Literary Elements for Metamorphosis PDF

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Literary Elements for Metamorphosis...

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Literary Elements for “The Metamorphosis” Directions: Add these seven literary devices to your notes. Include a definition and an example. We will be referencing them again in other literature units this year. Then, answer the questions from “Metamorphosis” in bullets. Bring your work to class on Friday, 9/25. 1. Metaphor - a comparison of two things that are basically dissimilar in which one is described in terms of the other; Example: The moon, a haunting lantern, shone through the clouds. ● What could the outcome of Gregor’s transformation be a metaphor for? Gregor's transformation in the beginning could represent alienation as how he feels inside which has ultimately led him to manifest himself into this creature unknowingly. Toward the end of this novella this shifts into a visual representation of him being worked to death. 2. Allegory - a story that represents abstract ideas or moral qualities. An allegory has both a literal and a symbolic level of meaning. Allegories are extended metaphors throughout a text, making every character, scene, and symbol part of a larger whole. Examples: Gulliver’s Travels & Animal Farm. ● If this story is a religious allegory in which Gregor is a modern ordinary man transformed into a bug, what is the story’s underlying philosophical importance? The philosophical importance of this can be expressed as living without a purpose and not having anyone to be with at their time of death. 3. Persona - the author’s chosen identity in a work of literature; the plot is revealed through what this character says. This technique allows the writer to adopt the beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes of a character in the work, which allows for different approaches to stories. The reader should usually interpret the “I” in a book as someone different from the author. Examples: The chapters in The Pigman are written, in an alternating manner, by each of the two major characters; therefore, we can conclude that neither one represents the author, Paul Zindel. Marlowe in Heart of Darkness is not intended to be thought of Stephen Crane, although Marlowe’s opinions may be similar to Crane’s. ● From whose perspective is this story told? Why do you think Kafka chose this type of narration? This is told in the narrator's point of view. The readers gain insight as to how Gregor feels and acts, gaining a bit more understanding into Gregor's mind. Kafka chose this method to give readers another way to see the story. 4. Symbol - an object, person, or place that has a meaning in itself and that also stands for something larger than itself, usually an idea or concept; some concrete thing which represents an abstraction. Example: The sea could be symbolic for “the unknown.” Since the sea is something that is physical and can be seen by the reader, and also has elements that cannot be understood, it can be used symbolically to stand for the abstraction of “mystery,” “obscurity,” or “the unknown.” ● Identify and discuss the possible symbolism involved in the following: • the picture- the picture represents a part of his humanity • the father’s uniform- his father’s uniform represents his father’s transformation from being unemployed to being the monkey maker in the family. • Gregor’s transformation (similar to metaphor, but more specific)- gregor's transformation represents his unhuman like appearance and how he thinks of himself. • Gregor’s big boss - Gregor's boss represents his tie to work and how he can never escape it. • Grete’s stretch at the close of Part 3- Grete’s stretch represents her transformation from a young timid girl into a very independent and strong woman about to enter into society, 5. Theme - the central or dominant idea behind the story; the most important aspect that emerges from how the book treats its subject. Sometimes theme is easy to see, but, at other times, it may be more difficult. Theme is usually expressed indirectly, as an element the reader must figure out. It is a universal statement about humanity, rather than a simple statement dealing with plot or characters in the story. Themes are generally hinted at through different methods: a phrase or quotation that introduces the novel, a recurring element in the book, or an observation made that is reinforced through plot, dialogue, or characters. It must be emphasized that not all works of literature have themes in them. Example: In a story about a man who is diagnosed with cancer and, through medicine and will-power, returns to his former occupation, the theme might be: “Real courage is demonstrated through internal bravery and perseverance.” In a poem about a flower that grows, blooms, and dies, the theme might be: “Youth fades, and death comes to all.”

From the themes presented to you during Part 2 of “The Metamorphosis,” which one carries the strongest through the entirety of the story? What other themes did you pick up on as you were reading? The theme of change carries the strongest throughout this novella. Two other supporting themes could be humanity and the worth ethic.

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6. Verisimilitude - the use of realistic elements to make literature appear truthful or accurate. Example: The creature in Frankenstein meets and converses with a blind man. ● How does this passage from pages 16-17 create an air of verisimilitude? This passage gives very real life descriptions as to what Gregor encounters on a normal day in his new transformation. These traits described are an easy way to comprehend what is happening to gregor. It was very easy to throw aside the blanket; he needed only to push himself up a little, and it fell by itself. But to continue was difficult, particularly because he was so unusually wide. He needed arms and hands to push himself upright. In the place of these, however, he had only a lot of little legs, which were incessant in their various motions and which, moreover, he was unable to control. If he wanted to bend one of them, then it was the first to stretch itself out, and meanwhile, if he finally succeeded in doing what he wanted with this limb, all the others, as if left free, moved around in an excessively painful agitation. “But I must not stay in bed uselessly” (16-17). 7. Irony – a perception of inconsistency, sometimes humorous, in which the significance and understanding of a statement or event is changed by its context. Example: The firehouse burned down. • Dramatic Irony – the audience or reader knows more about a character’s situation than the character does and knows that the character’s understanding is incorrect. Example: In Medea, Creon asks, “What atrocities could she commit in one day?” The reader, however, knows Medea will destroy her family and Creon’s by day’s end. • Situational Irony – an event in a story that does not happen the way the audience or reader predicts. Example: In Great Expectations, Magwitch, not Miss Havisham, is Pip’s benefactor. • Verbal Irony – a discrepancy between what is said and what is really meant; sarcasm. Example: A large man whose nickname is “Tiny.” From Part 1 - Explain the irony of Gregor’s thought that people at work believe it to be of “the greatest suspicion” if one were late. This is ironic because Gregor is purposely not going to work, which gives the people to be suspicious.

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