Term paper on A Comparison Contrast Of Self Destructio

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A Comparison-contrast of Self-Destruction in "A Hunger Artist" and Metamorphosis

Thesis Statement: The protagonists in "A Hunger Artist" and Metamorphosis are their own antagonists and cause their own self-destruction.

I. "A Hunger Artist"

A. Plot Summary

B. Character Analysis with self-destruction

II. Metamorphosis

A. Plot Summary

B. Character Analysis with self-destruction

III. Comparison-Contrast

A. Similarities

B. Differences

The Metamorphosis and "A Hunger Artist" are both works by Franz Kafka. The stories are similar in theme and are probably reflections of the author's person. The protagonists in "A Hunger Artist" and Metamorphosis are their own antagonists and cause their own destruction.

In The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa awakes to find himself transformed into an insect. The novel goes on to tell the day-by-day struggles of Gregor and details his alienation from humanity. Everyone, including his own family, rejects Gregor- "'Mother, Mother,' said Gregor softly . . . snapping his jaws several times in the air. At this his mother screamed once more, fled from the table, and fell into the arms of his father." The novel ends in Gregor's death- "'Come on and have a look, it's croaked; it's lying there, dead as a doornail!"

Gregor causes his own demise. He allows the rigors of his job and the pressures of his family to slowly eat away at his sole. He remarks shortly after his transformation, "To the devil with it all!" Gregor despises his job as a traveling salesman where he must get up before dawn to travel- "'Oh God,' he thought, 'what a grueling job I've picked! Day in, day out - on the road.'" Debt incurred by his family ties Gregor to his job- ". . . once I've gotten the money together to pay off my parents' debt to him - that will probably take another five or six years - I'm going to do it without fail. Then I'm going to make the big break."

"A Hunger Artist" tells the story of a man who makes his living as a side-show type act where he starves himself. The man is put in a cage under constant watch without food for forty days. During that term people come and pay to see the marvel of a man starving himself. However, the artist remarks in the story that people are not as interested in hunger artists as much as they once were. He ends up at a circus where people ignore him to see the more impressive lions and tigers. He goes unnoticed for such a long time, that no...

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