Dante's Inferno Video Game!

http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/14296030/dantes-inferno/videos/di_vga_teaser_121508.html

Funny Dante tattoo

Some guy got a long tattoo covering his spinal cord, depicting all the levels of Hell. No idea what Wolverine's got to do with the Inferno, nor can I guess why there's a hand holding an eye

terza rima

the actual definiton of terza rima  on  wikipedia:       considering i didn't know this on the test

Terza rima is a three-line stanza using chain rhyme in the pattern a-b-a, b-c-b, c-d-c, d-e-d. There is no limit to the number of lines, but poems or sections of poems written in terza rima end with either a single line or couplet repeating the rhyme of the middle line of the final tercet. The two possible endings for the example above are d-e-d, e or d-e-d, e-e. There is no set rhythm for terza rima, but in English, iambic pentameters are generally preferred.

Weird picture, the guy looks almost like an alien. I assume that is his boss

Alex Haiku

My Haiku's wouldnt post for some reason on the last one here is the second attempt

1.) How am i a bug

     This has to be a dream

      I must go to work

2.) Legs are in the air

      I must not let my boss know

      I have to pretend

3.) I can not work now

      How will my family live

      I must support them

4.)My life is so bad

     I can not do anything fun

     Life is so boring

5.) My sister feeds me

     When she views me she runs fast

      Away from my ugly face

6.) The men are so rude

      They tell my sister what to do

      I wish they would leave

7.) Death is coming soon

      I feel it is coming right now

      It is best for them

8.) Gregor is dead now

      We should go for a long walk

      I feel bad for him

BONUS.)  I love writing Haiku

                  It is so enjoyable

                  I will continue

Alex's Haiku's

ENGLISH EXAM HELP

http://www.flashcardexchange.com/mycards/view/715342

username - Marianna091@gmail.com

pw: marianna

it's all Dante flashcards that can help on the exam. 

Katies Haiku's 

Gregor is in pain

He has an apple in him

No one will help him.

Gregor will not eat 

Not even a glass of milk

He is not hungry

Gregor is dying

His family does not care 

He is all alone

The father is not fair

He has not worked in 6 years 

Gregor works all day.

Gregor is a bug 

He crawls and sits on the walls

No one visits him.

SarahBeth's Haikus

1) As the apple rots

piercing his brown feeble back

his family sighs

 

2) Her faint dreams go on

as the three men stare blankly

at her heart-felt tunes

 

3) Hopeless my in bed

an insect eternally

my life’s punishment

 

4) Because I’m a bug

I cannot provide for them

They will disown me

 

5) All of these things here

If able I could not crawl

They don’t know I’m here

 

6) When I speak I click

Mother, Father, Grete listen!

It’s me, your Gregor

 

7) It gives me a taste

of the world I used to walk

 a man, not a beetle

 

8) Gregor answer me

Mom and Dad are so worried

Can u speak to me?

clothes of 1915

Metamorphosis Answers

2. Kind of appalled. He takes pride that he is the provider for his family, even though they are in debt, but is taken aback that his father is very lazy. The one thing he truly wants is for his sister to continue violin lessons.
3. I find it abnormal that they don’t do anything really differently. Gregor was the supporter of the family before his transformation, someone else has to take the role because he can’t go into work as a bug. I thought I would see more love and care from his parents but they show none. It’s interesting how the parents can’t stand the sight of their son; when they are suppose to love him unconditionally.
4. Yes I do because there are so many unplanned pregnacies, and I don’t think the parents love the children as much as they could because they are an accident and this causes separation and hatred among them.

Dante's Haikus

Dante

What is this strange place?

I just woke up in a daze

Where the Hell am I?

Virgil

I will lead him through

He will learn Hell’s true meaning

I’ll show him the way

Charon

If you want to cross

Come aboard my humble skiff

We will cross the Styx

Ruggieri

I’m here forever

I will always be chewed on

Forever in pain

Minos

Around my tail goes

I will determine your fate

Circle 5 for you!

Cerberus

I guard circle 3

The gluttons are behind me

I guard their fat souls

Satan

My wings freeze over

All the circles feel my wrath

I’m the prince of Hell!

The Styx

They swim within me

They are doomed to drown in me

Let the sinners drown

haiku freestyle

rules: you can add one line to the haiku( if you are cool make it rhyme )

once one haiku is finished make a new one

i shall start 

o giant man bug

Circles of Hell!!!!!! (In Haiku form)

Circle One Pagans;
Missing the light of Jesus.
They are not tortured.

Circle Two Lustful;
They had too much sex on earth;
Flying forever.

Cerberus guards Three.
As filth rains on the sinners.
Gluttony is bad!

Hoarders and Wasters
Latched to worldly possesions.
Push in circle four!

River Styx: Wrathful.
Angry fight on the Styx's banks,
In Styx: Sullen drown.

City Dis in Six.
Heretics burn in their tombs.
They are the rebels.

Seven: Phlegethon
And Wood of Suicides
Violent are Here.

The Malebolge,
Fraudulent in ten ditches.
Known as bolgia.

In a frozen lake,
The treacherous have no hope!
Satan keeps them there.

haikus

gregor is awake
he is now a gross beetle
what will he do now

he opens the door
all the people are surprised
chief-clerk runs away

grete leaves gregor milk
gregor does not like milk now
bugs only eat junk

gregor listens to them
the family has some cash
to live for a year

now grete and the mom
move furniture for gregor
gregor has more room

gregors dad is home
throws apples at gregors back
hurting gregors back

family has jobs
no one notices gregor
they abandoned him

three lodgers now live
inside of gregors household
very demanding

they look at gregor
will not live there anymore
will not pay the rent

grete rejects gregor
he goes back into his room
dies at 3 a.m.

kafka looks like an elf

Haikus

Alone in my room
thinking about my sad life
I became a bug

Beatrice with love
sent Virgil to guide Dante
through the Gate of Hell

Othello the Moor
he married Desdemona
became a killer

I, Ugolino
betrayed by Ruggeri
now I chew on him

Three Beasts of Dark Woods
can't stop my epic journey
For I have Virgil

Kafka's sister

Animated Metamorphosis (Part 1)

This is a short film of Part 1 of Metamorphosis. The animation is really cool, it looks kind of like the animation from James and the Giant Peach. Another cool thing about the video is that Gregor's character is given a human face on his beetle body. It's a cool way to interpret the way that he looks, I never once thought of him like that. Overall its a cool short film, the only problem is that the guy who made this only made Part 1. Hopefully he'll make the second and third part soon. Enjoy!

Daniels Haikus

3. Waiting and watching

for my life to change figures

like Gregory's build.

4.  Confusion hits him

like a cobbler to the face.

what has happened now?

5. Where is he going?

Why am I here in this place?

Should I trust this man?

haiku

1) alone in this room
trying to find a way out
but here i remain

2) love is magical
but passionate love kills one
like desdemona

3) ms. decakard is great
as for english she rules all
she is pretty fly

4) im dehumanized
left feeling like theres no hope
death through my own pain

5) touring hell itself
i have put trust in my guide
to make it through safe

6) for lust is our sin
we lose the ones we have loved
lost in a whirlwind

7) the hopeless stay here
born without the light of God
we live in limbo '

8) red striped candy canes
decorated christmas trees
a time to gather

9) fortune tellers here
now my head put on backwards
not knowing my path

10) cries of pain are heard
forever in this river
for we are wasteful

KAFKA!!! aahhhhh!!!!

GREGOR

Flushed Away Gregor

I found this picture, and I think it's from Flushed Away. I like how the bug is reading the Metamorphosis.

Haikus

I once was human
Now I'm an ugly creature
That no one can stand

Even my family
Cannot stand the sight of me
I am hideous

What is that Creature
Standing inside my son's room
Mom it's me Gregor

My son was once man
A man I did not respect
But still a human

It was fun at first
But now it's aggravating
Taking care of him

We are over him
A disgrace to our household
Let's move on with life

Under the covers
I hide from my family
For their pride and sake

He sits there all day
Reading newspapers and books
What a lazy bum

I thought they loved me
No matter what shape or form
I guess they just lied

My mother loves me
Grete provides me with food
No comment on Dad

haikus for noobs

you are crazy now 

we are very crazy now 

gregor is crazy

lets go play soccer

no thanks lets go read kafka

ok hill billy

gregor is nasty 

his skin is brown and trashy

he needs to die now

read read read read read

read read read read read read read

read gregors father

hurry feed me grete

i am a thirsty brown bug

i need the couch

metamorphosis 

kafkas metamorphosis

metamorphosis

tiny little bug

you are now truly foolish

eat my buggy face

The ultimate haikus

The world always moves

The people cover the streets

A bug is nothing

 

 

Gregor’s Father

I provided him

He supports the family

Everything’s fair

 

Gregor’s Father

He’s outside his room

I attempt to capture him

Apples throw nicely

 

Grete

I looked up to him

He now must look up at me

I cannot look down

 

Grete

I loved him back then

He is no longer still there

So time to move on

 

Gregor’s Mother

A man was my son

A bug’s what he has become

His life is now done

 

Gregor’s Mother

The sight of my son

Is like looking down a gun

This ruins my fun

 

Gregor

I felt like a bug

I am what I thought I was

You are what you feel

 

Gregor

From his lonesome job

To isolation at home

To death all alone

 

Gregor

Sitting all alone

The ceiling and walls look fun

Now it’s time to run

 

Gregor

What is family

When they know nothing of you

You nothing of them

 

Clerk

These pesky workers

They can never be trusted

It must be a scam

I thought this was a humours interpritation of Gergor's reaction to his metamorphasis. It does not bother him like it should because he was always a bug

Haikus!

You love a Haiku
So I will write one for you
I promise its true.

Gregor is a bug
Now he lives under a couch
That must feel like "OUCH"!

Outside I am brown
I do not feel like a bug
But so I am now.

Dear Desdemona
You have made me a cuckold
Murder is your fate.

Honest Iago
I once thought you were loyal
It is not your hue.

The Moor of black hue
He has taken my daughter
And now he must pay!

Dante travels Hell
He recounts most things quite well
It makes reading swell.

I love Ms. Deckard
She is the greatest teacher
Please give me an "A".

Part I-Number 1

“I am amazed, amazed. I thought you knew to be a quiet, reasonable person, and now you suddenly seem to want to start strutting about, flaunting strange whims.” – “Your performance of late has been very unsatisfactory; I know it is not the best season for doing business, we all recognize that; but a season for not doing any business, there is no such thing, Mr. Samsa, such a thing cannot be tolerated.” – He fears his boss because he works seven days a week, yet his manager remains completely intolerant of him. Mr. Manager is harsh and disregards Gregor’s feelings though he is a loyal employee.

Maryclaire's Haikus

I watch my father.
He just eats and sleeps and yells.
Anything but work.

He throws the apple,
that represents temptation,
it’s wedged in my shell.

Day by day I watch,
My furniture is removed.
I can crawl about.

I am so depressed.
I cannot provide for them,
Yet they sit at home.

My sister feeds me.
My mother, she weeps for me.
My dad just lectures.

I’ve waited a while.
Eight whole days to be exact,
But I am re-born.

The three boarders come.
They leave their junk in my room,
And I chased them off.

Haiku

we did this one in class:
I gaze though the pain
looking at what I am not
it doesn't lesson

the picture of the women
I sit in a frame,
I come from a magazine
and fur is my thang!

the wall
I'm immovable
probably made of dry-wall
hating Gregor's goo.

Number 7-Part I

Gregor is clearly a hard-worker, providing for his entire family. His hard work is not acknowledged by Mr. Manager or his family as he is simply ignored and cast aside…like a bug. His father keeps to the side, a small amount of income each month in case of a disaster. He tried to show to the manager that he is a hard worker and that he should keep his job, but this is disregarded by the manager as he is only interested in making money.

Ellie Simmons HAIKU

1. Barely a true man,

The change felt from the inside

Is hardly realized.

2. The fruit of evil,

An apple pierces my back

Thrown by my father.

3. I awake to legs.

They kick in all directions.

I am not surprised.



4. I take care of him

I give him food every day,

But he is vermin.



5. Nailed to a wall,

I see the horrible change

Of man to insect.



6.I awake to find

A shell and gooey insides

I am not fazed.



7. Free from the burden,

Better off without Gregor,

The family goes on.

8. A taste for garbage
I have transformed to a bug
No longer human


9.Boiling in blood

Waging war against others.

We are the violent.



10. Our faces frozen

Tears freeze forcing out God's light.

Burried under the ice.



11. Heads twisted backward,

Never to see before us,

Looking at the past.



12. We are the sullen.

Chanting the song of our lives

Kafka joins us here.



13. Whirling in the wind,

In life we led lustful lives

A pitiful site.



14. Eaten by the devil,

The most treacherous are damned

For eternity.

15. We have done nothing
However we lack God's grace
We are not punished

Daniels Haiku

1. Feeling like a bug

Crawling round like a cockroach

Inside a human

2. Trapped in Hells circles

Demons take over my body

Turning me to Satan

Retell the Kafka Story

I have an idea to help get people points and study at the same time. Lets take turns and re-tell the story using haikus only.
Ill start.

"Good morning sunshine."
(I awoke from my long sleep)
"Something feels... different."

Pink Floyd+Kafka

I've watched a few Metamorphosis videos on Youtube. I thought this one was cool. The music goes great with the video, but it's definitely one of the weirdest ones I've seen so far.

Question

Is Kafka insane?
He seems a little crazy.
What is he thinking?

Please comment.

This story is a doosy
Saturated Metaphors
Apples, Insects, Poor.

Haikus

Gregor
I'm running from him
He chases me with anger
He who i still love

The Maid
Something about him
He's no ordinary bug
He is still Gregor

Grete
My brother is gone
Though he is still here today
He'll never return

DADS POV
Been out of a job
For five years, Gregor helps us
But now he’s a bug

SISTERS POV
The lodgers listened
As I played the violin
They did not like it

GREGORS POV
An apple is stuck
They do not care anymore
I am left to die

GREGORS POV
I lost my job and
I lost my family
What am I to do?

GREGORS POV
All I do is work
Is this why I’m a beetle?
Do I have a life?

Apple

Apple lingers on,
In my back: rots and festers.
Let me waste away.

Gregor supports them,

As they lazily sit home,

Sleeping and eating.

He lacks appetite.

Humanity is now lost.

Death awaits Gregor.

 

Gregor hides alone,

As he sits under the couch.

He soon grows depressed.

She slams all the doors,

And isn’t scared of Gregor.

She moves his dead corpse.

As everyone talks,

Gregor must hide and listen,

Wishing he could talk.

As everyone talks,

Gregor must hide and listen,

Wishing he could talk.

As everyone talks,

Gregor must hide and listen,

Wishing he could talk.

Gregor grows tired,

As he sits in misery.

Wishing it would end.

Gregor is in pain

The apple is stuck in him

No one will help him.

Gregor always worked,

But since his metamorphosis,

He has no purpose.

Gregor always worked,

But since his metamorphosis,

He has no purpose.

Gregor is lonely

He has no friends or girlfriend 

He is all alone.

Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's form or structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some insects, amphibians, molluscs, crustaceans, Cnidarians,echinoderms and tunicates undergo metamorphosis, which is usually (but not always) accompanied by a change of habitat or behaviour.

Scientific usage of the term is exclusive, and is not applied to general aspects of cell growth, including rapid growth spurts. References to "metamorphosis" in mammals are imprecise and only colloquial.

Gregor favors Ghete.

She feeds and cares for Gregor.

Ghete soon stops caring.

Hiku Extra Credit

Haiku's are fun stuff,
And a great way to get points!
Let's all do Haiku's

Gregor was a man,

Who turned into an insect.

Long after, he died.

1.     One scholar has written, “It is much too easy to see the Kafka name in “Samsa” — there was no effort by the author to hide the fact he was writing a story about his own emotional state. Kafka’s acute sense of alienation is well documented. In his diaries, he often compared himself to a bug, a worm, and other animals meant to generate disgust. There are many passages within the story worthy of in-depth analysis; I suggest students pay particular attention to Gregor’s relationships within the family. Kafka himself had one sister, Ottla, with whom he was particularly close. How does the story reflect the Kafka household? How do you think his family reacted to the tale? Did they see themselves clearly or miss the obvious?”  Contemplate and answer these questions. (http://www.tameri.com/csw/exist/kafka.shtml)

It shows that the Kafka household was probably dominated by the father, but dependent on Kafka, himself. Kafka was probably closest with his sister, but that he was not actually very close with his family. The family probably reacted negatively to the tale because it portrays the family in a negative way, especially the lack of family unity. Kafka also portrays his parents to be lazy and dependent upon him. They probably did not realize that the Kafka family was run this way until reading Kafka’s tale.

2.)   In the beginning of Part I we learn that Gregor is seldom home during the day, and has little knowledge of what goes on in his home since he is constantly working.  What is Gregor’s reaction when he discovers what daily life is like for the Samsas?

Gregor is surprised when realizes that while he is out working hard all day to provide for his family, his family is actually at home being lazy, doing nothing more than eating and sleeping.

3.)   Find and discuss at least four things that are abnormal about Gregor and his family’s reaction to his metamorphosis. 

Gregor’s appetite changes when he begins to despise foods, which were once his favorite, and in effect begins to enjoy foods he once detested. While all of Gregor’s family members are afraid of him, including his sister, his sister steps up and helps to take care of him, making sure he is comfortable and as happy as he can be. Gregor’s father behaves very violently towards Gregor even though he knows that this bug is really his son. Before Gregor became a bug, he would wake up extremely early and was always working very hard. Once he becomes a bug, however, he lies around the house doing basically nothing. The most work he does is crawling around the walls. This is a drastic change for Gregor who is used to running around constantly and working hard.

4.)   Do you think Gregor’s alienation from his family and from himself is a common malady of modern life?  Why or why not?  Feel free to recount a story you have heard that supports your answer.

Gregor’s alienation from his family is a common malady of modern life because when people grow up they tend to move away from their families, growing more dependent on themselves. For example, as we go off to college, we are forced to grow away from our parents and families and learn to be independent.

5.)   A lot has been made about Gregor’s transformation from human to animal in Kafka’s Metamorphosis.  There is a physical transformation and an emotional one.  When do you think these transformations occur?  Does Gregor ever really transform into an insect?  What would his family think about this?

Gregor’s physical transformation occurs eight days after he returns from his last business trip, but his emotional transformation does not occur until a few days after his physical one. Gregor, however, does not actually become an insect because he can still think like a human even though he has different desires. He shows that he still cares about his family when he tries to make his situation as comfortable for them as he can. This is not something an insect would do. Gregor’s family does not actually realize this because they do not know that he can understand them and can still think like himself. All they see is what Gregor has become on the outside.

Lex- part II answers

1. The website notes that Kafka’s father would often yell at him, much like Mr. Samsa’s daily schedule includes lecturing at his wife and Grete; much like Kafka grew up to resent his Jewish heritage, so too has Gregor resented his job and family.
2. Gregor is amazed that his family does nothing while he's not home. The dad's schedule mainly consists of eating, napping, and reading to the family.
3. Gregor cannot speak, has been shrinking, leaves brown goo when he walks, and cannot eat normal food; his family now has to recover their individuality and get a job so that they can compensate for Gregor’s current physiological status.
4. Before the post WWII Baby Boom, it was common in families to have the father be the main source of income while the mother merely stayed at home and took care of the children. So Gregor’s situation likely occurs more often in modern life.
5. Gregor’s transformation likely took much more time than hinted at- his unwilling devotion to his job has stripped him of his humanity, making him merely a bug scattering to and from his workplace. In essence, Gregor was always just a little bug at his job. In actuality, the story likely was not a dream- Gregor tries going back to sleep, drowsy from his constant travel, but is still a bug upon reawakening.

Haiku

Gergors Father
an angry man sits
lazy, sleeping, and alone
he stays for hours

Grete
at home in her room
shes playing the violin
in a melody

Gergor
I am now a bug
with an exoskeleton
raping my body

Metamorphosis Part II

How does the story reflect the Kafka household? How do you think his family reacted to the tale? Did they see themselves clearly or miss the obvious?”

Kafka tried to express himself through writing Metamorphosis. He was trying to show that he thought himself disgusting and imperfect. In Kafka’s life, he lived with his parents throughout his entire life, just as Gregor does, although Kafka was a lawyer and had no reason to remain in his parents’ home. Just as Gregor’s father shows violence against him when he becomes a beetle, Kafka’s father was also abusive. Both Kafka and Gregor preferred to be secluded and desired only women they would never come into contact with. I doubt that Kafka’s family saw the obvious portrayal of themselves in Kafka’s writing because they were not a family that cared for one another or really listened to what the others were saying.



Do you think Gregor’s alienation from his family and from himself is a common malady of modern life? Why or why not? Feel free to recount a story you have heard that supports your answer.

I think that Gregor’s alienation from his family and himself is a common malady of modern life because many times people feel like they have nothing in common with their families. Also, many people deal with internal conflicts that they feel they cannot talk to anyone about or feel like they have no one to talk to about it with. Gregor’s alienation is probably because he does not know how to communicate, and because his family does not care to investigate his troubles.



A lot has been made about Gregor’s transformation from human to animal in Kafka’s Metamorphosis. There is a physical transformation and an emotional one. When do you think these transformations occur? Does Gregor ever really transform into an insect? What would his family think about this?

Gregor wakes up from a bad dream to realize he is actually living it. Gregor is tired of getting up early to travel all over doing a job her hates to support his ungrateful family. He has a family who is lazy and each member secluded from the others. Gregor’s family cannot accept that he is different from them, and they do not ask him about his problems. Gregor realizes that his family will never understand that emotionally he feels like dirt, like a common bug.

Three Questions

1.   It shows that the Kafka household was very father-dominate, but dependant on Kafka himself. This also depicts that Kafka was not very close with his family, with the exception of his sister Ottla. I assume that the family reacted negatively to the story because it portrayed them in a negative light, especially the lack of family unity. Kafka also portrays the characters of his parents as lazy and dependant upon Kafka. They probably did not realize that this was how the family was run until they read this. 

3. 1.  Appetite – Gregor starts to dislike his favorite foods (milk and bread) and starts liking things he didn’t like before.

2.      His sister - Used to be very close with Gregor, fears him, but steps up to help take care of him because no one else will, which is a change from normal, because her parents used to complain about how she did not do anything.

3.      Gregor’s Father – behaves violently to Gregor, even though he knows that the bug is his son.

4.      Lazy – Gregor used to get up at 4am to catch the early train to work, but now he just sits around and does nothing. He does not try to remain active even while he is in his room. He just sits around and stares out the window.

4.  Yes this is a common malady of modern life because as people grow up, they become more independent from their families and more dependant on themselves. As we go off to college, we have to learn to become more independent in our studies and in our daily lives by making better choices for ourselves. 

Haikus

GREGORS DADS POV
Shoved him through the door
I told him to stay in there
I then threw apples


GREGORS SISTERS POV
I walked in slowly
I placed the food on the side
I did not look back

GRETES POV
He is not working
There has to be something wrong
I should go and check

THE BEDS POV
He seems bigger now
Since when did he get heavy?
Now he can’t get out

Metamorphosis Part II answers

2. In the beginning of Part I we learn that Gregor is seldom home during the day, and has little knowledge of what goes on in his home since he is constantly working. What is Gregor’s reaction when he discovers what daily life is like for the Samsas?
a. Gregor is surprised to see that his family does not do much when he is not around the house. The family seems relaxed and not really a family. They do things separately; the only time they have “family time” is when they read aloud to each other.
3. Find and discuss at least four things that are abnormal about Gregor and his family’s reaction to his metamorphosis.
a. He is a bug
i. His family’s reaction to his metamorphosis of a bug is shocking, they cannot believe what they see, and the mother faints.
b. He is late for work
i. Gregor has never missed work, and his family and co-workers are concerned and think something is terribly wrong with him.
c. Is not speaking in a human voice
i. Since he has become a beetle he cannot speak in a human voice; instead he makes sounds. His family is unable to understand what he is saying.
d. He is not eating what he use to like
i. Gregor use to love milk but now refuses, he refuses all fresh food, and only eats rotten food.
4. Do you think Gregor’s alienation from his family and from himself is a common malady of modern life? Why or why not? Feel free to recount a story you have heard that supports your answer.
a. It is common in some families because some families do not have family interactions with each other, just work all day, and at occasions join each other at family dinner or special events.

Metapmorphosis Haikus

From Gregor's POV
How nice of Grete
to leave me this milk and bread,
but i prefer dung.

I like to crawl, slow
across the cieling and walls.
What's this sticky stuff?

From Gregor's Mother's POV
Where has my son gone?

I should tend to my sewing

Did that bug eat him?

I feel faint, Grete.
I can not love this beetle;
He is not my son.

From Gregor's Father's POV
Grab the newspaper,
or a cane, or the fruit bowl.
I must beat him down.

He can not escape.
Gregor is now a danger
To our family.

Answers to Metamorphosis Questions on Part II

Answer to Question 1

I think when an author writes he/she often uses their writing as a way to expel their emotions and thoughts, and I believe that Kafka does just this in “The Metamorphosis.” Kafka seemed to possess low self esteem and perhaps even self-hatred. The transformation of man, the superior mammal, to bug, the lowest creature on the totem pole, portrays Kafka’s view of himself as disgusting and lowly. The lack of love and rejection he experienced with his parents is certainly represented in Gregor’s relationships with his family. Gregor’s father treats him with disdain and disgust, satisfied with Gregor only when brought financial support to the family. He does not love his son unconditionally, one of the major roles of a father. Gregor’s mother is scared of him and avoids him, much like Kafka’s mother who did not treat Kafka affectionately, but rather was cold and detached. I imagine Kafka’s family must have seen the obvious similarities. Perhaps they saw themselves clearly and felt shame/regret or perhaps they viewed Kafka as overly emotional, irrational, and a shame to the family.

Answer to Question 2

Gregor is surprised to discover how calm and well-provided for the Samsas life is. He works endlessly to support the family, afraid to disappoint them, while they relax at his expense. He is happy he can support his family however. Anyone else in Gregor’s situation would probably feel cheated and upset. However, Gregor is so selfless he is simply content, even when he discovers that much of the money he made to pay off his family’s debt was saved secretly by his father instead. Nonetheless, He does view their life as somewhat mundane, "Gregor realized the monotony of family life (Kafka, 2768)."

Answer to Question 4

Yes, I think Gregor’s alienation from his family and from himself is a common malady of modern life. Modernity supports a system of bureaucracy which turns the person into a number. What once was nature is transformed into factories, just as the individual is changed into a machine. Gregor’s family pushes him to work relentlessly; unaware of the effects it has on his identity and state of mind. They push him to become a tireless machine for their profit just as industrialism pushed the individual to work for the profit of the business.

Metamorphosis Haikus

Gregor's Mother's POV
My dear son Gregor
Who once was so dear to me
Now a bug I see

Gregor's POV
Is it only me?
who can't seem to understand
my father's disgust?

Grete's POV
Gregor supported
My conservatory dream
What will I do now?

Gregor's Father's POV
Once my only son
Changed into an ugly bug
Now nothing to me

Gregors POV

I lifted my head
All I saw were little legs
Unable to move

Haiku in moms POV

I opened the door
The sight was unbearable
I fell to the floor

The Son of "Gregor Haiku"

Lying on my back
Too pooped from that traveling
I ponder my life

Haiku for Metamorphosis

I hung from my bare

ceiling clad with small hairs

Breathing free, no cares 

Haiku in Grete's POV

I approach his door.
My eyes will not leave the floor,
as I bring his food.

Make up missed blogs

This week only:
If you missed blogs this quarter, you can make them up by blogging in haiku. For each post in haiku (and it must be perfect), you can regain 1 post from a previous week. Think about writing from the POV of a character we've met, explaining the setting, or addressing themes.

Example in Gregor's POV:
Alone in my bed
I sometimes think, "Is this all
I can ever be?"

Exam Information - I e-mailed this to you too.

Study Othello (don't forget the introduction and essays as well), Dante and The Metamorphosis.

You should know all characters from all works - who they are, what they do, the roles they play.

Know the plots, symbolism, allusions to myth and the Bible, themes, problems, dilemmas, solutions, and ideas about the world that these works and the problems they contain represent.

Also know information about the authors from the text and on-line. Keep in mind that class notes are important.

The exam will have matching, id's, short answers, quotes, and an essay on themes that connect the works. We'll go over themes Wed.

What kind of bug is Gregor?

In the original text, Kafka uses the word Ungeziefer. Ungeziefer can be translated as cockroach, dung beetle or beetle. The term "dung beetle" or Mistkäfer is used in the original textby the cleaning lady at the end of the story. Ungeziefer denotes a sense of separation: he is unclean and therefore he shall be excluded.

Picture of Frank Kafka

Picture of Franz Kafka, he kind of looks like an elf.

Metamorphosis

Interesting art based on "The Metamorphosis" 2

Interesting Art based on "The Metamorphosis"

Lost In Translation

The opening sentence of the novella is famous in English:

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.
The original German is this:

Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheueren Ungeziefer verwandelt.

Kafka's sentences often deliver an unexpected impact just before the period—that being the finalizing meaning and focus. This is achieved due to the construction of certain sentences in German which require that the verb be positioned at the end of the sentence. Such constructions are not duplicable in English, so it is up to the translator to provide the reader with the same effect found in the original text.[1]

English translators have often sought to render the word Ungeziefer as "insect", but this is not strictly accurate. In German, Ungeziefer literally means "vermin"[2]and is sometimes used colloquially to mean "bug" – a very general term, unlike the scientific sounding "insect". Kafka had no intention of labeling Gregor as any specific thing, but instead wanted to convey Gregor's disgust at his transformation. Literally, the end of the line should be translated as "transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin." This is the phrasing used in the David Wyllie translation[3] and Joachim Neugroschel.[4]

However, "a monstrous vermin" sounds unwieldy in English and in Kafka's letter to his publisher of 25 October 1915, in which he discusses his concern about the cover illustration for the first edition, he uses the term "Insekt", saying "The insect itself is not to be drawn. It is not even to be seen from a distance."[5] While this shows his concern not to give precise information about the type of creature Gregor becomes, the use of the general term "insect" can therefore be defended on the part of translators wishing to improve the readability of the end text.

Ungeziefer has sometimes been translated as "cockroach", "dung beetle", "beetle", and other highly specific terms. The term "dung beetle" or Mistkäfer is in fact used in the novella by the cleaning lady near the end of the story, but it is not used in the narration. It has become such a common misconception that Ungeziefer, in the literal "vermin" sense of the word, can be comprehensively defined as an unclean animal (or any entity) unsuitable for sacrifice. Ungeziefer also denotes a sense of separation between him and his environment: he is unclean and therefore he shall be excluded. Vermin can either be defined as a parasite feeding off the living (as is Gregor's family feeding off him), or a vulnerable entity that scurries away upon another’s approach (as in Gregor's personified self). Moreover, Gregor came to the illusion he is vermin at the moment when he woke up late for work. Having this, he felt what a slob he is on the inside and his imagination reflected his inner most feelings as everyone could see. The maid's use of Mistkäfer can be interpreted as a description of Gregor's new lifestyle after his metamorphosis: sedentary, slob-like, a nuisance, etc.

Vladimir Nabokov, who was an entomologist as well as writer and literary critic, insisted that Gregor was not a cockroach, but a beetle with wings under his shell, and capable of flight - if only he had known it. Nabokov left a sketch annotated "just over three feet long" on the opening page of his (heavily corrected) English teaching copy.[6]

Dung Beetle

This is what he becomes when he wakes up in the morning. 

Big beetle

this shows how big of a beetle Gregor becomes.. He can't even get out of bed because he is so large

Spears strikes again...

Culturally ... people would shun us because of B.Spear's past.. but America loves her!  We have to support our main  girl  from kentwood... i agree that she  is making a full throttle come back... People in India are in love with her!... YAY britney

Britany Spears Making An International Comeback!

Britany Spears is making an international comeback, therefore she is not just a United States cultural symbol. Technically she should be placed under Universal symbols in the catagories we made in class

Kafka's Metamorphosis

I thought this was a pretty good representation of part one: this is exactly what I pictured Samsus to look like.  It looks like the scene where he is at the brink of he doorway, contemplating whether to walk out and be "calm", he thinks maybe if he doesn't freak out, they won't.  What do you think?

Metamorphosis

There are a lot of video adpations of Metamorphosis on YouTube, some of them are very strange. This animation is very long and starts out slow, but it is pretty interesting. If you decide to watch it, then go ahead and skip the first 3 minutes of the video.

picture on the top of the blog

I finally know where that main picture comes from, i was always wondering.  Did anyone else notice it in the movie?

Modern Inferno

This was a pretty cool article I read that featured modern celebrities in Dante's Inferno
http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=29553

Dante

i dont know that the voice matches the character... what do you think?

Inferno Movie..

I love the movie we're watching in English. I think the animation is awesome, and its pretty creative. I like all the double meanings hidden in it too. Does everybody else like it as much as me?

Kafka 

http://www.fathom.com/feature/121837/index.html

Interesting on Kafka "Give it Up"

"Give It Up!" Kafka stages the very problem of dialectics of representation at every turn of his writing. This makes him the quintessentially modern writer--his stories are always stories about the problem of storytelling itself. They are stories that force the reader into an active critical exchange, in which reading becomes a laborious effort but also a liberating experience.

"Give It Up!" is one of his shortest stories, and it illustrates in an exemplary fashion the complexity of reading Kafka.

One could talk about this story aimlessly, but let us look at the most crucial elements of Kafka's world. Time and space are modulated, dissolving or in question. It seems to be a dinnertime, an objective time, a subjective time, an internal time, an external time. The question is: What time is real time, is there real time, is there real space? It is a strange world where the narrator loses any point of reference or orientation.

What does the policeman mean? In German, he uses the word for policeman--Schutzmann--which literally means "the man who protects you." But Kafka often replaces or supplements words, so if you take Schutzmann and think about what other words you have in German, you also have Schutzengel, "the angel," your personal protective angel. So it becomes unclear who that policeman is; the authority is not clearly assigned. It's really a metaphorical police.

What I'm driving at are the multiple levels of the story. You can interpret this story along the line of existentialism, or nihilism: There is no meaning in life, and you should just give it up. There's also a religious dimension: a general, universal religious moment of loss of authority, of lost values, the death of God. (Nietzsche sort of hovers in the back of the mind.) There are also the rather specific Jewish traditional elements with which Kafka sometimes plays. This story can also be read in a political way as a critique of ideology: Don't believe anyone; only believe yourself. You can also read "Give It Up!" psychologically, in that the protagonist is a psychologically insecure person.

The point in Kafka is that you cannot reduce his work to any one of those elements. Of course, we also have several literary elements in this story. Kafka takes on a lot of tradition: there is expressionism, surrealism, minimalism and anti-romanticism. Kafka is so great to teach because with Kafka you can rehearse all theoretical approaches to literature.

No single approach satisfies all segments of Kafka's writing. In Kafka there's a strict untranslatability, because you always end up reducing and altering the meaning of whatever you are trying to translate. That's what the story keeps hammering home, that there is a meaning, and you have to reconstruct it in your own readings.

Just throught we should all see this again

Mrs Deckard, last year Dr. Vaccaro called me "Kafka-esque". Judging by Kafka's writings and my behavior in class, would you consider that a compliment?

so..

in the movie we watched in class today, we skipped circle three due to some scenes in the movie...
and this is what it looks like

Extra Credit Projects

I really like the extra credit projects! It was fun to see all the things that everyone made. Sarahbeths cake was delicious! and Matt, Andrew, and Garrett's movie was really funny! I hope we can do something like that for another unit later on in the year.