Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Why Did Vladimir
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Summary
Why did Vladimir Nabokov – a brilliant, respected and often-quoted novelist, best known perhaps for his classic novel, Lolita – do a razor-sharp editing job on Kafka's The Metamorphosis? And what is the meaning and the motivation behind Nabokov's intervention into the classic Kafka short story? This paper reviews Kafka's iconic short story and delves into the way in which Nabokov has editorially changed the direction and meaning of the narrative.
The Kafka story is considered among the most read and most discussed short stories in all literature. Why is it so well-thought-of? For one thing, it is dramatically different from ninety-nine percent of all short stories. For another, there is meaning within the bizarre events. Of course it is a ridiculous idea to change a man into a massive roach, and the beginning of Kafka's story has to be approached with an open mind for the reader. But the symbolism and the character changes are so stark they stay in the reader's mind long after reading about Gregor Samsa and his strange family. Samsa wakes up and "…finds himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect," that surely opens the eyes and challenges the mind of the reader.
Woolf Women in Violence and War
Virginia Woolf recognized and sought to portray how both the private world and external environment constructs identity. No doubt she was deeply concerned with women‘s rights and opportunities; Clarissa is keenly aware of her weaponless state (she could not earn a penny) as an unskilled, fifty year-old woman in 1920s England (169). Woolf recognized that English women in her time often played roles within their societies, performing, as on stage, scripts written and directed by a patriarchal society
This research paper references recent articles and books that confer with Woolf‘s writings regarding the identity of and ideology surrounding their female protagonists. Much of the body of criticism generated on these texts focuses on women‘s constraints and ills evident in the novels, and indeed, much of this work has contributed to important goals of feminist criticism.