Month: August 2023

Introduction to Feminism in “The Story of an Hour”

When the movement for women’s rights picked up momentum around a century ago with the short story by Kate Chopin, feminism in “The Story of an Hour” was never envisaged. It was also never envisaged that statistics in 2016 would defy the claims of feminists later. The natural inclination of Louise Mallard regarding feminism in “The Story of an Hour” would prove just an illusory mental urge – a point not considered by the later supporters of equal women’s rights. In fact, the controversy was there at that time, but the movement for the equality of women just rose and reached its peak during the next two decades in such a ferocious manner that unrestricted liberty and equality in everything became a much-touted slogan. The women hardly felt that they were naturally made different from men. Their mothers infuse in them an idea that they are different, as Sheryl Sandberg claims in her article, “Why I Want Women to Lean In” when she says, “Women internalize the negative message we get throughout our lives” (471). The message is that they are inferior to men in certain ways and that they should stay submissive before them. This becomes a permanent habit not only in educational careers but also in domestic and professional life. Sheryl Sandberg and Phyllis Schlafly both argue that women themselves are responsible for staying in the background in the professional and financial field on account of their natural, psychological, and professional differences from men, which could be removed only when women start demonstrating their abilities.

Differences Among Genders

As far as natural differences are concerned, they have existed since childhood and it is clear a cursory analysis of feminism in “The Story of an Hour”. Although Sheryl Sandberg does not mention any childhood teaching or learning experiences of how women internalize that they are not superior to men, she mentions that the moment a girl comes into this world, she faces a different treatment. This different treatment internalizes a negative attitude in her that she should not be “outspoken, aggressive and more powerful than men – and pull back when she should lean in”, which demonstrates that women have the feeling imbibed in them that they are not superior to men (Sandberg 471). This goes with them when they enter their professional life. Phyllis Schlafly also points out the same thing saying that when it comes to higher pay for men or better to say lower pay for women, the reason is “the choice women make in their personal lives, such as having children” or the preference to raise a family go with them in their paychecks, too (Schlafly 467). She, then, explains it by saying, “Women with children earn less, but childless women earn about the same as men” but, of course, the problem is that hardly any woman wants to lag behind in performing this natural responsibility of begetting children (467). Therefore, this is natural that they prefer their children and then family – the reason that they lag behind men in earning more. However, this is not the only difference, there is also a psychological difference that is also clear when reading feminism in “The Story of an Hour”.

Psychological Differences Among Genders

The psychological difference is that women like to work fewer hours than men, as they are physically weak, like to stay safe and neat, and favors a pleasant atmosphere when they start working. However, compared to them, men like to work more to earn more for their families. Phyllis Schlafly points it out in her article, “Facts and Fallacies about Paycheck Fairness” arguing while referring to the Bureau of Labor Statistics that “men are twice as likely as women to work more than 40 hours a week” which is a psychological issue, for she adds, a man often “works longer hours to maximize his earnings” if he is supporting his family at mid-career (467). This is a psychological reason for both. Another psychological reason she mentions is women’s preference for a partner earning higher than them. Sandberg points out the same issue by referring to a Princeton survey, which states that around “62% of women … anticipated work/family conflict”, while this ratio for men was just 33% (Sandberg 472). This means it is a psychological fact that women are ready to sacrifice their career for the family. One more reason is that as women are psychologically not ready to sacrifice family, or whenever they are going to have children, they do it much earlier than they are required. Sandberg accepts that these “sacrifices and hardship are not choice but a necessity”, saying they are psychologically accepting this, as it is due for them to render sacrifices (473). Yet, it is quite interesting to note that feminism in “The Story of an Hour” is perhaps the first streak of this feminism. However, there could also be professional differences.

Think of Men and Feminism in “The Story of an Hour”

It is because men think differently in the professional field, while women think differently. Although it has something to do with psychology, it, too, is a professional difference. For example, men mostly prefer working hard when they are supporting family, stay in dirty places, do not avoid meeting bad people, and take the courage to step where angels fear to tread as compared to women. The women, on the other hand, she says, “spend fewer years as full-time workers outside the home, avoid jobs that require overtime and choose jobs with flexibility to take time off for personal reasons”, which are hardly personal for they cannot become professional (Schlafly 467). Schlafly wants to say that these occasional breaks do not make a person professional, whether they are men or women. Another difference is pointed out by Sheryl Sandberg who states that “success and likeability are positively correlated for men” by which she means that if you put a professionally successful woman side by side a professionally successful man, the woman will feel the difference in attitude towards her (473). This is a professional difference that they can remove by, she suggests, “changing attitudes today” (473). One more difference Sandberg states is that although men work very hard, as Schlafly, too, points out, it is that women either do not do a task or do it perfectly. This is again against the professional norms, for a professional becomes a professional only with practice and commitment and then does perfectly by the end of his career or after some time, not from the very first day. However, there are several counterarguments both of them have presented.

Feminism in “The Story of an Hour”

The first one is that women are leading men in the educational field, which makes it clear that if women prefer to choose the professional field, they can make men follow them. Schlafly has stated it in the case of childless women who earn equal to their male counterparts (467). Secondly, women can also learn to balance their lives and careers as men do by removing occasional long breaks from their careers and by removing hesitation of doing perfect or not doing, or by keeping family and work life balanced Sandberg argues. She adds that it is proved now that moms of this time do spend the same amount of time with their children, as moms of the 80s (473). Sandberg also suggests to change the attitude to make men think about women differently. In the same way, Schlafly also argues that men’s pay has rather “stagnated”, which means that now women would not be marrying those men. Therefore, to keep marriages intact, this pay gap must remain the same that is men should have higher pay than women. This also means that they are defying their own arguments, which is not the case. In fact, they are vying for equality that does not seem to fill the natural and psychological gap, though both of these differences contribute to widening the professional difference.

Conclusion

In short, the argument that men are naturally built to work outside of the home, while women are naturally built to do domestic chores is valid but to some extent and not always. There are several women such as Sheryl Sandberg who have made phenomenal success in professional life, defying the law of gravity that women are not built for work outside of the home. However, this depends on how women are able to keep a balance between work and family which is a very difficult decision and women are not made to make such tough decisions, as she points out, too. However, when women are able to make such decisions, they succeed in life and overcome several obstacles. When this happens, it means that they are becoming equal to men – leaders in the commercial world and not just female leaders. Perhaps, Schlafly is also suggesting that the effort to make women and men at par in terms of financial earnings is the very reason that marriages are failing and becoming unstable. But then these prices are worth the pay if a woman has to achieve prominence.

Works Cited

1. Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” AB Longman. n. d. Accessed Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
2. Sandberg, Sheryl. “Why I Want Women to Lean In. “Breeze, William et al. The Engaged Reader. VAN-ORINER. 2015. pp. 471-474.
3. Schlafly, Phyllis. “Faces and Fallacies about Paycheck Fairness.” Breeze, William et al. The Engaged Reader. VAN-ORINER. 2015. pp. 467-471.

Relevant Questions about Feminism in “The Story of an Hour”

1. How does Kate Chopin’s portrayal of feminism in “The Story of an Hour” offer insights into the protagonist’s emotional journey and her response to the confines of a patriarchal society?
2. In what ways does “The Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin exemplify feminist perspectives, particularly through its depiction of the protagonist’s awakening to her own desires and autonomy?
3. How is the concept of feminism conveyed in “The Story of an Hour,” and how does the story’s narrative trajectory highlight the complexities of women’s roles and expectations in the late 19th century?

Introduction to Feminism in “Bloodchild”

Feminism in “Bloodchild” does not seem a far-fetched idea. Although the feminist approach has reached its peak in bringing transformation in a patriarchal society through a demand for political and social rights for women, the thinking about the reversal of the naturally-given roles is emerging as a new aspect of this perspective. Perhaps, Octavia Butler represents this thinking that man should also go through the trials and tribulations of bearing children. However, as it seems impossible in the face of natural hurdles and the physical makeup of the bodies of both man as well as man, she has selected the fantasy genre in which it is easy to assign this role to different characters and deduce results.

Feminism in “Bloodchild”

Feminism in “Bloodchild” shows that she throws her earthly human beings on some extrasolar planet where they live in, the Preserve, a space reserved for them by the strange local creatures she names the Tlic, while the earthly human beings as the Terran. The local Tlic named T’Gatoi develops a love for Do Gan who is far younger than her, for she is of his mother’s age. She plans to have her children from Do Gan, who hates this sort of birth, yet he acquiesces to her commands when she says that it would be Xuan Hoa, his sister. To save her sister, he consents to her love when the story ends, but his consent throws fresh light on the feministic perspective in that men seem to agree to the demands of women. This means that Octavia Butler has used fantasy to make unfamiliar topics familiar. She has, in fact, reversed gender roles in “Bloodchild”, putting the question of human evolution and childbearing in the forefront as feministic features.

Gender in “Bloodchild”

Octavia has reversed the roles of genders as Gan is going to bear children of T’Gatoi – a new type of feminism in “Bloodchild.” However, this new feminine perspective has been set on some other planet and the new children are injected through eggs by this strange creature who also feeds human beings through eggs. It happens that T’Gatoi takes fancy to Do Gan and makes an arrangement with the family in that she would save them from the other Tlic and that they would let her make love with Gan to bear her children. However, this is a strange role that Do Gan hates to adopt. He, though, at some point gives his full consent and also sleeps with T’ Gatoi who sometimes becomes very angry and kicks him with any of her six legs. He has seen an unfortunate man Bram Lomas impregnated by another Tlic and cut up by T’Gatoi to take out maggots, or children of these creatures. That is where she asks him to slaughter an achti but Do Gan feels terrified at which he tells, “She knocked me across the room” with her tail. This is where this reversal takes place. He himself feels it when he thinks that he “ignored her warning” (Butler 6). However, even if it is done, it is T’Gatoi who is doing the job, while Do Gan is a passive onlooker, a reversal of roles that he has taken for granted. He does not do anything but sees when she cuts through Lomas to take out maggots that another Tlic has implanted in him. He is presenting a role model for him to do the same for T’Gatoi. This is a new feminine perspective that Butler wants the readers to see that it could happen in the near or far future. However, though it is a fantasy, this has taken place in the world where now women are working after giving birth to children, while there are dad-at-home men who are quite common in western society. This means that male becomes passive when females take an active role and do most of the jobs. However, as it cannot take place in reality, she has reserved these roles in a fantasy story to see what happens. This is how we trace feminism in “Bloodchild”.

Gestation in “Bloodchild”

The second perspective that she presents before her readers regarding feminism in “Bloodchild” is about gestation. Women have the ability to become pregnant and produce the next generation. What happens if this role is reversed? Although it has already been shown, she is of the view that with the power to give birth, women also hold physical and political powers though these areas are reserved for men. In fact, women have a natural bent of mind to keep progeny alive. T’Gatoi has this natural inclination that she wants her progeny to survive and human beings are fit for maggots born “from Terran bodies [which are] larger as well as more numerous”, a clear hint to physical health that women prefer for fertility (9). In fact, she has also removed love and romance from her gender roles to give priority to only gestation. The eggs that Tlic creatures feed to others seem to opiate exactly like a sexual act in which women become almost intoxicated. That is why his elder brother when he comes to meet him tells him that “You’re just her property” (11). However, the cutting by T’Gatoi of Lomas is a hint to cesarean sections now quite common that women have to undergo to give birth to children. It means that this could be reversed to give a new feminine perspective on whether men still love women, or that they would be as much consenting as women in the child-bearing trial, an entirely new way of projecting feminism in “Bloodchild”.

Childbearing in “Bloodchild”

In fact, childbearing is a feminist feature that is reversed in this story in that men even can’t bear their own children. The love and hate relationship that seems quite repulsive to the reader of this story is just a metaphor used to demonstrate differences between men and women and in their natures. In fact, practically this is impossible that a man could be bearing children impregnated by a woman. However, there is a symbiotic relationship between these two genders, because both have to live together for survival, as is shown by the anger of T’Gatoi when Gan refuses to host her children. She says it is because she wants “To provide the next generation of host animals” (13). T’ Gatoi knows that if she does not do this, her next generation would not be able to survive. It is also that there is a disparity between these two creatures, but Do Gan family can only survive by living in the Preserve and they cannot live there without T’Gatoi as she tells him, “We wait long years for you and teach you and join our families to yours” only to take care of progeny that is survival (15). She has done much for the family, the reason that Gan’s mother is also happy with this relationship. She rather coaxes him to sleep with her as she knows that without this they would not be able to survive on this planet. That is why there is somewhat love between Gan and T’Gatoi but this does not seem convincing. The reason is that sometimes even men and women do not love each other or only make love for the survival of their future generations. The objective of Butler about projecting feminism in “Bloodchild” seems to show that this dissimilarity does not bridge as this is natural.

Conclusion

In short, the story has been written from a feministic perspective in new dimensions to show that this could happen or not happen. However, it is clear that in societies such couples are found having reversed the roles except for the role of childbearing. Therefore, it is but natural that she has reversed to see how grotesque it may seem to others. It could be that this is a forewarning from her that if these roles are reversed, the result may be sterility as the Tlic creature is suffering from “One fertile female in every lot” a bleak reference to this sterility. However, despite all these foreshadowings, it seems that Octavia Butler has demonstrated that it could happen with severe results for mankind as this is unnatural, the reason that this maggot bearing seems a repulsive job. It could be the same that childbearing from a man seems repulsive and the feministic assertion has reached a limit where it should explore the next aspects and see what consequences it may have for the next generation.

Works Cited

Butler, Octavia. “Bloodchild.” Online Literature. n. d. Web. Accessed 05 March 2016

Relevant Questions about Feminism in “Bloodchild”

1. How does feminism in “Bloodchild” by Octavia Butler influence the dynamics of power and control within the unique reproductive relationship between the Terrans and the Tlics?
2. In what ways does Octavia Butler’s exploration of feminism in “Bloodchild” challenge traditional gender roles and expectations, especially in the context of Gan’s role in the partnership with T’Gatoi?
3. How does the theme of feminism in “Bloodchild” connect to broader discussions about bodily autonomy and agency, particularly regarding the choices and sacrifices made by the Terran characters in the story?

Introduction to Mother in “Everyday Use”

Exactly like the mother in “Everyday Use”, every mother is a universal character; always full of passion, love, affection, and emotions for all of her children. Her sense of justice lives in her heart. She treats all of her children equally with no prejudice or bias of color, deformity, education, or status. However, sometimes, it happens that even mothers neglect one child and prefer another, and it seems from the character of the mother in “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker that mama is tilting towards her educated daughter Dee in the first half of the story, and to deformed daughter Maggie in the later half, but on close reading, it is revealed that this is not the case. She is quite fair in her treatment of both of them equally without having any inclination toward any one of them. Her fair treatment is based on her understanding of the situation of each girl, their overall behavior toward her and the home, and their attitude toward the family and family heritage.

Character of Mother in “Everyday Use”

This anonymous character of mama or mother in “Everyday Use”,  is highly caring about both of her daughters, as she prepares her home to welcome Dee. She also takes care of Maggie on account of her accidental injury and bleak future prospects. Mother knows that she cannot do well like Dee. With her “burn scars” (Walker 443), she can only see her sister with “envy and awe” (445). She has suffered these injuries during a fire in the house around ten or twelve years earlier whereas Dee is “Maggie [has] nice hair and fuller figure” (444) which means a good future. It is also that, as contrary to Dee who got a chance to study in a school in Augusta with the help of her mother and church, Maggie did not have this golden chance. “Like good looks and money, quickness passed by her” (445), mother says, and she knows that contrary to her the situation of Dee is totally different, as she is not only quick and sharp but also has “a style of her own” (445). And she “knew what style was” (445). Whereas Maggie is a shy girl, always hiding her face somewhere, “hesitation was no part of her nature” (444) of Dee who was quite advanced in her ideas of marriage as well, as her previous boyfriend Jimmy T “flew to marry a cheap city girl” (445) and also that she might not have married to the present dandy Hakim-e-barber. However, Maggie has to marry John Thomas, who “has mossy teeth” (445). Therefore, it is a realization on the part of her mother that she can go ahead in her life on account of her education, her situation, and her sharpness. However, as Maggie has no bright prospects, her mother has to take care of her and hence greater care of her.

Mother-Daughter Conflict in “Everyday Use”

As far as behavior toward the mother and the home is concerned, Maggie is living within the home comprising three huts and a yard. She is dependent on her mother. She always turns to her in case of any help or needs or if she is to ask a question, and even in the case of marriage. It is on account of her disfigurement due to burns she suffered during the fire. Whenever she needs something or is to ask something like “how do I look, Mama?” (444), she turns to her mother for this. Even when she “makes a dash for the door” (445) to see Dee coming, mother calls and she comes back immediately. This obedience makes the mother love her even more. However, the case of Dee is highly different. She is not only condescending due to her education but also insolent toward her mother. Even during her dreams, the mother sees that there might be a “curse and insult” (444) during a television program as she thinks of her daughter’s arrival. Contrary to Maggie, Dee wants her mother to be “hundred pond lighter” (445) and should make her hair “glisten” (445). She has been forcing “words, lies, other folks’ habits” (445) and several other things on them, that they do not need. She has not even consulted her mother in case of her marriage or no marriage with “Assalamoalaikum” (446). To top it all, she has changed her name, and “every once in a while he and Wangero sent eye signals over [her] head” (446). It means that mama knows that she is making fun of their poverty. That is why she feels more love for Maggie than Dee because of her behavior.

Family and Mother in “Everyday Use”

Another important argument is her behavior towards the family, family heritage, and familial bonds. As Maggie is living within the home and knows everything, there are no questions about her behavior. However, Dee has taken not only her home but also her full family heritage just a relic to decorate in some drawing room. Instead of loving them and keeping them with her to improve their conditions, she looks down upon them as “she will never bring her friends” (445). When she reaches home, she receives a warm welcome, but she is behaving as if it is some museum for her. She is getting one or the other thing “This churn top is what I need” (447) and “I want the dasher” (447) because she thinks it is “something artistic to do with the dasher” but she does not know that it is for them an object of everyday use. Even she is against remembering the names of all of her great-grandparents, as she would have to count them “up to Civil War” (447). She also rummages through the trunk without the permission of mama, and then asks her to get the quilts that mama says that she has made for Maggie to use in the future. However, she belittles Maggie saying, “Maggie can’t appreciate these quilts”. Contrary to her, mama sees something spiritual in Maggie due to her innocence instead of Dee, who is merely pretentious. Therefore, she pays more attention to Maggie.

Conclusion

In nutshell, it is the sense of fairness of mother in “Everyday Use” shows that she treats both of her daughters equally but seems to tilting toward Maggie because of her situation, her behavior, and overall behavior towards the family. It also shows a sort of mother-daughter conflict in “Everyday Use”. Although Dee is educated and sophisticated, she is also clever contrary to Maggie, who has more of spirituality in her. It seems that she might be prejudiced against Dee but this is not the case. She clearly knows that she can live on her own, as she has got another young man after the escape of the first one, but Maggie walks like a “lame animal” (445) who obviously cannot live such a fast life without the help of mama. Mother knows that she has spent on Dee more than she has done for Maggie. Therefore, she pays more attention to Maggie in order to compensate for the shortcomings she has developed on account of neglect in the case of education. Otherwise, she is quite fair to both of them. It is also that Maggie is highly respectful and depends on her while Dee thinks of herself a creature of some other star instead of her daughter. Therefore, she does receive treatment like Maggie, as Maggie is a part of her home but Dee has left it by changing her name.

Works Cited

Walker, Alice. “Everyday Use.” An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Ed. Kennedy X. J. & Dana Gioia. 3rd ed. Vol. 10. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 444-449. Print.

Relevant Questions about Mother in “Everyday Use”

1. How does the character of the Mother in “Everyday Use” perceive her role as a mother, and how does this perception influence her interactions with her daughters in “Everyday Use”?
2. What is the significance of the mother-daughter conflict in “Everyday Use”and how does it shape the central conflict surrounding heritage and identity in “Everyday Use”?
3. How does the Mother in “Everyday Use” represent traditional values and heritage, and how do her beliefs and actions impact the way she navigates the conflict between Dee and Maggie in “Everyday Use”?

Introduction “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis”

Stories “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis” published during the modernist movement show the impact of this movement in various ways. This movement emerged out of industrialization and the ravages of WW-I and affected individuals as well as characters presented in literary texts, specifically fiction. Various novellas and short stories including “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis” have depicted characters demonstrating impacts of the modern life on their minds as well as their relationships with other characters. “The Dead” by James Joyce as well as “The Metamorphosis”, by Franz Kafka, show the impacts of the modern lifestyle on the characters in various ways. Most emblems of the modern lifestyle and modernism are clear from the way they behave with one another and treat each other as well as how they see themselves. The intellectual and spiritual crisis not only shows through the characters at “Misses Morkan’s annual dance,” gathering guests such as Mr. Gabriel, Mr. Brown, and other characters, but also through their activities, relationships, and treatment of others (Joyce 01). Meaningful activities are absent in their lives. And their approach toward life and others, too, is mostly self-centered. The same idea goes in the relations and treatment of others with Gregor Samsa, Grete Samsa, the mother, the father, and the boarders in the novella, “The Metamorphosis.” Characters in both stories “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis” not only show the absence of meaningful activities and relations but also the importance of financial pressure or animal instinct more than humane passions as well as psychological consciousness in their treatment of others and themselves.

Modernist Culture and “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis”

Whereas “The Dead” is concerned, it opens with Mokran’s dance party where various people gather to enjoy. Everyone, who knows the family of Mokran, comes to the party including Gretta and Gabriel along with Mr. Browne and Mrs. Conroy (01). The conversation among the family shows that they do not have a single meaningful topic to talk about. Then, their departure shows that there are “cross-directions, contradictions, and abundance of laughter” but no single purpose in the whole issue (15). This is entirely meaningless whether it is Aunt Kate, Aunt Julia, Mary Jane, Gabriel, Mr. Browne, Gretta, or other characters. Everyone in the gathering is engaged in making himself important through his conversation at the time when Aunt Kate is taking care of everybody by telling them what they are doing. For example, she states that Gretta is not down yet and Browne is everywhere (14), which shows amply that she is taking care of everybody, but mostly through her own self-centered approach. In other words, she is asking about everybody to show that she is also present. Even Gabriel is obsessed with his own personality regarding the impression he leaves upon others. This shows that not only is this entire activity meaningless and full of contradictions, but their relationship is full of absurdities. Gabriel is rather more obsessed with his wife as if “she [was] a symbol of something” for him (16).

Although there is no financial pressure, the psychological dilemmas that Gabriel faces when his wife, Gretta, tells him about her former lover, Michael Furey, brings him to the point of consciousness about others as well as about himself. At that time, Gabriel noticed what was the reason behind his wife’s strange mood. Simultaneously, he wanted to crush her body against his own (20). But when he became conscious regarding his relations with Gretta, he rather felt ashamed as “he turned his back more to the light lest she might see the shame that burned upon his forehead” (20). The moment dawned upon him the absurdity of his earlier relation and “His soul approached that region where dwell the vast hosts of the dead,” dawning upon him the reality of his life and his own act of treating Gretta merely through his lust (20). Commenting on Gabriel’s consciousness in Shen Yuan and Dong Hong’ paper, “The Modernist Features in James Joyce’s Dubliners,” they maintained that after Gabriel realizes his wife’s situation and news of her former lover, he felt shocked. He realized that he was a blind person who was given self-satisfaction and self-deception in the past despite his intellectual life (30). This was his consciousness not only about himself but also about others.

However, the modern impacts of the treatment of characters of other characters and with themselves have some other patterns, a bit different from that of the characters in both stories “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis”. It is because there is a sudden transformation of shape and role of Gregor Samsa, the central character of “The Metamorphosis”. He suddenly realizes that he is no longer a human being. It is because he has turned into a cockroach. Then he questions what has happened to himself, whereas his treatment of himself starts with, somewhat, different thinking (Kafka 03). He becomes self-reflecting on his new life, leaving his role as a bread-earner, and thinking about his family members who must be facing hard times. He tries to come out of this situation through his ruminations about his job, his boss’s reaction, his family’s situation, and his own activities at his job. But all this seems absurd and meaningless to him in the face of a new situation, because he cannot go out despite his care for his family. When his sister comes to call him in the morning for breakfast, he faces a new situation in which his voice becomes very cold. The same reaction comes from different people who come to take him out of his room (07). Although Gregor tries his best to enter the circle of humanity by acting as a human being in the shape of that cockroach, the financial pressure on his family transforms their relationship. The cockroach, Gregor, treats them as his family members, but they are losing interest in him, as he is no longer a breadwinner. That is the reason why his sister starts chasing him down from the wall which is an action that makes him realize his new existence of no value and no importance due to having no role of a breadwinner (47). His father, who used to love him, yells at him with mixed feelings of anger and confusion, but this does not go down well with him. All of a sudden, the cockroach relationship starts changing, as “it was no longer the animated social interaction of the former times” (53), but a new reality having financial repercussions as his father starts working. Now he does not need his son’s financial help as he used to have in the past. As a result, Gregor thinks that if he leaves the apartment, his family will not need him and he will not cause a financial loss for them (65). In fact, characters in both stories “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis” demonstrate the same traits.

Psychological Impact on Characters in “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis”

Even on a psychological level, it has impacted his own view of himself and of his family members. They start treating him not as Gregor Samsa, but as vermin. As his sister discusses with her father that “It must be gotten rid of,” (65) referring to Gregor which she sees as the only option to save the family from financial and psychological ruin. Commenting on his thinking and his family’s treatment of her Cecile Rozuel in her article “Otherness in Self and Organizations” maintains that Gregor is a man who tried hard to support his family, but he fail, saying “he is a man who has tried, and perhaps, failed to support his family in whichever way he could” (06). She that “he becomes further alienated” due to his transformation not only in shape but also in his role as a breadwinner (06).

Conclusion

To sum up, modern lifestyle has impacted the characters of these two pieces in such a way that their treatment and their relations with others are based on their search for meaning in life, though their activities demonstrate this meaninglessness. Financial pressure has its consequences in the shape of contradictions in life as well as thinking. Psychological realities stare characters in the face and bring self-consciousness as well as consciousness about others, as Gabriel feels about his wife or Gregor has a moment of epiphany that he feels about his family and himself. However, the consciousness of one character about others does not change this; Grete and Gregor’s father want Gregor to be dead so that they could live, while Gabriel in, “The Dead,” feels that his own identity is “fading out into [a] grey impalpable world” after realizing that he does not love his wife but wants to possess her due to his lust (Joyce 22). These moments of consciousness show how modern life has impacted the characters to see and treat others differently due to the alienation that has crept into their lives.

Works Cited

1. Joyce, James. The Dead. English Leaners. n. d. english-learners.com/wp-content/uploads/THE-DEAD.pdf. Accessed on 24 Mar. 2017.
2. Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Planet Ebook. 1999. www.planetebook.com/ebooks/The-Metamorphosis.pdf. Accessed on 24 Mar. 2017.
3. Rozuel, Cecile. “Otherness in Self and Organizations: Kafka’s The Metamorphosis to Stir Moral Reflection.” Research in Ethical Issues in Organizations, vol. 11. 2014. pp. 25-50. http://www.cecilerozuel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/CRozuel_Kafkas-Metamorphosis_REIO.pdf. Accessed on 24 Mar. 2017.
4. Yuan, Shen and Dong Hong. “The Modernist Features in Joyce’s Dubliners.” Studies in Literature and Language, vol. 12, no. 2, 2016. pp. 28-32. www.cscanada.net/index.php/sll/article/download/8173/9030. Accessed on 24 Mar. 2017.

Relevant Questions about “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis”

1. How do the characters in “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis” grapple with existential isolation, and how does this isolation shape their perceptions of life in “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis”?
2. In what ways do the modernist narratives in “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis” challenge conventional notions of life, death, and meaning, and how does this challenge reflect the authors’ modernist presentation of life?
3. How do the settings and atmospheres in “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis” contribute to the overall portrayal of life in a modernist context, and how do they differ in conveying the themes of existence and mortality in “The Dead” and “The Metamorphosis”?