Category Archives: Homework

Week 4

Analysis On Goodman Brown and Metamorphosis

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The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka told a very sad story. A bread winner that transformed hideous monster. On the same day  of transformation he was to told by his former manager that his work performance was poor, so Gregor knew he did not have much more to live for. As time progress he grew more and more isolated from his family and his family fear, towards him grew greater as well. A family that once dependent on Gregor couldn’t go to Gregor for help, so their debt out grew their patience. Gregor family decided to get boarders or room-mates to help pay rent; which was bad idea due to the fact that they knew they were living with a  monster. This story shows the importance of family. You never know when an individual may need help  your help or when your peaceful family or  member within your family, may become strenuous or needy.

Goodman Brown is a story base is the line of faith; loss of Faith. Everything in the setting was seems real but the story went into a twist. Married man of three months and madly in love with his beautiful wife Faith. On the night of Browns voyage, the story takes and turn into becoming a fairy tale meaning; Brown was interacting and making evil laughs while trekking through the woods. During his journey Brown came across Christians that challenge his commitment to Faith; however Brown was strong and he trekked hard until he reach his destination.  Like the author asked his readers, was it just a dream or Brown really ventured  to find his faith that he left at home before the journey.

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Homework, Week 4

Analysis on “Young Goodman Brown”

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“Young Goodman Brown” is a story about a man deceived by the evil devil. Goodman Brown was tricked and was never the same. He was warned by his wife that evil was lurking in her dreams, to please stay with her. Gooman Brown ignored her and continued on his journey. He met an old man in the forest, that would take Brown to a meeting with the higher up towns people. The forest was filled with lust, greed and deceit.

While in the forest Goodman Brown found an acquaintance of his Goody Cloyse she prayed while she walked through the forest as a worshipper of god. When she saw that  Goodman Brown was in the forest immediately screamed Devil. She knew Goodman Brown was there because of the devil deceit because thats why she was in the forest. She spoke of witchery brooms disappearing. Goodman Brown and the old man continued their walk to the meeting. The meeting consitited of the congregation, ministers, deacons and others. As everyone was settled in the old man welcomed his children into their destiny. Their destiny was to follow his way of wickedness to deceive and destroy others.

Goodman Brown couldnt believe what he got himslef into. He finally woke up it was all a dream. But was it? Goodman Brown was never the same, he constantly feared that he could be easily maniipulated and that that people of the church were worshippers of the devil.

 

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Week 4, Week 4

The metamorphosis

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The metamorphosis by Franz Kafka was wrote in 1912. the story tells us about the transformation of human being Gregor into a gigantic insect. It’s was very interesting and strong imagination from the writer. It was noticeable that Gregor had an issue with his family. He was totally excluded from them. Gregor was a puzzled victim of sickness. I think the message behind this story is about the shift which occurs to someone and the consequences which can follow this shifting. One someone is ill and disabled, family is mostly the only thing we can rely on. In Gregor’s case was different. He had a hard time being accepted. His mother failed to cooperate with her brutal husband to deal which Gregor’s situation. This failure generated loneliness and hardship in Gregor’s feelings. The mother was hoping good for her son and tried so hard to assist, She thought it was only a temporary sickness and she even kept Gregor’s furniture hoping that he goes back to his normal life but she didn’t succeed because the father didn’t accept a bit of what happened to Gregor. It was mentioned in the story that his father bombarded him with apples which is a sign of not accepting neither Gregor nor his illness.
It was a sad story. In the beginning of the reading, I had hope for Gregor and I thought he will be helped, saved and accepted by his family. But getting to the end of the story, it shows different thing than what i was expecting.

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Week 4

Metamorphosis and Young Goodman Brown

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I think “Metamorphosis” by Frank Kafka  could be read metaphorically. This could easily represent a story of someone who got very sick and the family can’t deal with him in the condition he is in. Not only do they have to care for him (and guard him from sight), they now have to go to work since he cannot support them anymore.

Throughout the story he gets to be more and more of a burden, and he slowly gets more and more neglected.  When his mother and sister try to help him out and rearrange his room, he is spotted by his mother (who couldn’t bear to see him in that state) and she faints.

Near the end, Grete is trying to convince her parents to “get rid of it” (Gregor isn’t referred to as he at this point). At this point we see that he is nothing but a burden to the family. This can (sadly enough) be a metaphor for someone withering away in a coma. He can understand them and hears more than think, but cannot communicate with them. When they were getting near the point of “pulling the plug”, Gregor passed on, relieving the family of their tremendous burden.

 

In the first few paragraphs of “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Brown is talking to Faith, his wife. It seems that at the same time Faith could also be a personification of his actual faith.  “Faith kept me back awhile” (12) is a great line. At this point in the story the reader doesn’t know where Brown is heading, only that is something bad.  He was kept back by his wife, but also by his belief, and his knowledge that what he is doing is wrong.

Essentially Goodman is in fact a good man and changes his mind before committing the evil deed. “My Faith is gone” he cried after hearing his wife is there with the sinners. This is referring to  his wife but can also mean he lost the faith he so barely held onto moments before.

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Homework, Week 4

The Metamorphosis – Blog Post

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Between both stories, I enjoyed “The Metamorphosis” the best. On some level I think it touches on humanity quite a bit, in the sense of how people tend to treat each other when things get difficult and complicated. There are times in life when something defining can happen to a person: an illness, loss of a family member, financial hardships, and it’s in these moments when a person may see who is truly supportive and understanding in their life. It’s heartbreaking when those that you have given your support and understanding to fail to reciprocate in return.

The passage that stood out to me is the following:

“One day, about a month after Gregor’s transformation when his sister no longer had any particular reason to be shocked at his appearance, she came into the room a little earlier than usual and found him still staring out the window, motionless, and just where he would be most horrible. In itself, his sister’s not coming into the room would have been no surprise for Gregor as it would have been difficult for her to immediately open the window while he was still there, but not only did she not come in, she went straight back and closed the door behind her, a stranger would have thought he had threatened her and tried to bite her. Gregor went straight to hide himself under the couch, of course, but he had to wait until midday before his sister came back and she seemed much more uneasy than usual. It made him realise that she still found his appearance unbearable and would continue to do so, she probably even had to overcome the urge to flee when she saw the little bit of him that protruded from under the couch. One day, in order to spare her even this sight, he spent four hours carrying the bedsheet over to the couch on his back and arranged it so that he was completely covered and his sister would not be able to see him even if she bent down. If she did not think this sheet was necessary then all she had to do was take it off again, as it was clear enough that it was no pleasure for Gregor to cut himself off so completely. She left the sheet where it was. Gregor even thought he glimpsed a look of gratitude one time when he carefully looked out from under the sheet to see how his sister liked the new arrangement.

I think this passage is so reflective of how Gregor is still willing to give when he is receiving  so little. He spent four hours moving the sheet to put it on top of himself to spare his sister the uncomfortableness of looking at him. He is still doing for his family and looking out for what what make them more comfortable. He not only provided for them financially, but he is still providing the comfort from unpleasantness. All his sister had to do was take the sheet off. She must have known that not only was the sheet uncomfortable to have on top of him, but also, that in removing the sheet it would have provided the kindness of acceptance and comfort. Even that small act was too much for her to grant him.

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Homework, Week 4

“Young Goodman Brown”

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In “Young Goodman Brown,” the following passage stood out and defined the story to me:

“Be it so if you will; but, alas! it was a dream of evil omen for young Goodman Brown. A stern, a sad, a darkly meditative, a distrustful, if not a desperate man did he become, from the night of that fearful dream. On the Sabbath day, when the congregation were singing a holy psalm, he could not listen because an anthem of sin rushed loudly upon his ear and drowned all the blessed strain. When the minister spoke from the pulpit with power and fervid eloquence, and, with his hand on the open Bible, of the sacred truths of our religion, and of saint-like lives and triumphant deaths, and of future bliss or misery unutterable, then did Goodman Brown turn pale, dreading lest the roof should thunder down upon the gray blasphemer and his hearers. Often, waking suddenly at midnight, he shrank from the bosom of Faith; and at morning or eventide, when the family knelt down at prayer, he scowled and muttered to himself, and gazed sternly at his wife, and turned away. And when he had lived long, and was borne to his grave a hoary corpse, followed by Faith, an aged woman, and children and grandchildren, a goodly procession, besides neighbors not a few, they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom.”

After Brown’s dreadful dream, he started to view everyone differently. From his dream, he has seen what people are or could be capable of. So he distrusted the whole village, including his wife, Faith. He basically spent the rest of his life trying to avoid contact with people, for he was frightened by them.  I presume the message that Nathaniel Hawthorne is trying to give in this story is that some people have a hidden personality, and they have a great way of hiding it.

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Homework, Week 4

“THE METAMORPHOSIS” (RESPONSE BLOG)

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“The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka was a very interesting read. To me as a reader, it stood out big time because of how surreal it feels when you read it. The way Kafka wrote also used added to the surrealism. One example being the injury Gregor sustained. I could picture those apples and the apple that remained lodged in his flesh as “a visible reminder of his injury.” The struggles he had as a bug can also be pictured. He wasn’t human anymore so of course there would be massive change one main part being his image and feelings from family/loved ones.

It’s sad to see family turn against you. He was “useless” to them and he brought a burden with his transformation. With his presence as a bug, he couldn’t provide for his family and no profit could come with him there. Pretty much, it added greater struggle to the household and frustrated everyone. He morphed from being the carry of the household, to an outcast ignored by his family. What’s also messed up is the fact that his death wasn’t really noticed or mourned. His family just let it go can acted like Gregor never existed even if he was the reason the family was still living under a roof and eating.

“The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka was indeed a very interesting read. It was a nightmare at its finest. It’s something that I’d be afraid of. Losing your humanity and the love from your family. Now that’s terrifying. The word kafkaesque is defined as the nightmarish writing style of Kafka. Reading this story did in fact feel like a nightmare which is why it stood out to me. Realism in Fiction is something I like and this story brought it to me. It also brought something I fear and that is to be turned against by the people you are really close to. Luckily the chances of that happening are low but it’s still something to fear. I now just hope reading this doesn’t bring me a similar nightmare.

 

 

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Homework, Week 4

My Thoughts on “Young Goodman Brown” and “Metamorphosis”

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In Young Goodman Brown, I believe that the devil was having a meeting with Mr. Brown in order to persuade Mr. Brown to worship him (Page 2, p.13). This is greatly exemplified with Mr. Brown stating that his father “never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him and that his race was of honest men and good Christians, since the days of the martyrs” (Page 3, p.17). Mr. Brown also states that his family was a “people of prayer and good works and that they abide no such wickedness” (Page 3, p.19). However, the devil claims to Mr. Brown that he had been “well acquainted with his family, that he helped his father and grandfather, and that both were good friends to him” (Page 3, p.18). Mr. Brown denied the devil’s invitation because he wanted to stick to the faith that he grew up in, saw that it was not morally right, and did want to let his wife, Faith, be saddened by his wicked decision. The story gets very interesting at the end when Mr. Brown sees people from his town, that he thought was devout Christians, chanting demonic incantations, in a ritual like communion, even his wife was involved (Page 8, p. 56-Page 10, p.69). Therefore, Hawthorne was allegorically stating that people can put a façade of being holy or pious but are really not what they display because they can be living a hidden life of sin that can only be discovered through revelation.

In The Metamorphosis, Gregor transformed from a human travelling salesman into an insect, whether it was a cockroach or beetle, all I could say was “eeeewwww” throughout the duration of my reading. This is greatly exemplified when Gregor wakes up to find his human body transformed on his bed. He discovered that he had “many legs” (Page I, p.1), that his voice was “beginning to sound more like an animal” (Page I, p.20), and that he “lacked any teeth” (Page I, p.22). When Gregor tried to excuse himself for his tardiness to the visiting chief clerk from his job, the whole family, including the chief clerk, was mortified to see what Gregor had become. So, Gregor’s father began to chase Gregor with a stick until he returned to his room (Page I, p.26). In that process of being pushed into his room, “a side of Gregor’s body was painfully injured, leaving vile brown flecks on his white door” (Page I, p.26). This is the point of the story that truly shows that Gregor is a disgusting pest. All I kept thinking was that “he is a cockroach.” Also, I thought about the times I have killed a cockroach. Whenever I would finish stepping on a roach, I would always see smeared brown flecks from the dead roach on the bottom of my shoes, eeeewww.

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Homework Instructions, Week 4

Blogging on “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Metamorphosis”

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We have read two very different stories for our in-person class discussion this week: Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” and Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis.” For your homework blog post this week, choose one passage you think exemplifies the story, stands out as the moment that defines the story for you. Quote that passage, and then write what you understand it to be saying and what your analysis of it is. You might include questions you have about it, or questions to prompt discussion among your classmates. If you have done any outside research (either to help you understand the story, or to look into the term Kafkaesque, or to look at the images from the graphic novel adaptation of “The Metamorphosis”) that helped you understand the passage, please link to it in your post.

Then read the other posts and click Like for the one or two you would like to talk about in class. I’ll include the most liked posts in our class discussion.

Note: you might click Like for a passage, or for the way the post’s author has written about it. You might not like the passage itself, but it should be one that you want discussed in class–and that you are willing to talk about. You can certainly like your own post.

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Homework

Young Goodman Brown

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“Young Goodman Brown,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, i believe is about how Goodman Brown not only lost his innocence, but also his view of things changed. The story starts off with Goodman Brown saying goodbye to his wife, faith. According to paragraph 3, they’ve only been married for 3 months.  “What, my sweet , pretty wife, dost thou doubt me already, and we but three months married.” Faith has a bad feeling about the trip and asks for her husband to stay. Goodman Brown replied with, “Say thy prayers, dear faith, and go to bed at dusk, and no harm will come to thee.” Based on the first few paragraphs, you can see how much both goodman brown, and faith care about each other. After saying goodbye to faith, brown headed for the forest in which he met an old man with a staff. The man claims to know brown’s grandfather and father as well. Turns out the man goodman brown met was the devil himself, at least that’s what the woman referred him to in paragraph 30. “The devil! screamed the pious old lady.” Fast forward through the passage, goodman brown ends up in a evil ceremony in which people he knows, including his wife faith, the minister, and deacon were also apart of. After seeing not only his wife but people he knew giving in to evil, brown himself lost his innocence. The next day is as nothing ever happened. Goodman Brown questions whether all this really happened, or if all this was just a dream. I myself question this as well.

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