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  • Essay / Anomaly and isolation in The Metamorphosis and The Stranger

    Gregor Samsa from the novel The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and Meursault from The Stranger by Albert Camus both struggle to communicate with the people around them. Although Samsa suffers from physical abnormalities while Meursault possesses ideological differences, both characters - through both authors' use of imagery - are depicted as social outcasts and face extreme challenges in their lives. . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'?Get the original essayKafka uses the imagery of the Transfiguration to show how Gregor physically transforms, leading to his rejection by society. He wakes up one morning and finds himself in the body of a human-sized insect. Even before revealing the details of the transformation, Kafka clearly illustrates the change when he describes Samsa as "he lay down on his armored back and saw, lifting his head a little, his domes, the brown belly, divided in arc segment” (Kafka13). Gregor Samsa's physical irregularities serve to show his estrangement from other humans. Another example of imagery used to describe his physical abnormality is the description of Gregor's unusual white spots on his back: "(he) felt a slight itch on the top of his abdomen...and he found the area that was itching which was entirely covered with small white spots” (Kafka 14). This quote immediately gives the image of a disturbing and strange apparition that one does not usually feel in a human being, but in an insect. His new body that he is trying to settle into is unusually large, making him difficult to live with. Furthermore, the novel states that “it was very easy to throw away the cover…but to continue was difficult, particularly because it was so unusually large” (Kafka 16). The way Kafka uses imagery in this sentence by including the difficulty of throwing off the blanket creates an image for the reader, showing the struggle Gregor faces with his new body. At one point in the text, it becomes apparent that Gregor suddenly cannot communicate with other human beings. This inability is a trait that cuts him. separates him from his family and the rest of the characters in the story. Kafka uses images to let the reader imagine the difficulties in communicating with his mother. As the narrator describes it, his mother calls Gregor, wondering why he is still locked up. his room when he is supposed to be at work. Once he responded to his mother, “Gregor was surprised when he heard her voice respond…as if coming from below, an irrepressibly painful grinding, which left the words positively distinct” (Kafka 16) . By using Kafka's words "voice" and "squeak", the situation Gregor finds himself in becomes very visual, as if we can hear him struggling to speak with his squeaky voice. Gregor loses an important means of communication, and connection with people; , he spends most of his days alone in his room, far from his family. Kafka used physical imagery heavily in the novel to support Gregor's abnormal appearance. Physical irregularities are often met harshly by others. Kafka now uses imagery to let the reader through. Easily view the reactions of Gregor's family and friends about his appearance. The lawyer asked in a remarkably calm and curious voice, “(have you ever heard Gregor speak) It was an animal voice” (Kafka 23). , the reader can already visualize the lawyer's curious and suspicious expression as he asks the question. Clearly, Gregor is unable to communicate with the lawyer and to himexplain his situation. The lawyer begins to realize the anomaly. His family's reaction gives him an idea. of rejection where he feels different and has no one to turn to. As the novel shows, the reactions of his family and his lawyer made him very cautious, ever since the sudden cry of “(o)h!” from his lawyer, when his mother "collapsed right in the middle of her skirts", and when his father "clenched his fist, displaying a hostile expression, as if he wanted to push Gregor back into his room" ( Kafka 25). All of these examples are visual for the reader, showing the shocked and frightened reactions of his parents and lawyer. Before Gregor was turned into vermin, Gregor's isolation was self-inflicted. He chose the solitary life of a traveling salesman and chose to lock the doors of his own house at night. After the change, it is more likely that others will lock him in his room. This shows his rejection by society and how he has no control over it. Rather than be patient and concerned, his own father grabs a stick and a newspaper, forcing Gregor back into his room with ferocious prods and hisses. Kafka uses imagery to show the signs of rejection from those around him. The reader can visualize the father's keen and frightened instincts as he faced Gregor, the gargantuan pest. Gregor begins to understand that, since he is now a parasite, society no longer considers him anything more than an insect and no longer counts on him and no longer takes him seriously, "at Gregor's first words, the lawyer was already turned away, and now he just turned back to Gregor, pursed his lips and shrugged his shoulders” (26). Kafka uses small actions performed by the lawyer, such as cutting Gregor off or shrugging his shoulders. , to depict imagery and make the lawyer's rejection visual for the reader This also shows that the lawyer's indifference towards him further illustrates that Gregor is now seen as useless due to his unusual physical appearance, and Gregor struggles to live his daily life, rejected by society. Likewise, Meursault, the protagonist of The Stranger, is rejected by society, however, unlike Samsa, he is an outcast due to his refusal to play. the game set by social conventions rather than for its physical appearance. He is simply considered strange and an outcast because he refuses to lie and live. the fantasy world in which his society participates. Meursault does not bother to hide his insensitivity by shedding fake tears over his mother's death: “The sky was already filled with light. The sun was beginning to weigh down on the earth and it was getting hotter and hotter... I was hot in my dark clothes. (Camus 15)" Camus uses this imagery to show that Meursault is thinking about the hot weather instead of praising his mother like the rest of the crowd. This quote he uses is visual and can let the reader imagine the heat that Meursault » complains at his mother's wedding Meursault has his own morals and might think that one of his actions is completely normal, when it is completely illegal for society, " The trigger gave; I felt the smooth underside of the stock; and it was there, in this noise, sharp and deafening at the same time, that it all began” (59). Camus begins with this quote, mentioning two of the five senses, touch and hearing, to allow the reader to imagine the situation Meursault finds himself in when he attempts to shoot the Arab. Camus continues to use imagery in this scene by using a lot of triggering words: “Then I fired four more times at the motionless body where the bullets lodged without leaving a trace. And it was like knocking four times quickly on the door of happiness” (59). This scene, 1990.