World War Two

We read several different stories this week about World War Two. The first "The Shawl" was very touching because it was all about how a shawl nourished a child for months when it had little or no food. I think the shawl was a symbol of the mother's love and how she loved her child so much that the child could live from that. In turn the child loves the shawl back and when she is gone, it is the mother's turn to be nourished by it. The shawl is all that she has left and its like the baby's love is still with her mother. The second story we read was Ladies and Gentleman to the Gas Chamber and it was even more insightful and heart wrenching. It makes you realize what the prisoners who did survive the camps had to do to get by. They had to become almost as inhuman as the guards to be able to get through the day. The main character has tries to physically purge himself from the guilt of this by throwing up and hiding under the train. This is significant because he feels like that is better than getting the stuff he needs for survival. The main character finds the way that the prisoners who are being sent to death appalling. But when he brooches the subject with his friend the friend who has already become tolerant of what is happening around him tells him that it is no big deal and he should basically take what he can get. All in all this gives us realistic look into some parts of life in a concentration camp.

"The Fly"

In "The Fly" the Boss is a bit of a weird character. He isn't senile like Old Woodifield but he is peculiar  in that he enjoy's killing a fly. While I know that the killing of the fly is symbolic to how he feels about his son's death, it is still cruel to torture the thing like that. Just kill it! However, in class we talked about how the fly symbolizes the moral of  Germany after World War One, just continually beat down until it can never recover. The people, especially the soldiers who fought in the trenches have never seen such gruesome things. Also the war was cause by something that the common citizens probably didn't understand so they might not really have understood what they were fighting for. The Boss symbolizes the government of Germany and how they control the people. They keep pushing and pushing until finally something or someone breaks. In the story the things that broke were the fly and the Boss's son. The story also talks about the suffering that the fly went through and this relates to the suffering of Europe throughout the war and afterwards when they were trying to get back on there feet. So while I still think that the Boss is a bit strange, he has his reasons and they have deeper meanings.

"The Dead"

Consider the names of the characters, specifically Gabriel and Michael--what is their origin/meaning generally and then consider their use in the text.


   The names of Gabriel and Michael are significant in the story because their roles parallel the roles of the biblical Gabriel and Michael. They do this because in "The Dead" Gabriel is second in Greta's heart to Michael. Her love for him survives death and time, while Gabriel just sits in the background. In the bible Michael is the archangel and is second only to God while Gabriel is behind both Michael and God. Michael is the angel who threw the devil out of heaven and Gabriel told of the birth of Jesus Christ. This is significant in our story because Gabriel is a professor and therefore delivers learning to all his students. The Gabriel of the bible also delivers  messages to Mary and Joseph about the coming of their baby. These similarities make the reader draw conclusions that Joyce knew what he was doing when he wrote this story. He wanted you to think about how these names give meaning to the story that otherwise would not be there. 

The Metamorphosis

According to Dictionary.com - a metamorphosis is, "a profoundchange in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism--a complete change of form, structure, or substance--a form resulting from any such change."  In considering this definition, what was Gregor's life like before and after his metamorphosis--do you believe his change was literal or metaphoric and why?


  Before Gregor's metamorphosis his life was not his own. He lived and did everything for his family. They took the fact that he basically put his life on hold to pay off his father's debt and provide for the family in a way in which they had become accustomed to. We know that Gregor really hated his job and was going to quit as soon as he had paid the director back. He really loved his sister and wanted to send her to the conservatory so she could learn more about the violin. However, even she did not really appreciate what he was doing for the family. 
  After Gregor's metamorphosis he kinda lived for himself and his basic needs. He was the one who was being taken care of now and he pretty much just ate, slept, ran around the room, and listen to his family's conversations. His sister was now the person taking care of him but even she eventually got tired of that. Because of Gregor's change it made his family realize how  much he actually did for them. In turn they had to start relying on themselves and get up and start doing something. Even his mother who was a bit sickly, contributed to the family by sewing lingerie. The sister, Greta, really stepped up and became a woman throughout the story and she kinda took over Gregor's place in the family. 
    I think that in the story the change was real, but that the author wrote it to make you think of other things. Like maybe when a person gets sick and dies or a tragedy happens. I think the author really wanted you to think that Gregor actually changed into a cockroach but everybody knows that can never actually happen. Therefore, I think it is metaphoric to how some people's family dynamic is and how we in society take other people for granted. But when the tables turn we don't always care for them in the same way.