Essay
Role of Humour in Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’, ‘ The Trial’ and ‘Amerika’
“Humour is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke laughter and provide amusement.” The term Humour has been derived from the Greek language, which teaches that humour is the balance of fluids in the human body. Humour is savoured by different taste-buds like: Anecdotal, Blue, Dark/Gallows/Morbid, Epigrammatic, Hyperbolic, Ironic, Satirical, Satirical, Situational and Slapstick. Franz Kafka, the author of the outright existential classic ‘The Metamorphosis’ uses depressing humour to deal with the bitter deathly truths of life. Franz Kafka’s trademark is ridiculing his and the society’s blatant stories in subtle manner. With the help of paradigms what can be seen is that Franz Kafka’s use of humour in oddly places to clarify the asymmetry of the organized world and heightens the tension. It was also used to create even greater gaps both in scene and story line, to further stress the blackness felt in many of his stories. Studying his works it’s evident that Franz Kafka saw humor not only as a defence against the pain and anguish he felt inflicted upon him by the outside world, but also against the pain he rained upon himself. This technique was used to stress on the horrors of the big bad world. Although there have been resemblances of the protagonists’ character traits to his own self, he has brought out not only his own problems but on how people magnify and in
In our interactive Oral we discussed about Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, through point of time and place matter, the relation to the society, the culture and experience and the technique in the work, I learned about the society oppressive expectation can lead an individual to loss in identity
In his novel The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka describes his own life through the life of his protagonist Gregor Samsa. Careful study of Franz Kafka's life shows that Kafka's family, workplace, and reaction to the adversity in his family and workplace are just like those of Gregor. So we might ask why Gregor was transformed into a bug since Kafka obviously never turned into a bug. The absurd image illustrates how Gregor lacks self-respect and feels like he's a bug in the eyes of his family and society. Franz Kafka was unhappy and never found his place in life, either. Therefore, he might have felt just like Gregor, like a bug. Furthermore the novel describes Kafka's expectations of his own future and he was partially
Humor is an integral part of our everyday lives providing us with laughter, enjoyment, relaxation and a sense of relief. Today, humor and laughter are universally accepted; however, not all humor is treated equally, leaving room for interpretation of what is funny. Early theories and beliefs about humor suggest that humor was cruel and was at the expense of another human being. However, early beliefs could not explain all forms of humor and why humor occurs in many contexts.
In the Novella, The Metamorphosis, the by author Franz Kafka, Gregor undergoes a magnificent change into a new species overnight. Throughout the relatively short book, readers witness extreme and fast paced emotion change and of course, as well as physical change. To aid with these transitions, Kafka uses various methods of figurative language. Given the lack of length of the Novella, the comparisons needed to direct make a point or provide a sense of imagery, given provided through similes. Kafka uses similes in his writing to help make comparisons and give add more detail to the characters and the storyline.
Humor’s foundations are made up of seeds of truth, from which comedy and laughter can grow from. Within these seeds different types of issues are found that cast a wide array of topics in which are discussed or given question to by humorists. As the evolution of humor continues to grow it can be seen that it will continue down a darker road, as history has
“He felt a slight itching on the top of his abdomen. He slowly pushed himself on his back closer to the bed post so that he could lift his head more easily, found the itchy part, which was entirely covered with small white spots (he did not know what to make of them), and wanted to feel the place with a leg. But he retracted it immediately, for the contact felt like a cold shower all over him” (Part I Paragraph 4)
This story, while being written for entertainment, also criticizes life and human nature. “Humor is a unique way of thinking,” he said. “He used humor to bring laughter to humans. At the same time, he mercilessly criticized the ugly social reality, a profound reflection of the
The story, “The Metamorphosis”, by Franz Kafka, is a piece of literature that introduces the idea of being an outsider, and falling out of the social order you have spent so long trying to prosper in. As a reference for some background, the story features the main character, named Gregor, waking up one morning as a beetle. This is the source of many problems to come, such as not being able to go to work, leave his room, eat normal food, or succeed in a public setting. One could easily understand how Gregor would become an outsider. This proposed this question to the reader- Are outsiders merely those who are misjudged or misunderstood? The simple answer to this is no. Outsiders are not born into their life of loneliness and solitude. They either consciously or unconsciously stray from people that love and care for them, such as friends, family, and peers. They could effortlessly re-include themselves into any social group, but instead they wallow in self pity, yearning for sympathy. Of course, there are exceptions, but they amount to few.
The inclusion of humor in writings is one of the essential factors that every author should incorporate for the success of their works. The writings or rather novels with flashes of humor tend to do well in the market for the readers as compared to other writings which are purely comic fictions or without incorporation of humors. Humor facilitate in reader identification, assign positive traits to characters, convey character relationships, delight readers and get them to read the material closely (Column & Us, 2017). Mark Twain and Bellow are some of the renowned American authors that have incorporated the use of senses of humor in their writings and this has made their literature works successful for a long period of time. The paper discusses how the two authors have used humor in their works.
People always say that laughter alleviates tension. If this is the case, then it makes sense that the use of humor when discussing uncomfortable topics can make the conversation easier and more light-hearted. One of Mark Twain’s most frequently used devices in works such as “Advice to Youth”, “To the Person Sitting in Darkness”, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is satire, which can provide society a method to bond over uncomfortable topics, and facilitate the ability to sustain that bond through an easier way to create discussion.
Kafka uses symbolism in his short story, Metamorphosis. He uses this technique to make the reader try and figure out what was going on in his head. He brought out in this story many things about his life, including his father/family, love life, and his future. He used metaphors to show his love for people in his life. This story is autobiographical about the forces that control Franz Kafka's life. In this paper I will explain how Kafka relates his life to the readers through the story in Metamorphosis.
Humour and satire are two concepts that are both wide ranging and diverse, from dark, to light hearted, with each producing a different effect. Humour in the main, is something that is used to please the audience, its function is to invoke laughter amongst its audience. Satire is used to create a comical critical view of the subject at hand, this can range from a light hearted comical way, to a judgemental way, with each style giving the text a different meaning, however this does not mean that satire cannot be humorous, which can evident in the use of parody and irony within texts. Within literature both concepts play an important role to how the text is viewed, humour can include word play, grammatical jokes, to even inside jokes with the author and reader, and with satire, including that of irony and parody, with each style and type delivering humour in its own unique way. These differing styles of humour can be found in a variety of forms including Jasper Forde’s The Eyre Affair (2001), with its silly atmosphere, word play and grammar jokes, and the use of light hearted satire and parody to brighten up the text, and Julian Barnes A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters (1989), where there is a more serious atmosphere, with a more critical, satirical eye on history and characters, as well as using irony to achieve its comical effect, and the position of the world. Each text is humorous and satirical in its own right, and with each author using different techniques to
Modernists built upon the shambles of World War I by searching for a philosophy that takes into account the rampant destruction of man’s body and spirit. The end result was a patchwork of disconnection and incongruities. Modernists admit that they do not know – though they sought a higher meaning to life, most, if not all, failed in the attempt (Lewis 38). Instead, they were left, as Albert Camus asserted, with an “odd state of soul . . . in which the chain of daily gestures is broken, in which the heart vainly seeks the link that will connect it again" (Rhein 12). Like many Modernist writers, Franz Kafka searches for the meaning of life in a world where God and religion are put
Franz Kafka, born on July 3, 1883 in Bohemia, in the city of Prague, has been recognized as one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century. His works have been called "cloudy, mysterious, inexplicable" (Oates ix). Most people hear the term Kafkan or Kafkaesque and think of dark, fantastic tales with almost no basis in our known reality. But what of Kafka's sense of humor? I personally laughed out loud several times while reading Kafka's Amerika. Were these snippets of humor part of Kafka's plan or mere accidents?
In the allegory, “The Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka, the narrator spectates a strange public presentation by performance artist known only as the ‘Hunger Artist.’ Kafka paints a picture of extreme isolation and alienation intensely saturated with meaning, in a straightforward and fact-based tone. The parable of this strange story is definitely subjective, albeit ironic, laden with poignant lessons of how disengaged people are from their peers’ individual journeys and struggles. Allegories are known for their richness in symbolism and hidden meanings, and the Hunger Artist certainly lives up to the expectations of an allegory. Kafka narrates in an omnipresent third-person point of view, giving away few clues about the characteristics of the cast or the setting.