Dostoevsky and Kafka

Notes on Kafkas Metamorphosis and Comparison with Dostoevskys Notes from Underground (these are my personal notes and
not for distribution in any form) Dostoevsky and Kafka comparison 1. UM cannot become anything, even an insect (i.e., the lowest form of social existence). Gregor does become an insect, a parasite on his family. 2. UM knows that thinking only leads to more thinking what is needed is action. Gregor tries to think things over (pp. 7-8; p. 27) but obviously thinking cannot solve his problem(s). 3. The UMs anxiety is potentiated to the highest degree, which, as SK notes, makes it impossible for him to overcome it. The possibilities which he faces are primarily artificial, novelist inventions. Gregors anxiety is less reflective, concerned with real possibilities, though these are banal (What now if all the peace, the comfort, the contentment were to come to a horrible end? p. 22). 4. Both the UM and Gregor attempt to overcome thinking by moving. 5. The UM is so far beyond social mores that he is treated with derision even by his valet. Gregor, at least initially, is treated with great respect and deference, though these are inappropriate to a vermin (see p. 24). 6. Both the UM and Gregor find their worlds radically limited by their outsider status, their freedom truncated when all that is really important to them is their freedom. But both feel that this helps them to see the nature of things, people, and situations more clearly. However, in both cases, this forces a concentration of the self upon itself that endangers the existence of the person. (notes, p. 76) 7. Both hold normal life and people in derision. However, the UM has rejected it utterly, while Gregor is holding on to a romantic belief that he is acting as his familys saviour. As the UM says, Either a hero or dirt there was no middle way. 8. Both the UM and Gregor (p. 48) seem to become indifferent to social mores, such as appearance, but both notice it all the time. 9. Art is the one thing that makes them both come alive.
10. Both of them suffer a lack of integration of their powers and interests; symbolized by Gregors job as a traveling salesman, and by all of the artifacts of his past and his hobbies kept in his dresser. 11. Both are essentially passive, though they pride themselves on being active. 12. Both, in wishing to get out of being inferior and subservient, wind up more inferior and subservient, and unable to do anything about it. Or, perhaps, both are already defined by society as mere tools, and so despite themselves become what they loathe. The Structure of Kafkas The Metamorphosis 0. Background (revealed through the story) -Fathers business failed; family faced financial ruin; -Gregor came to the rescue like a hero or a saint; -Gregor enjoys the traveling, but hates the resulting dislocation, and disdains his bosses and fellow workers; -his family at first were appreciative but had begun to take Gregors selflessness for granted; -the family life was monotonous and rooted in capitulation Father was no longer active, sister was useless; Gregors saving them had rendered them all useless. I. The Metamorphosis -the change itself is not important, only the outcome; -the connection between Gregors previous life and the metamorphosis is left unclear. II. Initial reactions: -Gregor: denial or ignorance, simple learning to function; anxiety; gradual limiting of horizons (along with the removal of his furniture, the dimming of his vision, etc.); -Mother and Father: withdrawal, despondency, anger (esp. Father); their conventional faith does not give them the resources to deal with the situation; -Sister: saintly self-denial; as if her religious convictions help her to overcome her revulsion. III. Secondary reactions: -Father learns from his angry outburst that Gregor was still a member of the family and not an enemy, and they had to endure him, though nothing more;
-Father and family sink further into despondency; Father says, What a life. So this is the peace of my old age. -The Family cannot move, not really because of Gregor, but because they lacked will: they lack the strength for any greater moral deeds than just getting by (see p. 42). -sisters saintliness fades as she succumbs to worldly pressures. -not only are Gregors possibilities limited by his state (a process begun when he gave up his life to save them, and continued with the metamorphosis, which limited his social and physical mobility, and further with the removal of his furniture), now his family begins to impose upon him more actively by loading their unwanted things into his room. -Gregor begins to show less consideration for his family, whereas consideration had used to be his greatest pride (p. 48). -Gregor becomes increasingly indifferent to his appearance, and his family ceases to take care of him. -the sister is the first to give up on him, arguing that he is no longer a member of the family. IV. Resolution -the family resolves that Gregor must be gotten rid of, and they find a kind of calmness; -Gregor decides that he must leave and spends half the night in empty and peaceful reflection. -after Gregor is found dead, the Samsas are, for the first time, referred to as Mr. and Mrs. Samsa i.e., as a family unit (nb the mention of their marriage bed), and Mr. Samsa gets conviction, expelling the boarders and deciding to fire the maid.

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Notes on Kafkas Metamorphosis and Comparison with Dostoevskys Notes from Underground (these are my personal notes and

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