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Kafka Mood Diary

dead, dystopia, surreal, realistic, understanding, detached, soft, dusty, fallen, older, plump, frill, doily, dark wood,  porcelain, asbestos, whisper/whimper, small 

 

Metropia-poster

Metropia’s visuals are dark and exaggerated, which is just how I pictured the events that unfolded in Metamorphosis.

This clip from the movie ‘The Bothersome Man’ came to my mind while I read Metamorphosis because of both share a theme of emotional numbness in product and prestige obsessed worlds. Its also a very bewildering scene because of the lack of reaction that the woman has to information that the Bothersome man tells her, which should in a normal world, cause her to be devastated and distraught- not concerned about guests who were invited for tea on Saturday.This tea set in a Viennese café is very classically Austrian because of the porcelain saucer, glass of water, and silver tray. Austrian society is said to be cold yet extremely polite- just like the parents and sister in Metamorphosis.

This is a picture of the Bothersome man being lonely and eating tasteless food yet not realizing how sad his

predicament is because of habit.This is a Gustav Klimt painting of an elegant, contemplating woman. I pictured Grete as this type of woman because while Grete is intelligent and a central power figure in the book, she is also quite intent on getting her own desires fulfilled which is why she tosses Gregor to the side once he gets in the way of her marriage/wealth prospects. Also, I feel like the tone and color scheme of the painting fits the color scheme in the book- mostly neutral with bursts of pink and dark wood.hj

All these bearded men are Sigmeund Freud. I think the bearded men in the book both resembled Freud and had a fondness for drugs.

Untitled

This is an image that reminds of Gregor because of how Gregor was constantly forced to be under the bed and in the dark.

This squeaky sound is what best resembles what Gregor must have heard when awakening as a bug for the first time.

This is what Gregor’s floors must have look like after everyone stopped taking notice of him.

The song ‘Mr. Cellophane’ from Chicago reminds me of Gregor because both character’s story’s have to do with being providers who are dumped the second they become unable to provide.

 

This movie, ‘Delicatessen’ shares the violent and deadly tone that I had in my head every time Gregor’s father came into the story.

Gregor’s view, in my mind, became greatly reduced to just feet.

Although this gif doesn’t precisely mirror my feelings, it does provide a good picture of what Grete and possibly the maid must have looked like when they started to vouch for exiling Gregor.

The apple rotting next to the plastic water bottle is a kind of metaphor for me of how Gregor rotted day after day, while his family largely kept their life constant.

The vortex here represents the dark, confusing, bleak nature of the book and its focus character.

Mood Diary on Metamorphosis

When I began to read the Story Metamorphosis, I was really impressed, if not shocked, by the straightforwardness of Kafka, but the second time I read the sentence stating Gregor’s metamorphosis, I started to assume “OK, this is how the story is supposed to start — a healthy guy suddenly changes to a bug” and then I guessed the story would be all about his life or his struggling to beat the obstacles, but I wasn’t able to conjecture if it will be a tragedy or another motivational story. I found it really absurd when Gregor just woke up and acted normally as if nothing had happened. I meant if I were in the same situation, I would have screamed out for help like a scared bullied child. However, Gregor did not act so. He was startled by his transformation but later on he seemed to adjust to his new appearance easily. This scenario, for me, lessens the verisimilitude of the story. I felt intense when the manager was trying to see Gregor. What would happen after the door is open?  Would all of them become bugs? (I know I am trying to be funny) How would everyone including Gregor react? I was pretty sure that the family and the manager would be petrified but I was more concerned about the fates of Gregor and his family since Gregor had been the only resource of money. When I read that Gregor was mentally tortured and the relationship between him and his family diminished, especially when his sister was behaving ungratefully to her brother who had raised money to send her into a conservatory, I knew the story would be tragic.I could not find any hint that might be a sign of change for good in Gregor’s life after the metamorphosis. Maybe his mom was the only one who showed lots of sympathy when she insisted on keeping Gregor’s stuff in his room and who still regarded Gregor as a human when she referred to Gregor as “my unhappy son”, she was such a pushover that she was so easy to be persuaded when Grete argued about the removal of the furniture. Ultimately ,the relationship between son and mother faded, too. I mean it was the person (I regarded Gregor as human since he could think in a human way) that you gave birth to, how could you just cut off the love and biological bond without any mercy?  Maybe in that particular society, people were living only for material gain or maybe it was because I was born and raised China where I was taught to be value my family.   Speaking of money, I think it is one of the themes of the story. The importance of money might account for the feeling of burden of Gregor for his family, he was so subjugated by the income source of the family, to some degree, even more than his doom brought by his physical alternation. Also, money might explain why the  family would  become so nonchalant on Gregor after his change because he was no longer financially “useful” for the family. He became such an encumbrance that at the end no one cared about his death. One more thing, at the end, Grete became an attractive, independent woman who would succeed Gregor to support the Samsa Family. I appreciated the efforts she demonstrated during the hard time which was ultimately beneficial for her own metamorphosis to a independent woman , but at the time I read the sentence “And it felt like a confirmation of their new dreams and their fond intension”, I felt sorry the family. I  started regarded her as a new tool to get money for the family just like Gregor( Forgive me if I am too cynical.) I think the whole story is definitely metaphorical because the story is just too absurd and unreal. I felt sort of wired when I finished it. It is definitely not a comedy but ,for me, it is not entirely tragic because the family regained vigor and hope for the future at the end and for me, a tragedy would be something like everything is gone. The story did not really appeal to me. … Continue reading