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C.S.Lewis

by 계란마리 Oct 27. 2024

02 | THE METAMORPHOSIS

Existential death becomes biological.


# what are you going to do if I metamorphose into a cockroach?


 A challenge was in vogue last year.


  You can just ask a simple question to your friend or family, ‘what are you going to do if I metamorphose into a cockroach?’ and hear the answer of them.


 The answer was various.


  “I’ll carry you in the palm of my hand. “


  “You’re already lazy. You’re not different from them.”


  etc.

 

 But, I think almost of the people who tried the challenge didn’t take it that seriously. The challenge was just a sort of kidding and we knew that metamorphosing into cockroach is impossible.


 So, I’m going to tell you about a man who really metamorphosed into huge insect in Kafka’s novel.


# the metamorphosis


 Short but impressive tittle. Written by Franz Kafka.


 Gregor, the protagonist’s family always lived spending the money which Gregor earned. They didn’t make any own profits for living.


 Gregor looked like a working machine. He didn’t know what the happiness is. He wretched and lived his life dreary.


 One morning, when Gregor awoke from an uncomfortable dream, he found himself lying in bed and turned into a huge insect.

  -The metamorphosis



 As Gregor’s income cut off, his family started to earning their own money. His sister, who cared Gregor though he metamorphosed into a cockroach began to turn away from him.


 After the time passed, his father threw an apple to his son, and Gregor ultimately met a lonely death because of the wound made by his father. The family gave birth to him, but also gave death.


#resignation


 Gregor turned into an insect unintentionally. But he didn’t ever eagered to regain a life as a human. He just resigned and lived as a huge insect.


 The another story about metamorphosis is here.


 Jekyll, the main character of ‘Jekyll and Hide, ‘ he wanted himeself to look like a perfect person by overly oppressing his nature and evil.


  So, he began to drink a drugs and metamorphosed into ‘Hide.’ When he is bieng Hide, he secretly committed not only murder but also other horrific crimes.

 

 He didn’t want to live as Hide, so by day, he returned to his life as Jekyll.


 But in the end, Hide claimed victory. He could never regain a life of Jekyll.


 Hide committed suicide. There was fraustration, desperation and eagerness which Gregor hadn’t.


 Why did Gregor resigned as he found himself he metamorphosed into an insect? How horrible was his life as a human?


# his family


 His family ignored him just because he lost his abilities for work and gained terrible appearance. They confined Gregor and didn’t even try to comunicate with him. Eventhough they’re the parents.


 They excluded Gregor not just because they were psychopathes. Actually they weren’t. They are merely those who possess insincere love and are nothing more than ordinary humans tainted by capitalism.


  If this were to happen to us in reality, no one knows how we would act.


# his death


   His death has many reasons. Appearantly, he died because of injury that his father made. It was hard to imagine how hard his father would have to throw a big apple to inflict a big wound.


 The second one is that, he was neglected by everyone. Nobody could retrospect or remind about him.

 If Jekyll had embraced Hide and Gregor’s family had communicated with him even a little, wouldn’t the meanings of these two metamorphosis have completely changed?


 There is one thing I learned from the novels that telling stories about metamorphosis.


 biological death never affects to existential death as long as have a memories or retrospectable things,

 And existential death operately becomes biological death.


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