Ilyich realizes that it is meaningless and prevents him from resuming his normal thought patterns. In an effort to comfort himself and relieve potential brooding on his physical suffering, he thinks about his childhood. Nostalgia forces him to retrace the steps of his life and leads him to ponder the meaning of his existence. He is perplexed at how his life began so simply and pleasantly and is about to end in anguished suffering. When others around him such as his wife and the doctor inquire about his health, he becomes aggravated with them because he feels that they do not understand what he is enduring. He longs for someone to understand him so that he can be pitied. He begins to find the pity he is seeking in his servant, Gerasim, because he does not begrudge doing the most unpleasant tasks to keep him comfortable.

Gerasim realizes that Ivan Ilyich is dying and is trying to make the end of his life more tolerable. Since he has no selfish motives in helping him, Ivan Ilyich plunges into deeper anguish at the realization of his own selfishness. Relief comes to him at the moment of his death because he realizes that those around him do not need to understand the mental gymnastics of the end of his life or the extent of his physical suffering because “He whose understanding mattered would understand”. His realization that approval and understanding from others is ultimately meaningless allows him to accept his mortality and thus end his suffering.

Time Waits for No Man

Gerontophobia is a recurring motif in “Love in the Time of Cholera” that is part of the larger themes of time and death. As old age is a result of time and leads to death, it is frequently tied to both of those ideas. Jeremiah de Saint-Amour took his own life due to gerontophobia and seems foolish at the beginning of the novel. His later years are a striking contrast to those of Florentino Ariza. Florentino fears his old age because he does not want to die before he can be with Fermina Daza and achieve his desired purpose in life. Once he and Fermina are together, he is able to realize that his lifelong courtship of her gave his life meaning and feels content to finally have her. When Jeremiah de Saint-Amour takes his own life, he had essentially accomplished all that he set out to do in life. He became a successful photographer and was happy in his clandestine love affair of many years. By the time his life ended, he was ready and felt no need to fight the ravages of time.

Dr. Urbino displays slight gerontophobic tendencies early in the novel when he remarks that “there is nothing more dangerous than the innocence of age”. The innocence to which he refers is the assumption of infinite wisdom that comes with age. Dr. Urbino is convinced that he is prepared to handle whatever may happen when he goes to visit the lover of Jeremiah de Saint-Amour, but alas his world view is shaken by the complacency to which she acts to Jeremiah de Saint-Amour’s suicide. In addition, he takes numerous pills throughout the day in order to make himself more comfortable. He follows his own version macabre humanism by trying to help himself “die without fear of pain”. Since he continues to work and go about his life as though he were still young, it apparent that he is unwilling to accept his own age and eventual mortality.

Florentino Ariza fears his age most of all. As he reclines near the graves of his mother and Olimpia Zuleta, he realizes how much time has passed since his love affair with Fermina Daza and contemplates the purpose of his existence. The fear is heightened by the memories of his mother’s final years when age incapacitated her mind and caused her to forget her own identity. He does not want to forget and therefore lose the ardent and martyr-like love he has for Fermina so that he will be able to devote himself to her when her husband dies.

The gerontophobic character represent a futile desire to control time. Jeremiah de Saint-Amour’s desire to slow it down coupled with Florentino Ariza’s desire to hasten it while keeping vestiges of the past heightens the drama of the intricately-woven story. (469)

Tainted Love

In Love in the Time of Cholera, Marquez uses sickness, death, and gerontophobia as metaphors for the dangers of love. Early in the novel when Jeramiah de Satint Amour commits suicide with gold cyanide, Dr. Urbino immediately attributes the manner of the death to unrequited love. The mention of the scent of almonds is also foreshadowing the next chapter in which the love affair between Fermina Daza and Florentino Ariza is narrated. Florentino frequently sees Fermina Daza beneath an almond tree and mentions how the scent of alomds will forever remind him of her.

During their discreet love affair, Florentino Ariza and Fermina Daza are literally in danger due to the wrath of Fermina’s father and the environment in which Fermina is being raised. The watchful eye of Lorenzo Daza forces Fermina and Florentino to only communicate through letters left in odd places. When waiting for his first reply from Fermina, Florentino is driven mad with eagerness and displays symptoms similar to those of cholera. Florentino’s joy in suffering for Fermina and his willingness to be a martyr for love makes Florentino an ideal romantic character because he has no fear of rejection and has absolute faith in the success of the doomed relationship. Since the reader already knows from the previous chapter that Fermina will marry Dr. Urbino, it is much easier to feel sympathetic toward Florentino.

Through the suicide of Jeremiah de Saint-Amour before his own clandestine love affair can fully bloom and the cholera-like lovesickness of Florentino juxtaposed with his raging affection for Fermina, Marquez touches on a fundamental human fear: fear of the ravages of love whether they be brought about by rejection, unfavorable circumstances, or death. Florentino’s melodramatic approach to love makes him seem absurd and thus makes the idea of hopeless romanticism seem absurd. He writes seventy pages of love letters to a girl who he has never met and foolishly expects that she will feel the same way. However, it can be inferred that Marquez is glorifying romanticism because Florentino comes to Dr. Urbino’s funeral and therefore uncovers hope at the bottom of the pandora’s box of love’s travails. (357)

Southern Honor

In The Sound and The Fury, the sections narrated by Quentin and Jason respectively show two very different characters who have very similar motivations. Both Compson men are intensely concerned with protecting the family honor.
Quentin seeks to maintain the code of ethics of a Southern gentleman. He wants to protect his family’s reputation by living up to a set of standards. He continually mentions how he wishes to protect his sister from men who he feels are not suitable for her because they are not gentlemen. In addition, Caddy’s loss of virginity greatly disturbs him because it signifies that his family honor has been sullied. However, because he loves Caddy he does not use this information as justification to mistreat her. The paradox of the person he loves the most destroying his fundamental beliefs is enough to drive him to end his own life.
Jason wants to protect the family honor for more selfish reasons. Like his mother, Jason is very pretentious and arrogant. He wants to have an excellent reputation because of his family and he censures them when they do not fulfill his expectations. Like Quentin, he sees Caddy as the main contributor to the loss of his honor. Although, since the only member of the family with whom Jason feels a genuine connection is his mother, he has no problem severing all ties to Caddy. In addition to frustration with Caddy’s behavior, Jason harbors a very strong jealously of Quentin because he feels that the opportunity to attend Harvard was wasted on him. By distancing himself from the rest of his family, Jason hopes to create a good reputation independently. However, by the end of the novel, it is apparent that none of the other characters admire the way he treats his family.
Jason’s egotistical desire for honor is also apparent in the way he treats his niece, Quentin. He sees her as nothing more than the product of Caddy’s sinful actions and treats her as such. Jason refuses to accept any money from Caddy and never mentions her name in his house in hopes that forgetting her will bring back his honor. However, because of Quentin he cannot forget about Caddy because she so closely resembles her. Both of the Quentins disappear as a result of quests for honor that become futile due to Caddy’s actions. Mr. Quentin’s death is brought about by his own struggle with honor. Ms. Quentin disappears as a result of Jason’s zealous desire for a good reputation. (417)

Miss Cahline

One character in Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury that is beginning to fascinate me is that of Caroline Compson. Earlier in the Benjy section, she is portrayed as very shallow and obsessed with appearances and social graces. For instance, she refuses to call her children by their nicknames because she claims that only “common people” use nicknames. In fact, it is through her that we first learn that Caddy’s real name is Candace. Furthermore, she has Benjy’s name changed from Maury to Benjy for the sake of maintaining her image. It is unclear whether the name change happened as a result of Maury’s fight which was a huge embarrassment for the family, or if it had any to do with Caroline’s shame over having her mentally-retarded son named after her brother. She shows very little affection for Benjy and even complains that he should not be a burden to her when she has servants to watch after him. It is also stated in the Benjy section that he is to be sent away to the state mental institution when Caroline Compson dies. It is a reasonable assumption that Caroline made this arrangement so it would appear as though she were the only one willing to take care of him during his lifetime and that with her gone, there would be nobody to care for Benjy in the Compson home.
In the Quentin section, it becomes apparent that Caroline favors Jason and Quentin. She speaks of Jason as her “pride and joy”. She even thinks of leaving the family and taking Jason with her so that he could grow-up without the corrupting influence of Caddy or disruption from Benjy. Her preference for Quentin over Benjy is also shown when she sells Benjy’s pasture in order to send Quentin to Harvard. When Benjy’s pasture is turned into a golf course, he suffers severe emotional distress because he keeps hearing his sister’s name even though she is gone.
Caroline begins to like Caddy less and less as she grows older and approaches womanhood. When Caddy loses her virginity and becomes highly promiscuous, Caroline states that she is more like her own side of the family than the Compsons because of her behavior. When Caddy is married off to Herbert, Caroline essentially disowns her in order to avoid disgrace. Caroline, like Caddy, married a man of higher social class. In Caroline, the desire to accordingly impress others manifests itself in a snobbery that no one else in the family possesses. Caroline represents the traditional Southern woman through her attitudes and behavior. She adds to the tragedy of the story because her desire to preserve order and tradition is overcome by the sequence of events that unfolds throughout the novel. (456)

A Young, Feminist Firebrand

In her novel “Jane Eyre” Charlotte Bronte presents a refreshingly rebellious protagonist. Other novels I have read which feature a young orphan girl portray her as very docile and tacitly accepting of any abuses inflicted upon her. The character Jane Eyre is the antithesis of the “little orphan girl” stock character. She brazenly confronts those who wrong her and refuses to be treated as an inferior. Her mettle is shown early in the novel when her cousin throws a book at her and she punches him in retaliation. Jane’s refusal to submit to her cousin’s wrath reveals a feminist streak that continues throughout the novel.
Even her aunt’s Petunia Dursley-esq, blatant favoring of her own children does not dampen her spirit. She stands up to her authority on her last night in her care when she matter-of-factly tells her of the wickedness of her ways. During this time period it would have scandalous for a woman to speak in such a manner to a person of authority, let alone a child. Not only does this incident further demonstrate Jane’s refusal to be mistreated, but it also makes her more likable. She does what the reader is always secretly hoping a protagonist such as her will do.
When Jane arrives at The Lowood School, it is the first place where her wit and intelligence are admired instead of begrudged as signs of an ill-behaved child. The school is somewhat of a feminist utopia because the institution is run exclusively by women (with the exception of the perpetually-disgruntled and pedantic Mr. Brocklehurst) to educate women. When Helen Burns is first introduced, we are given the impression that she is rebel much like Jane. It is somewhat disappointing when we find out that her philosophy on life is almost the complete opposite of Jane’s. A fascinating scene ensues in which the two young girls discuss their perceptions of the workings of the world. Helen sees authority as a force that is merely looking after her best interests and seeking to cure her of her faults. She forgives those who wrong her because she feels that that is the moral course of action. Furthermore, she accepts her numerous punishments because she genuinely believes that her character is riddled with faults.
Jane, however, sees authority as an oppressive force that is squelching her individuality. She believes that by allowing herself to be mistreated by others, they will continue to do so and that she “could not bare” to be humiliated by accepting mistreatment. Helen presents a clever rebuttal to Jane’s point when she says that it is absurd for her to say that she cannot bear what she is fated to bear. Helen also represents the inferior status of women in society through her docility. Jane is a foil to her in that she represents a rise in feminism through her rebelliousness. Helen’s eventual death is symbolic of the need to raise the status of women. (492).