The metamorphosis power point

THE METAMORPHOSISCultural and Historical Context

By Sam Evans

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

• After the end of the Holy Roman Empire, Austria came to power as one of the strongest German states. Francis II was the ruler of Austria but after the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Austria was forced to leave the empire and become a separate state. From then on Francis II went by Francis I as ruler of Austria.

• Francis I wished to expand his empire and looked towards Hungary. Francis signed an agreement which absorbed Hungary into Austria. Hungary was able to act independently as their own state with their own king and government, but in times of war and foreign negotiations, the two countries acted as one.

UNREST IN AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

• Austria Hungary was made up of many ethnic groups that had different languages and cultures. Austria had mostly German speakers who could only speak German, while Hungary was filled with people from across the Baltic Peninsula .

• Hungary established strict laws when it came to speaking Hungarian, or Magyar. If one did not know the language they were strictly persecuted. 90% of the government was also made up of Hungarian people while the different ethnic groups were left out.

• Many of the Slavic ethnic groups wanted individual freedom from the empire, which caused unrest, and later led to WWI. A Serbian assassin seeking independence killed Franz Ferdinand, who was the heir to the throne.

www.smithsonianmag.com

CZECH NATIONALISM• Czechs were the third largest ethnic group of

the Austria-Hungary Empire and made up 13% of it’s people. The Germans who lived in the Austria Hungary Empire were constantly in conflict with the ethnic groups in the areas.

• Czechs like many of the other minor ethnic groups that made up the empire wanted independence. In 1848 the Czechs and other groups in Hungary formed a political group to help lay out their demands for individual states that would be separated based on language and culture.

• The nationalism from ethnics groups caused great turmoil until they were put down by Austria with the help of Russian troops. The demands weren’t seen as important to the Empire and the individual ethnic groups wouldn’t get any form of independence until after WWI and the Treaty of Versailles . Czechoslovakia was formed and the Czechs had independence for a short period.

www.english-online.at

DISCRIMINATION OF JEWS IN PRAGUE

• Throughout history, Jews who lived in Prague were persecuted. In the 12th century, they were forced to live in ghettos in certain areas of Prague and were also used as servants to the main castle.

• Many times the Jews were blamed for problems or disasters and their sections of the city were burned and ransacked.

• In the 19th Century, Jews were slowly given more rights. They were technically “free”, but they were still looked down upon by many. The Jews elected to adopt the German language and culture while in Prague and were met with lots of hate from the Czech. During the late 1800s, the dispute over language between the Czechs and the Germans was at an all time high. The Jews were caught in the crossfire of Czech Nationalism. ww2today.com

DISCUSSION QUESTION

• How do you think the ethnic unrest and discrimination that took place in the Austria-Hungary Empire affected Kafka when he wrote The Metamorphosis?

WORKS CITED

• "Austria-Hungary". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 28 Mar. 2015<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/44386/Austria-Hungary>.

• Tonge, Stephen. "European History." A Web of English History. Marjorie Bloy, 11 Nov. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.

• Weiner, Rebecca. "Virtual Jewish World: Prague." Jewish Virtual Library. American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.

LITERARY/ARTISTIC MOVEMENTby

YENIER MELCON

•Magical Realism

•Surrealism

•Existentialism

MAGICAL REALISM

• Is when a realistic situation is combine with some magical, supernatural or unrealistic occurrence.

• Ex: When in the story The Metamorphosis the main character turns into a big insect. Everything else in the story is pretty much realistic, except the transformation from a human being to an insect.

“When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself change into a monstrous cockroach in hid bed”(Kafka 1204).

MAGICAL REALISMCHARACTERISTICS

• Stories with a strong narrative drive.

• Dreams, fairy story and mythology combine with everyday realistic events.

SURREALISM

• Refers to having a dreamlike quality or, in literature, producing fantasy. It is often present by combining things that don't belong together. • Ex: Gregor doesn't seem to care that he is a cockroach, his reaction is very

dreamlike. It is also very unusual that knowing he is an insect he just cares about being late for work.

“What to do now? The next train left at seven; to catch it meant hurrying like a madman, and his samples weren’t yet packed, and he himself didn’t feel exactly agile or vigorous”(Kafka1205).

EXAMPLES OF SURREALISM IN THE VISUAL ARTS

• Surrealism is best known for its visual art works and its combination between dream and reality. An artist uses surrealism by painting illogical scenes with photographic precision. The artist creates strange creatures from everyday objects and developed painting techniques that allowed the unconscious to express its idea.

EXISTENTIALISM

• Is a philosophy that emphasizes individual existence, freedom and choice. It is the point of view in which humans see their own meaning in life and make decision according to it.

• Ex: In the story Gregor initially chooses society over himself, he was a hard working man almost slave to his boss and he also support all the member of his family  After his physical transformation, he is forced to only focus on himself, and here is when family and society abandons him.  

WORK CITED

http://www3.dbu.edu/Mitchell/magical.htm

http://www.public.asu.edu/-aarios/magicalrealism/index_files/Page278.htm

http://www.theartstory.org/movement-surrealism.htm

www.philosophybasics.com/branch_existentialism.html

THE METAMORPHOSISLiterary Analysis by Marilyn Davis

• Different literary critics offer different views as to what Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is about. One literary critic says that it is about the unconsciousness of humanity and survival. According to Inez Martinez, Ph.D. Gregor’s transformation into a cockroach shows that he has become too civilized and that there is a disconnect between Gregor’s himself and his carnal desires and bodily needs. “unconscious problem is literalized in his being possessed by the body of a species normally conceived of as other, but apparently, to our horror, latent within the human. As a salesman, Gregor has neglected his body’s needs for food, rest, companionship, and sex” (Martinez) In other words, Gregor is so focused on being a salesman and taking care of his family that he has neglected everything else. This is manifested itself in his body which he calmly ignores upon waking up. He is more focused on work instead of the fact that he is now a cockroach.

• “The wisdom we find in Kafka is not a traditional kind of wisdom. It is not a cultivated treasure of truth, and it is not a kingdom of knowledge neatly packaged to offer profound insight into the complex interrelationships of self and other. It is neither judicious foresight nor deeply anchored sagacity. Nor does it come to us as a stockpile of erudition from which we can draw sustenance. Kafka's wisdom grows out of a deeply felt pain over the loss of tradition and community. It is informed by his acute sense of vulnerability in the face of the cataclysmic unraveling of the modern world; and it lies at the heart of his constant struggle with the uncertainties about his own place both within the immediate family and the larger social and spiritual continuum.” (Krause)

• “As Nietzsche puts it, he has used up his "best youth and strength for action" and has sold out his own self to stagnation. In a startling turn of events, his sacrifice generates an inner distress that now dramatizes his outer self. Thus he transforms into the giant vermin that becomes the visible sign of a comprehensive existential and semiotic disturbance. The lack of "eruption" within him precipitates a rupture that jeopardizes his solidarity with himself and with the world around him. His change subverts a complete system of relationships that extends from the most intimate spheres to universal proportions, Gregor is at odds with himself and the world in a story whose narrative "fourth person" voice vacillates between personal reflection and impersonal observation, between "ein sprechendes und ein besprochenes Ich" (Ohlschlager 165 f.) that will be pronounced dead in the end. He is also at odds with his family whose stability and health are compromised by the unspeakable presence of an unsightly family member who can no longer communicate and who becomes both an expendable entity withiti the household and a useless link to the outside world.” (Krause)

• According to Krause, Gregor’s transformation is also a disconnect between himself and his family. She also believes that Gregor was meant to reflect Kafka. Kafka, himself was not very close to his family and was unsatisfied with his own work. Gregor too has trouble with women and his family, and is unsatisfied with his job. That is the parallel between Kafka and him according to Krause.

WORKS CITED

• Krause E. WISDOM AND THE TIGHTROPE OF BEING. ASPECTS OF NIETZSCHE IN KAFKA'S THE METAMORPHOSIS (1915). Dialogue & Universalism [serial on the Internet]. (2005, May), [cited March 28, 2015]; 15(5/6): 21-34. Available from: Academic Search Complete.

• Martinez, Inez. "Unconsciousness And Survival: Kafka's Metamorphosis And Borowski's This Way For The Gas, Ladies And Gentlemen." Journal Of Jungian Scholarly Studies 6.2 (2010): 1-25. Academic Search Complete. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.

FRANZ KAFKA

By

Brittney Buckingham

FRANZ KAFKA

“Kafka is renowned for his visionary and profoundly enigmatic stories that often present a grotesque vision of the world in which individuals burdened with guilt, isolation, and anxiety make a futile search for personal salvation.” Kafka became more famous after he was dead then while he was living. Kafka had a very disappointing life in his eyes, he was never happy with the women he was with or his own family. His two younger brothers died while in infancy, which left Franz as the only living son. Hermann, Kafka father, “had a forceful personality that often overwhelmed the Kafka home(bio)”. Franz and his father had a tough relationship and it had a major effect on him. Hermann didn’t think that his sons passion was worth any value and he made it clear to his son that he felt that way. Franz always yearned for his fathers approval and never received it. Franz attended a school for gifted children where he exceeded expectations, he “enrolled at the Charles Ferdinand University of Prague”(Bio).

FRANZ KAFKA

After graduating Franz became a layer and tried to publish his writing on the side. Several things were published though, “Letter to His Father” and “The metamorphosis” but, the things he is best known for should never have been read. A close friend decided to publish his works instead of destroying them like Franz wanted. “Kafka died in 1924 from complications related to tuberculosis” (nnbd), in his last days on earth he couldn’t keep any food or water down and while waiting to hear a response from his father, some historians fear his cause of death might be starvation. After his 3 sisters tragically died while being held in concentration camps, the family now rests together in Prague.

WORKS CITED

• Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/franz-kafka-9359401#education>.

• "Franz Kafka." Online. Web. 29 Mar. 2015. <http://www.kafka-online.info/>.