The Ancestors of George Henry Browness (1883-1924) RN Sick Berth
Franz Kafka (1883- 1924)
description
Transcript of Franz Kafka (1883- 1924)
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Franz Kafka (1883- 1924)
• Influenced existentialism• Explored the themes and
archetypes of alienation, physical and psychological brutality, parent–child conflict, characters on a terrifying quest, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mystical transformations
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• born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
• a lawyer• employed by an insurance
company• had a complicated and
troubled relationship with his father that had a major effect on his writing
• suffered conflict over being Jewish
• shy avid reader
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The family name: Kafka (kavka = jackdaw (Czech)
• Herman Kafka, the father, was a travelling sales representative and then a fancy clothing retailer
• He used the image of a jackdaw as his business logo
• a "huge, selfish, overbearing businessman“ (Stanley Corngold, biographer)
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The Metamorphosis – autobiographical undertones
• Difficulties living in a modern society• Struggle for acceptance of others• Painful father-son relationship (overbearing father,
physical and emotional abuse, neglect, condescending attitude)
• Disapproval of Franz’s writing• Progressive deterioration of Gregor (losing sight, pain)• Images of death, disguised and elaborated through
literature
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Excerpt 1 analysis (p. 11)o The mysterious transformation (reduced
from a human to a bug)o Gregor’s room/lifestyleo Settingo Social conditioning and a sudden feeling of
being out of whack due to the transformationo Autobiographical undertones o Preoccupation with health (pain, chills,
itching)
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Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943)
Applied to Gregor
• “People must have their sleep” (12)
• “First he wanted to get up in peace and unmolested, get dressed and, especially, have breakfast, and only then give the matter further thought” (13)
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Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)
Sigmund Freud’s model of personality structure
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Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)
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Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)
Freud’s tripartite structure of personality
How does it apply to Gregor?• Id• Super-ego• Ego
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Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 16-17): the mother figure (mother, sister)
• Protective• Worried over Gregor’s
life of seclusion• Sure of her son’s
decency (16)
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Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 16-19): the father figure = authority (father, chief clerk):
manifestation of authority – threats - blackmailing• “we business people […]
very often simply have to overcome a slight indisposition out of regard for the business” (17)
• “what’s going on? You’re barricading yourself in your room […] neglecting your business duties in a truly unheard-of fashion” (17)
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Displacement is an unconscious defense mechanism whereby the mind substitutes either a new aim or a new object for goals felt in their
original form to be dangerous or unacceptable.
Gregor’s subconscious destructive impulses directed at his father translate into his dreaming about his own deterioration.
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THEMES• seclusion, alienation• personal and job insecurity• struggle for acceptance• futility of life• parent-child relationship• refusal to live an imposed lifestyle• awareness• gender differences
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What kind of hero is Gregor?
• Is he an anti-hero? He does not possess any heroic virtues and qualities.
• In what way is he different from Achilles?• What does such a shift in the perception of
the hero mean?