Gregor Samsa: Beetlejuice

As I've begun to explore Franz Kafka's short stories, I've come to the conclusion that he does not like the way society is today. His worlds, at least the ones he has depicted in his writing, are bizarre, hostile, and dehumanized, and reflect or rather symbolize modern society's anxiety and alienation. Frequent quarrels within the self give way to skirmishes between characters.

 Kafka's most well-known work, The Metamorphosis, delves into the complex emotions of a family in turmoil. While the family's emotions go from shock to fear to mere sympathy and ultimately alienation, Gregor's mind is still intact and he feels the same for his family. One of the main symbolic structures within the story is, obviously, the theme of metamorphosis. This theme doesn't just apply to Gregor's physical transformation into a bug, but to other family members, namely Grete, the sister. At the beginning, she is just a fragile young girl who clings to her family out of necessity. But by the end of the story, thanks to the new pressure of supporting her family and taking care of Gregor, she has matured in both stature and mind. This is shown through the parent's realization that she has grown into a young woman and that it's about time to find her a husband. The entirety of the family goes through a metamorphosis as well, as their monetary problems become smaller through out the story, and after Gregor dies, they become reinvigorated.

Another reoccurring theme is the limits of sympathy. The family battles sympathy and revulsion towards Gregor's new form. The mother and Grete hold onto a shred of hope that Gregor still has a little bit of humanity within his shell. Grete even becomes his caretaker, and the father shows some sort of compassion by just allowing the others to take care of him. Eventually, however, the stresses of Gregor's presence wear their sympathy thin. Grete and the mother are so revolted by Gregor's appearance that they can't stand to be in the room with him. The fact that Gregor cannot convey his human thoughts only strengthen the family's feeling that he is an actual insect. Ultimately the sister, who has shown the most compassion, decides that it is time for Gregor to go.

The theme of alienation is also apparent throughout this work. The distance created by his appearance  is both physical and emotional. Not only is he alienated from his family in his new body, he is also alienated within. This is so because while he can think as a normal human would, he cannot express his thoughts and soon becomes disconnected from body and mind. Gregor is also alienated from his family by his physical appearance and doesn't even attempt contact, as he hides everytime someone walksin his room. This alienation was foreshadowed by his growing disconnect from his family through his human work.

Kafka shows the disconnect and maturity of not just the family depicted in this story, in all of his other works as well. This is the tragedy of the modern family, in his eyes.

AMC: Christ central

So the formula for a Christ-figure: wounds, self-sacrifice, followers, among many others. One of the most popular TV shows on air currently is headed by a Christ-figure. Now granted, he's not the most ideal candidate, but that's what makes it fun. Rick, the protagonist in The Walking Dead, fits the bill pretty well. Within the first episode, he wakes up in an empty hospital with a giant wound. Now not only does he have a wound, but he wakes up after being in a coma, almost dead. Sounds a lot like the Easter story to me. He was obviously thought to be dead, so when he arrived at his family's camp, everyone freaked out, much like in the biblical story. He has had many confrontations with the "devil and his demons, and possibly even encountered a Judas-like character (his best friend tried to kill him, and slept with his wife). He becomes the leader of his group, much like Jesus, and they look to him in times of moral, mental, and physical stress. He sacrifices himself multiple times for his family, especially his son (self-sacrificing, good with children) and came help people, or at least survive in a zombie-infested world (came to redeem an unworthy world). Basically, everything on the "Christ-figure List" in HtRLLaP includes traits or experiences of Rick.

Another show on AMC is Breaking Bad, the story of a chemistry teacher who is terminally ill and decides to join the drug trade to provide for his family in the coming years. Some would hesitate to call Walt, the protagonist, a Christ-figure. After all, he commits some very unjust crimes such as murder and solicitation of illegal substances. But his motivation is morally solid, because he is committing these sins to support and save his family and friends. He is self-sacrificing, has a death sentence (like Jesus knew his ultimate fate) with cancer, is in constant moral and physical pain, good with children (his son and daughter), spends time in the wilderness (meth lab), and has many confrontations with the "devil", or his boss. He ultimately destroys his "devil" by killing his boss and his followers, much like Jesus attempts to do throughout the Bible. He is constantly in the company of thieves and criminals, and even though he technically is one, he attempts to get rid of his sins and wrongdoings throughout the series. You could even venture to say that he came to redeem an unworthy world, as he eliminates all of his enemies that are making the world (drug trade) violent and fatal. While Walt isn't quite a carpenter, he is involved in another humble field of work that is also Christ-like: teaching. Jesus was a humble worker, as well as a teacher.

Everything is biblical..whether you like it or not

Christianity is one of, if the not the biggest influence on all aspects of Western culture. It was bound to work it's way onto the pages we read. Almost all literature has a biblical reference to be made, whether it was intended or not, and HtRLLaP stressed that fact. Some of the greatest literature of all time has included (and probably unintentionally) Christian figures in parables in their plot. Archetypes such as the lamb, burning bush, rivers, etc. are commonly used to indicate a Christian presence. In William Blake's coinciding poems "The Lamb " and "The Tyger", there are strong Christian indications. In the Lamb the character that is narrating is praising towards God and the "lamb" (Jesus). You could also make an argument in "The Tyger" that the narrator is describing the creation of the Devil by the same God who made the Jesus.

In the book Beloved, there are many biblical references. Probably the most notable one was the one of the the four horsemen who come riding up to her home. In a frenzy, Sethe, the main character, kills her two year old daughter. This might not make any rational sense, but if you dig a little deeper, you might see why it made sense to her. In biblical terms, the four horsemen bring about the Apocalypse. In this book, the fourth horseman carries a rifle. In the Bible, the fourth horseman is Death himself.

One lesser known, but still important, biblical stories is contained within John Steinbeck's East of Eden. This is the story of Cain and Abel, the world's first sons. Cain becomes jealous of Abel, and commits the first murder. In Steinbeck's work, Charles is our Cain and Adam is our Abel. Charles becomes jealous of his brother and attacks him, bur doesn't kill him. Later Adam becomes his biblical counterpart, and has two sons that take up the Cain and Abel roles. Cal and Aron are the sons, with some allusion to the biblical character's name, as Cal represents Cain and Aron represents Abel. Cal also becomes jealous of his brother, and his hurtful actions lead Aron to join the military, leading to his ultimate demise in WWI. Cal's response on his brother's whereabouts also parallels Cain's response. Cal's response is "Am I supposed to look out for him?" while Cain's was "Am I my brother's keeper?"



There are countless other examples throughout all genres of literature. You don't have to be a biblical scholar to pick up on these allusions, but now that I know what to look for, I've started enjoying and understanding literature a lot more throughly than before.