From the start the story is difficult to truly grasp. Is Gregor Samsa a literal cockroach who is losing the identity of his human self? Or is Gregor just discovering who he is becoming inside. He despises work, he lives in isolation with no friends and little interaction with his family, and although he is a responsible and hard worker, he is so dissatisfied with his life that he sees himself as a bug. He has lost touch with humanity and with himself, and oddly enough he seems to be more satisfied as a roach than as an actually human.
Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” has been a dynamic read so far. Initially the overnight transformation was rather boggling. To awake to such horror, our main character Gregor Samsa is oddly calm. As we read on we see how his family also reacts to this impossibly gruesome change without much surprise. Everyone seems to be more revolted than actually concerned with the absurdity. Before seeing Gregor’s bug-like body, the mother was extremely concerned. She wants to call the doctor and the locksmith and even tries to defend her son to his employer. However, upon seeing the huge roach the mother is disgusted and for the rest of the story she and her husband basically ignore Gregor’s condition and seem to consider him a burden. These observations gather evidence of the author’s use of existentialism in that Kafka creates this absurd chaotic world with difficulty in defining true meanings and ultimately identity.
From the start the story is difficult to truly grasp. Is Gregor Samsa a literal cockroach who is losing the identity of his human self? Or is Gregor just discovering who he is becoming inside. He despises work, he lives in isolation with no friends and little interaction with his family, and although he is a responsible and hard worker, he is so dissatisfied with his life that he sees himself as a bug. He has lost touch with humanity and with himself, and oddly enough he seems to be more satisfied as a roach than as an actually human.
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Lara Vapnyar’s “Puffed Rice and Meatballs” is a dynamic tale delving into the inner emotional state of young Katya. Initially the short story seems as if it is merely a woman telling stories of her past to her present lover, but as we read further it becomes apparent that there is more going on in her mind. Katya reveals through her stories the feelings of her unimportance. Although never said outright, one can infer through the symbolism and even the stories she tells how the narrator genuinely feels about herself.
One of the first moments we notice Katya’s insignificance is in her story of her first sexual encounter. After seeing the little boys genitals she verbally agrees with him that his are indeed better than her own. This, although a small detail, just proves as a symbol that even at a young age she felt less significant than others. After describing many details she dresses up the dark brooding story to entertain her lover who seems to be more interested in her bra straps than her speaking. This later eats away at her mind when she is wondering why she had to amuse him instead of actually sharing thoughts of a haunting past with him. She sees that he does not really care about her deeply and considers her mere entertainment. Both stories told end in a dissatisfying tone as well. After telling her mother about her encounter, her mother ignores her and cries to herself about her daughter’s scarring denying her the attention she seems to desire. In the second story she initially feels beautiful but by the end of the story the beauty is stripped from her and she degraded to a simple tool. All of these happenstances shaped Katya in a way and made her feel small and unimportant even in her adult life. The story ends with the scarring childhood and adolescent thoughts brewing in Katya’s unsatisfied mind. I would have to say that my first college English class has been a success. Initially I was a bit nervous about this class. To be honest, no one in our class has had much experience in writing. As a senior, that thought is kind of terrifying! With actual college approaching, essays and research papers coming from every angle and no real experience in that field, it is overwhelming. My experience lies in my work at Louisana Girls State where I worked as a journalist. Before that I had only written about 4 essays in my highschool career. Although I had little experience, I knew that I enjoyed writing. Some topics are more difficult to initiate, however, after I plot my introduction paragraph the rest of the words just flow so easily! Now I have successfully accomplished 4 college level essays on various topics. (With great grades on all of them.) It is astounding how much one class can prepare one for other essays and college classes. This class has helped me work on writing on a more mature level. My thesis sentences have definitely evolved with my new experience. Overall I just feel very prepared and pleased with my time and work I have accomplished in this course. Hopefully I continue on this route to reach my full potential with writing. I thank you for being such a understanding and helpful teacher who has taught me and encouraged me to do my best and succeed. In my house, Thanksgiving is one of our most stressful holidays. We wake up to a house of yelling, cooking, and other hectic antics. The household consists of me, my mother, father, two younger brothers, Grammy, Papa, and my aunt Paige. We all love eachother of course, but... During the cooking process we all feel a little differently. The food always takes forever to cook, everyone nags at one another, and someone will always get into some argument about what was cooked or how long it is taking. It never fails! However, last thanksgiving, things were a little different. Last thanksgiving, Mom declared that we would not have to worry about the stress of making a turkey for thanksgiving. We all were very surprised to hear that the main course would be steak! It sounds rather odd, but somehow it was the best idea we could've come up with. Dad grilled steaks and shrimp that we wrapped in bacon, Mom baked potatoes and covered them in bacon and cheese, Grammy made green beans wrapped in bacon, and I helped with other sides. Almost everything was covered in bacon and cheese. It was extremely untraditional but I fell in love with the idea. We came to call it the Bacon and Cheese Thanksgiving. We are actually considering doing it again this year because not only was the food was delicious, but it caused a lot less fighting because it was easy to cook. After eating, we all layed down for the day and relaxed. Football, naps, and family all day pretty much. Later on that night we went Black Friday shopping all night. It was probably my favorite thanksgiving so far! Is greed truly the root of ALL evil? As seen in most subjects of controversy, it can go either way. Yes, Greed is an evident evil. Greed can cause lies, stealing, hatred, rumoring, and in some cases even a death perhaps. Lying deep within all souls, greed is palpable. Even in the slightest forms, in the most unimportant situations, we as humans inevitably possess greed. With this fact known, and the statement, " Greed is the root of all evil" declared, does this mean that ALL people are technically evil?
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