Comedy or Horror?
Throughout the book, I was often conflicted about whether
Kafka was trying to create a comedic or horrific effect. One scene that
especially portrays the mix of comedy and horror is the scene when Gregor
finally comes out of his room and shows himself in bug form to his entire
family and the Chief Clerk.
The fact
that Gregor still thinks he is going to be able to go to work has a comedic
effect on the story. As the Chief Clerk is backing away from Gregor in horror,
the only thing Gregor is thinking about is the fact that the Chief Clerk might
not let him go back to work. He is not even thinking about how he is a giant
bug. He tells the Chief Clerk, “‘Now I’m going to get dressed at once, pack up
my samples and be off’” (75). For some reason, Gregor thinks he is going to be
able to fit into his human clothes and continue the day, just like any other
day. The picture of Gregor trying to put on his human clothes is definitely a
funny image. He seems to think that his transformation is just a small obstacle
in his day that he can easily overcome. He also tells the Chief Clerk, “‘A man
may be temporarily incapacitated for work, but that’s just the right moment to
remember his past achievements’” (75). The phrase “temporarily incapacitated”
makes it seem that Gregor just has a head cold or the stomach flu. He does not
seem to be able to grasp the fact that his transformation is terrifying to
everyone. The fact that Gregor completely disregards his transformation gives
the scene a funny side.
However,
other parts of the scene are more sad and horrific. For example, the reaction
of the Chief Clerk is definitely something straight out of a horror movie. Kafka
says the Chief Clerk, “started slowly backing away, as if he were being driven
by the steady pressure of some invisible force” (74). The idea that Gregor
cannot control his body is also pretty horrific. When he smells the coffee he
was, “unable to restrain himself from snapping jaws” (77). He also cannot control
his movements and “could not even keep his direction in reverse” (77). Similarly, Gregor thinks everyone can
understand him, but really he is just making a lot of weird noises. The gap
between what Gregor is thinking and his family’s reaction to him is pretty big.
This is pretty horrifying because Gregor is no longer able to communicate with
his family, who seem to be the most important part of his life.
As the
story goes on, there is less comedy as Gregor becomes more depressed and realizes
that his family does not care about him and are scared and disgusted by him.
There is still some comedy although it’s more subtle or more like “dark comedy.”
I've found that a lot of books start out exciting but then closer to the end grow somber, and the Metamorphosis could be considered as one of them. I like that you point out the difference in tone between the start and end of the story. I hadn't thought of that difference before.
ReplyDeleteI think your analysis it very good! I felt like throughout the book I thought that scenarios were funny, but I often found them humorous in the way where you laugh because you don't really know what else to do. They were so absurd and horrifying that it was hard to think of anything else to do but laugh. As well, things are just so strange that you can never predict what someone will think or say next, which adds to the humor of the novel. For example, Gregor's father throwing apples at him was just so strange and disturbing that it was somehow funny. I also agree that the beginning of the book is different in the "humor" from the first, which wasn't something I had thought about until you brought it up. Very good points!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your analysis! There are a multitude of instances when the reader doesn’t know when to laugh or become terrified. I feel like if this story were to actually happen, then our reactions wouldn’t be the same as those of Gregor’s family. Yet that is what makes it so much more comical. If a giant bug came out of a room, most people wouldn’t assume it was Gregor. The combined comedic and horrific components in the book makes it even more dream like. While in a nightmare, you become so scared that you sometimes wake yourself up. But then later when you reflect on it, you realize how funny sounding it can be. These two qualities are what makes us question its realism.
ReplyDeleteI think that while I agree that there were many places that I could have been laughing or been really freaked out by what was going on, I think that most of the laughing that I ended up doing was more uncomfortable laughter than actually thinking that something was genuinely funny, although there were some scenes that were. But I think that this ambiguity and confusion is intentional to Kafka's writing because it is supposed to add to the dream like quality of the story.
ReplyDeleteI think it's pretty cool how you point out the different between the story's tone at the beginning and end; I never really thought about that before. I never really laughed during this story, but instead tried to understand the message the author was trying to convey. I think a lot of the uncomfortable and awkward moments are just a product of kafka trying to depict a society that is always focused on productivity and accommodating to those around you. Great blogpost
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