Monday, February 4, 2019
The Metamorphosis Artwork
I think based on the first part we read of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis this weekend, we can all agree this is perhaps the weirdest piece of literature this year. I hear a lot of people enjoying it and Anabella just told me that because this story is so out of the ordinary, she is remembering the details much easier. I know people post artwork in correlation to what we are learning like we did with symbolism, however, this is a piece of literature so bizarre (I mean, seriously, who just wakes up as a giant bug?!) I think some visual representations of it would be very cool to discuss. Here are some depictions I found, all of which seem to have visual frustrations and a dark tone to them. I think that goes with the struggle of man vs. beast and what that means psychologically. I think the covers of the books are some of the coolest since we are reading from Norton and don't have that variety. I would love to hear your opinions on them and what they mean to you/ how you are interpreting the novel thus far.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
It's most definitely interesting at how different some of these representations of Gregor's transformation are. All of them, however, are noticeably insect-like, for Gregor is known to have transformed into a dung beetle. Some pieces of the artwork, however, also show Gregor's seemingly human reaction to his transformed state. It is difficult, even as a reader with an imaginative mind, to feel as though a responsible salesman wakes up one morning unable to go to work because now, he's a bug. Definitely, my own personal difficulty with the novella is succumbing to the suspension of disbelief. I'm not typically great at just accepting fantastical things as they are since I'm someone so used to realistic fiction and nonfiction, so it's weird for me to read this novella and think about it as extended reality. Regardless, Kafka does a great job of making the language in the piece casual and at points, conversational. Therefore, it is easier to succumb to his fictional report.
This artwork is seriously creepy! I think you really hit the nail on the head with the struggle you pointed out—the struggle of man vs. beast. I think particularly in Part III, one of the main aspects of the narration is Gregor’s internal struggle. How in touch is he with his humanity and, in turn, with his identity? For example, when Grete plays violin for the 3 men boarding in the Samsa family’s home, Gregor finds himself entranced by the song. Of course, we can infer from earlier parts of the novella that Gregor likely has always respected and adored Grete’s musical abilities/passion for the violin. He wants to spend a lot of money to send her to a music conservatory! But this instance is different. He feels drawn to the music and seems to become more connected to his animalistic side. He thinks that his metamorphosis is one of the reasons (if not the sole reason) he’s so drawn to the music. The musics functions as a powerful force that pulls Gregor into the living room—which launches a chain of tragic events (that I won’t spoil in case y’all haven’t finished Part III yet). Kafka might also be commenting on the idea that music appeals to a primal side of us; experiencing music is the same for humans and beasts. In fact, this experience invites humans to interact with their animalistic nature.
Gregor’s family struggles with the same dilemma—how much of Gregor’s humanity remains? You’ll find out what they conclude.
Back to the interpretations of Gregor’s metamorphosis: I’m entranced and disgusted by the realism of first depiction. It almost looks like a photograph but with some more mystical qualities. The anguish on Gregor’s face represents the internal struggle he’s facing and his physical pain (resulting from his father’s violent actions). In this depiction, Gregor is still part human, and perhaps that’s meant to represent his divided psyche. I also like the artist’s vision of Grete’s timid figure in the corner. In this moment, she looks fearful and like a young child—before she completes her metamorphosis into a young woman.
What do y’all think about the way the artist manipulates light in this painting?
I notice that in all of these very creepy works, the artists chose to use mainly (if not only) black and white. Furthermore, there isn’t a lot of light either, which is especially prominent in the first painting. In the first one, Gregor’s room is entirely in shadow. The only source of light is the window to the outside world, which shines on Gregor’s still human face and highlights his anguish. I think it’s significant that the outside is the only place that is lit up, and it is also the place where Gregor is forbidden to go after his metamorphosis. Once Gregor becomes a beetle, he can’t go outside for fear of being seen, and therefore his life loses all the light it once had (which, arguably, wasn’t much). While Gregor’s life wasn’t ideal before, he lived to support his family. Now that he can’t work, he has nothing to live for. Eventually, he stops eating or moving around and dies because he is so feeble and has lost the will to live.
I love these art pieces and how each of them show a different persepective as to what Gregor might have looked like. My personal favorite is the last one because I love the combination of the skull with the bugs body. I also love the first one when Gregor is struggling to get up because it’s such a unique piece of art.
I think that all of these images are amazing illustrations of Gregor completely by people with artistic talent that I do not have. However, I can not stand the ones depicting Gregor as a cockroach because he was really more like a giant beetle. As we discussed in class, the translation of the first line in the story inaccurately depicted Gregor as a cockroach. As a result, many people incorrectly envision Gregor as a cockroach instead of a beatle. It is just disappointing looking at the image of Gregor as a cockroach because the artist clearly spent so much time and effort on their work and was most likely influenced by the incorrectly translated opening line!
These are all interesting pieces of art! I think my favorite is too the first one; it looks the mot realistic and conveys such strong emotions. I think the white shirt and the nice shoes beside his bed must be his work cloths; the high quality of these work related things stand out against the poor quality of the bed itself. Work was certainly put before his own health and feelings. I also very much like how we can see his arm forming into an insect like limb, and how his legs are still human. He looks rather tormented in this picture, which is not how he reacted when he first woke up. Maybe his true change was something more gradual than just waking up one morning, and this picture represents his inner feelings as he slowly became more sad and mechanical, and that's why his in the middle of his physical change. The sister in the corner maybe represents his view of her as perfect and someone he wants to protect; its his litter sister and he sees her as innocent.
Post a Comment