Oedipus The King, Oedipus Rex - 1329 Words

In Sophocles’ 5th century Greek tragedy Oedipus the King, Oedipus Rex infamously murders his father and weds his mother in a bout of dramatic irony. This engenders the predicament of whether these crimes are justifiable or not. Those who are procrustean in regards to Oedipus’ crimes may insularly claim that they cannot be rationalized. However, further acknowledgement of this quandary brings forth the idea that Oedipus’ crimes of patricide and incest are clearly justified by how his lack of phronesis is inherited, his unawareness influences his actions, and his fate is ultimately under the gods’ control. One may venture that since Oedipus’ hauteur and lack of phronesis are traits passed down in the House of Labdacus, they justify Oedipus’ crimes. This assertion is derived from the argument that Oedipus’ crimes are results of his lack of phronesis, which is in essence an amalgamation of the skills, character, and experience necessary fo r moral and sound decisionmaking. To corroborate this, it must be noted that when an individual such as Oedipus exhibits a lack of phronesis, he or she is characterized by rashness and impiety. Essentially, Oedipus’ crudeness when handling Tiresias’ accusations is an example of his rashness and impiety, which guide his acts of patricide and incest: OEDIPUS. You mean, you know and will not say? You’d rather sacrifice us all and let the city rot? TIRESIAS. I’d rather keep you and me from harm. Don’t press me uselessly. My lips are sealed†¦ ItShow MoreRelatedOedipus Rex By Oedipus The King1206 Words   |  5 PagesOedipus’ evolution throughout the Theban plays is one with fascinating twists and turns. Oedipus’ characterisation evolves and changes as he experiences the fall from being the great ruler of Thebes into a blind beggar who is tortured by what he did. As the stories progress, so does their protagonist to the point where the Oedipus of the second play is a completely different man. In Oedipus Rex, the main character is portrayed as a strong and clever yet arrogant king whose ignorance leads him toRead MoreOedipus The King, Or Oedipus Rex1249 Words   |  5 Pagesmost famous probably being Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, or Oedipus Rex. For a play to be considered a tragedy, it must have a tragic hero. According to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, they must be a dece nt moral person, of high social standing who eventually meets with a tragic downfall, of their own doing, suffering more than deserved, and realizing their error too late. In the play Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the epitome of a tragic hero. Oedipus Rex was generally a â€Å"good† person; he wasRead MoreOedipus Rex, Or Oedipus The King972 Words   |  4 PagesOedipus Rex, or Oedipus the King, has been translated thousands of times from the original ancient Greek version to English of varying recency. Consequently, each work varies incredibly in its meaning and its presentation of Oedipus and the tragedy surrounding him. Two translations of Sophocles’ ancient play, one translated by Robert Fagles and the other by J.T. Shepherd, are perfect illustrations of this concept. Although these two works share several similarities, they vary greatly in their presentationRead More tragoed The Tragic Figure of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)923 Words   |  4 PagesThe Tragic Figure of Oedipus Rex  Ã‚     Ã‚   Sophocles is perhaps one of the greatest tragedians ever. Sophocles said that a man should never consider himself fortunate unless he can look back on his life and remember that life without pain. For Oedipus Rex, looking back is impossible to do without pain. This pain stems from his prideful life. Oedipus is aware that he alone is responsible for his actions. Oedipus freely chooses to pursue and accept his own lifes destruction. Even though fate victimizesRead More tragoed Essay on the Tragic Flaws of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)696 Words   |  3 Pages The Tragic Flaws of Oedipus Rex nbsp; At one time in our lives there is a moment that we may think of ourselves as better than someone or something else. There may also be a point when making a decision leads to a great error in judgment. In the play Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, both of these characteristics can be seen in the main character. These characteristics are known as tragic flaws. These flaws are known as hubris meaning excess pride, leading to overconfidence, and hamartiaRead More Comparing Oedipus Rex and King Lear Essay1478 Words   |  6 PagesComparing Oedipus Rex and King Lear   Ã‚   Oedipus Rex and King Lear are, as their titles announce, both about kings. These two plays are similar in theme and in the questions they pose to the audience. The kings in each play both fall from the pinnacle of power to become the most loathed of all classes in society; Oedipus discovers that he is a murderer and committer of incest, and Lear becomes a mad beggar. Misjudgments occur in both plays, and the same questions about the gods, fate, and freeRead More tragoed Oedipus as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)1217 Words   |  5 PagesOedipus as the Ideal Tragic Hero of Oedipus the King In the introduction to Sophocles Oedipus the King, Sophocles defines a tragic hero as one who [behaves] admirably as a man, [but who] is nevertheless tripped up by forces beyond his control and understanding... (Sophocles 76).   In Oedipus the King, Oedipus is the tragic hero. The force that trips up the hero is fate, or, moira. It is Oedipuss actions that set the events into motion,   but it is ultimately his fate, and his attemptedRead More Comparing the Strategy of a Runner with that of King Oedipus of Oedipus Rex and Creon of Antigone1859 Words   |  8 PagesComparing the Strategy of a Runner with that of King Oedipus of Oedipus Rex and Creon of Antigone A runner must use a strategy that is specific to that style of racing. If a distance runner attempts to apply pacing to a short sprint he has lost the race before approaching the start. Although racing strategies differ between every individual race it is possible to associate some basic strategies used in particular types of races. These techniques are common amongst the runnersRead More The Impact of Truth in Oedipus Rex (the King) Essay example1205 Words   |  5 Pages The Impact of Truth in Oedipus Rex (the King)nbsp;nbsp; Truth has made me strong. This is a quote from Tiresias, one of the characters in Sophocless tragedy, Oedipus Rex. The quote has different meaning and relevance for each of the different characters, but for the character of Creon, the quote is completely true. By the end of the play, the truth had not only prompted Oedipus to forgive Creon, clearing his name of any previous accusations, but the truth had also made Creon OedipussRead More tragoed Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) as Ideal Tragic Hero1245 Words   |  5 PagesOedipus Rex as the Ideal Tragic Hero If we give ourselves up to a full sympathy with the hero, there is no question that the Oedipus Rex fulfills the function of a tragedy, and arouses fear and pity in the highest degree. But the modern reader, coming to the classic drama not entirely for the purpose of enjoyment, will not always surrender himself to the emotional effect. He is apt to worry about Greek fatalism and the justice of the downfall of Oedipus, and, finding no satisfactory solution

Interviewing a Criminal Justice Professional Free Essays

For the past twenty-four years, Deputy Karen J. Miller has work for the Harris County Sherriff’s Department. She worked on the beat for her first six months, than the rest of her career years at the Harris County Sherriff’s Community Store Front. We will write a custom essay sample on Interviewing a Criminal Justice Professional or any similar topic only for you Order Now The store front is a place where the deputies provide a safe environment for those who live, work or commute within the precincts. For the last three years, Deputy Miller’s job title has been â€Å"Media Liaison† officer. The role of a police liaison officer is to promote trust and understanding by assisting the community, police and media through the process of reducing and preventing crimes and maintaining community partnerships. She also strives to divert people from entering the criminal justice system. Deputy Miller is responsible for making consistent, periodic contact with assigned groups to stay informed about community concerns and unresolved issues. Her goal is to provide accurate information in a timely manner utilizing technology to improve communication between the office of the sheriff’s department, the media and the public. Deputy Miller’s daily activity entails sending emails, writing releases and reports to the local area paper (Northeast News). In Deputy Miller’s district reports, she gives information such as mug shots (if permitted), description about the incident, names of the people involved, the location, time and date. Deputy Miller thinks that new technologies, such as the internet are a good tool for law enforcement and the criminal justice system because more avenues have opened up because of the internet. Deputy Miller came from a descent family, but growing up; she was always getting into trouble in school. Her parents had to place her in a catholic school in the fifth grade because of fighting. During her years at the catholic school, Deputy Miller convinced her parents that she was able to behave herself, so they put her back in the public school (Barbara Jordan). She attended Barbara Jordan from the tenth thru the twelfth grade were she graduated. Deputy Miller attended Texas Southern University majoring in Criminal Justice. A friend had informed her about a job posting for the sheriff’s department. She applied and was given the job as a deputy sheriff. After learning from friends about her boyfriend being busted on the news for drugs, she knew being in this profession, she had to pick and choose who she hung around. In other words, change out friends; you have to keep yourself clean; not having a criminal record. They also do not want someone with a lot of debts. Deputy Miller had to pull her weapon, but never used deadly force. In her career, Deputy Miller has seen deputies killed. The effect of seeing her comrades killed sets her back. Deputy Miller stated, â€Å"Being a deputy, you build a close relationship with your partner. You are depending on that person with your life; to have your back†. Deputy Miller and her peers motto is what to eat, stay dry and GO HOME. Being in the law enforcement profession, ethics is the core value on the job and off the job. Ethics in the field of law enforcement is very important and significant because ethics is used in this field every day. Law enforcement officers encounter difficult decisions that will involve ethical thinking. They will have to deal with different ethnicities, languages, religions and will have to use ethical thinking to deal with them. The officer will come into contact with a variety of people from different cultures. Situations will also occur often in which morals and ethics need to be taken into consideration. Deputy Miller has also witness corruption in her career. One time, she was ordered to return a patrol car for a DNA check. Turned out, a deputy that used the patrol car before her had forced intercourse with a female in exchange for not writing her a ticket in the back seat of that vehicle. Without leadership and ethics, we would not have trustworthy officers on the street. Officers take an oath to protect and serve the people, not to go out and commit a crime against them. Deputy Miller’s career choice had some affect on her family. Her first marriage ended in divorce because her husband could not cope with her chosen profession. Her two daughters’ ages eight and twelve supports her, but do not want to follow in her footsteps. She is now married to her best friend, who is also a deputy, who loves and understands her career and her position. She is planning on retiring, but not for another six to eight years. What Deputy Miller love the most about being a media liaison is working alone and not answering to anyone; the least is â€Å"being misquoted†. Afterthoughts In interviewing Deputy Miller, I learned that a â€Å"media liaison officer† has to work in a high pressure environment while maintaining composure. The officer has to be self-directed, detail-oriented, and able to multi-task under time constraints. The officer is also required to have strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills. I also learned that being in this line of profession, may cause a strain in your personal life. It is important to have an understanding partner that can swallow their disappointment when the officer is absent from family functions. In this profession, you will miss important occasions and holidays such as anniversaries, birthdays, Christmas’†¦etc. To put it nicely, criminals do not take the holidays off, neither do those that protects us. What I like the most about Deputy Miller’s career title is the interactions with the media and the community. She gets to write stories from the police point of view so that the public can read about what’s going on in their community. Some offices will even be present at a homeowner’s association meeting, asking a lot of questions and taking detail notes to find out about the community concerns, crime or quality-of-life issues in the neighborhood. I was very surprised to find out that Deputy Miller never had to use deadly force out of her twenty-four years as a deputy sheriff. A very small percentage of officers have used deadly force. Upbringing has a profound impact on the level of tolerance you have for bad behavior. If you had strict parents, than your tolerance for bad behavior is low. If your arents are liberal, your tolerance is probably much higher. Having a strong sense of morals and ethics can guide you for a lifetime. Being a law enforcement officer, family life, morals, ethics, and culture mold an individual’s ability to make a decision to use deadly force along with having confidence. References Deputy Karen J. Miller (personal interview), (Jan. 29,2010). Liaison Officer Job Description: http://www. ehow. com/facts_5559182_liaison-officer-job-description. html Your Personal Deadly force Policy: Operations Tactics at Office. com, http://www. officer. com/article/article. jsp? siteSection=3id=32241. How to cite Interviewing a Criminal Justice Professional, Papers

The Ancient Art Of Feng Shui Essay free essay sample

, Research Paper The Ancient Art of Feng Shui The History of Feng Shui Feng Shui has been practiced in China for 1000s of old ages and is believed to hold started in 2953 B.C. when Hu of Hsia found a tortoise that had a perfect # 8220 ; magic square # 8221 ; on its dorsum. From this find evolved the I Ching, the oldest book in Chinese history, and perchance the universe ( Webster 1 ) . This book contains the first written instructions on the theory of Feng Shui. Feng Shui was seen as a sacred power, so much so that in ancient China, merely the privileged category had entree to the cognition. There are even narratives of members of the Imperial household who went out of their manner to befog the texts in order to forestall those who might be a menace to them from obtaining the sacred cognition. The first Ming emperor even ordered that the state be flooded with books incorporating deceptive theories and wrong guidelines on Feng Shui ( Too 2 ) . When Chiang Kai Shek fled the mainland he took 1000s of books on Feng Shui with him to Taiwan and used its rules in constructing a government at that place. From there it traveled to Hong Kong and finally to the Western World through Marco Polo ( Cassidy ) . Modern Feng Shui is based on the commentaries from Wang Chi and other bookmans from the Sung dynasty, 1126-960 B.C. ( Webster 3 ) . What is Feng Shui? Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of life in harmoniousness with nature and your milieus, in order to maximise your wellness, prosperity and fortune. It literally translates as # 8220 ; air current and H2O # 8221 ; and it involves the arrangement of edifices in relation to their milieus, and the arrangement of furniture within the edifice in order to maximise the ch # 8217 ; I, the original energy beginning on the Earth, from which everything else was created ( Webster 4 ) . As the firedrake is seen as the most august heavenly animal of Chinese doctrine, ch # 8217 ; I has been called the breath of the firedrake. Ch # 8217 ; I is an unseeable energy that circulates throughout the universe but besides gathers in certain countries. The basic thought of Feng Shui is to tackle every bit much ch # 8217 ; i as possible by leting it to garner where you are, whether it is in your place or in your office. Ch # 8217 ; I is the life force that is all living things, and can be found, in its flawlessness wherever things are done absolutely. An creative person who creates a chef-doeuvre is making ch # 8217 ; I. Through Feng Shui, we are looking for topographic points where ch # 8217 ; I is accumulated or where it is formed. For illustration, ch # 8217 ; I is scattered by strong air currents, so a blowy location is non a good beginning of ch # 8217 ; I. However, ch # 8217 ; I is bound by H2O, so a location near H2O is full of the accrued life force. Harmonizing to Feng Shui mythology, the first clip that ch # 8217 ; i moved it created yang, the male rule, and when it rested, it created yin, the female rule. After these really of import creative activities ch # 8217 ; i so created the remainder of the existence. The theory of the yin and the yang are of critical importance to Feng Shui ( Webster 6 ) . Yin and Yang Yin and yang are the two opposing energies involved with Feng Shui and neither one can last without the other. In fact nil is wholly yin or wholly yang, everything is a combination of both energies. This is illustrated is the popular yin yang symbol in which a little circle of black is located in the big white form and a little white circle is inside the black ( Feng Shui Society ) . This symbol is called the Taichi symbol of completeness due to its perfect balance of the yin and the yang. Together, yin and yang make up Tao, the manner. The full existence is made up of yin and yang energies invariably interacting with each other, and perfect harmoniousness is established through a perfect balance. Since ch # 8217 ; I is the life force and it created the yin and yang, neither yin nor yang can be evil or good. They merely are ( Webster 7 ) . It is merely when you have an imbalanced sum of the two that your ch # 8217 ; i become negatively affected. Harmonizing to Feng Shui, mountains, hills and other raised countries ( even tall edifices ) represent yang energy, while vales, rivers and streams represent yin energy. As a consequence, Earth that is wholly level is said to incorporate excessively much yin, and a hilly country with no H2O or workss contains excessively much yang energy, both would bring forth bad ch # 8217 ; I. A gently turn overing countryside with a slow flowing watercourse would stand for a good balance of yin and yang. Lillian Too goes so far as to state that the most of import regulation of Feng Shui when taking land is # 8220 ; mountain behind H2O in forepart # 8221 ; ( 15 ) . There are two schools of Feng Shui, the Compass School and the Form School. Compass School Through the development of Feng Shui, some bookmans believed that the facets of Chinese star divination should be incorporated with the basic rules. The Compass School was developed after the Sung dynasty and took into account personal information sing your astrological mark in order to happen the location that will optimise your ch’i ( Too 28 ) . These bookmans used the tortoise shell that inspired Wu of Hsia to make the pa-kua symbol. This symbol showed all 8 possible combinations of yin and yang. From this symbol they devised a compass that showed where each symbol ( i.e. the individual who represents that symbol ) should be located in the place in order for them to be the most productive, healthy and comfortable. A individual # 8217 ; s single symbol is determined by his or her twelvemonth of birth. A individual born in 1979 is a Chen and, harmonizing to the compass should be in the east side of the house, as the Chinese compass has south at its top. From your pa-kua symbol you can so see what element you represent. The five elements are Fire, Earth, Wood, Metal and Water. After finding your component, you so are told which stuffs you should environ yourself with ( Webster 18 ) . Form School The form school of Feng Shui focuses chiefly on the location of the edifice in the environment. Harmonizing to the Form school there are three different types of hills. The first type are Black Turtle hills which are mountains. Ideally, these should be in the dorsum of the house on the north side. Green Dragon hills, named for the steep slopes which resemble a curling firedrake bulge, should be on the left of the house in the E. White Tiger hills are shorter and more rounded than Dragon hills and, harmonizing to the Form School, should be located on the right or west of the house. These hills prevent the ch # 8217 ; i from fluxing off from the home. Finally, a Red Phoenix pes stool should ideally be located in forepart of the house on the south side. This is a really little turn overing hill or hill with a river embracing the Phoenix hill in order to keep a changeless flow of ch # 8217 ; i into the house ( Too 14 ) . Your house should be nestled amongst big hills behind and to the side and reasonably unfastened in the forepart, a site resembling an armchair, which represents a life of comfort. This constellation is the perfect state of affairs harmonizing to the Form School. It is seen as so auspicious that rich Chinese barons will really redesign the contours of the land in order to put the household sign of the zodiac in an ideal location harmonizing to Feng Shui ( Webster 32 ) . The Practice of Feng Shui A certain sum of enigma surrounds the pattern of Feng Shui. Understanding its many rules requires an credence of some cardinal Chinese theories about the Universe. These theories frequently seem strange of out of day of the month to many modern twenty-four hours minds as to how the universe works. This is why Feng Shui has taken so long to go popular in the Western World. Feng Shui is practiced even today. Upon the Chinese recapture Hong Kong in 1997, the Chinese governor refused to travel from his house into either the colonial Governor # 8217 ; s sign of the zodiac or the Governor # 8217 ; s office because he believed that they both had bad ch # 8217 ; I, and he would non populate or work anyplace that was non checked and approved by his Feng Shui maestro in order to guarantee that he would be comfortable in his new station ( Cassidy ) . # 8220 ; The key to Feng Shui is balance ; coordinative clip, arrangement, infinite and energy to the maximal consequence, based on the interp lay between people and their universe # 8221 ; ( Feng Shui Innovations ) . Relevance Today Although it is one of the oldest known subjects, Feng Shui is relevant today, uniting a sense of design and environment that brings prosperity, wellness and success to concern environments and residential, household homes. It is the art of arrangement, a scientific discipline and a doctrine that was meant to convey harmoniousness through the observation of our environments and how the balance of the energies created can impact all the facets of our lives. # 8220 ; All we do is connected to Mother Earth and Ch # 8217 ; I, the Natural Order or Energy which permeates the existence # 8221 ; ( Feng Shui Innovations ) . Within the past 10 old ages at that place has been an astonishing sum of involvement in this scientific discipline in the western universe as people, for assorted grounds, expression for replies, and hunt for a manner to be in harmoniousness with the universe. An ancient Chinese stating lists the five basic rules of successful life: # 8220 ; First comes destiny, and so comes luck. Third comes Feng Shui, and with that comes philanthropy and instruction # 8221 ; ( Webster 33 ) . Cassidy, William L. # 8220 ; www.qi-whiz.com # 8221 ; . Feng Shui Innovations. # 8220 ; www.fengshui-innovations.com # 8221 ; . Feng Shui Society. # 8220 ; www.fengshuisociety.org.uk/ # 8221 ; . Too, Lillian. Basic Feng Shui. Oriental Publications, Australia:1997. Webster, Daniel. Feng Shui for Beginners. Llewellyn Publication, St. Paul:1997. Xing, Wu. The Feng Shui Workbook. Tuttle Pub. , Boston:1998.

The Metamorphosis an Example of the Topic Education and science by

The Metamorphosis by Expert MasterNash | 14 Dec 2016 At the turn of the 20th century a struggling Jewish writer living in Prague was trying to balance work and honing his craft. In his lifetime he was not able to taste literary success but was successful in creating one of the most thought provoking work that redefined what writing is all about. His name is Franz Kafka and his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. Need essay sample on "The Metamorphosis" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed This paper will attempt to interpret The Metamorphosis for the purpose of sharing it to a new generation of readers. It will not be an easy task. Whoever will undertake the work of understanding it must realize that Kafkas opus is like a gem that is multifaceted. Thus, a student reading it must not stop after getting one set of interpretation. This is what makes Kafkas work a good read and part of the reason why interest regarding the material did not wane, even after close to a century since its publication in the year 1915. The Novella College Students Often Tell EssayLab specialists:How much do I have to pay someone to write my essay now?Essay writers propose: Get Academic Writing At Reasonable Price With UsCustom Essay Reviews Get Paid To Write Papers Essay Writer Service Custom Essay Writing Company It is a well known fact that man is a creature of habit. Habits are also formed quite easily. It only takes a few weeks to develop one. Now imagine the activities and hobbies that this person is used to doing. The regular day to day things that were already taken for granted. What if all of a sudden something happens that will disallow the person to have the ability to do the normal and the ordinary? It is an invalids worst nightmare. This crisis being described happened to a character in a Franz Kafka novella. The main character of the story Gregor Samsa woke up one morning with a terrible realization. The traveling salesman, turned into a gigantic bug. He did not only was transformed into a vermin he was also suffering ailments unknown to him and seems to be difficult to diagnose and understand. His transformation was a metamorphosis gone very badly. His voice, his face, his upper and lower body all was changed into something horrible. Of course there is no human bug and of course Kafka wrote fiction. But it can also be understood that the author was using metaphor to communicate a ton of truth. In a creative way Kafka wanted the world to know how it feels to be disabled. The author creatively brings the reader to a place of teaching. But instead of lecturing the students he created a way to communicate the two ways of how a person can be invalid. The first one, by virtue of common sense, everybody knows that the usual cause of disability is through an accident. An unfortunate even that ruins lives like being hit by a car driven by a person who suffered a stroke. It can also come by way of natural calamities such as earthquakes, typhoons etc. But according to Kafkas book without saying it aloud there is another sure way of becoming an invalid. And that is through self-infliction brought about the many negative experiences that plagued the mind. It is self-inflicted because the world around the person is too much to bear. In the book, Gregor Samsa was wasting away on a job that he hates. For reasons that will be made clear at the end, the metamorphosis of Gregor from a super reliable, hardworking, tough as nails person to a hated, ridiculed and much ostracized vermin was for a purpose. Yet at the moment, the life that he knew too well is gone. When a person becomes disable it does not really matter how he had arrived at that stage what occupies the patients mind is how he could get his life back. And that is when the ordeal will start, day one in hell on earth. The first stage is the struggle to accept that life will never be the same again. To those who lost the use of hand, limbs, and senses has to admit that the only thing to do is to move forward. There is a need to realize that it is useless to force the body to do things the way it used to and it is very important to that it is better to function than to die a slow agonizing death. Al Siebert a doctor of psychology has this to say about moving on and beating the odds and the two typical reactions of invalids: Some people feel victimized and blame others for their plight. Some shut down. They feel helpless and overwhelmed. Some get angry. They lash out and try to hurt anyone they can. A few, however, reach within themselves and find ways to cope with adversity. They eventually make things turn out well (Siebert, 1996). The second thing that strikes the invalids heart is the sudden and unexpected rejection of the people close to him. The rejection may not be verbalized but it could be felt and understood just as easily as well. The people close to the victims may feel a tinge of remorse because of the way they reacted to the disability of a loved one but still strong negative feelings show. Sometimes a relative or even a family member will wish for the early demise of a loved one, justifying the wicked thought in the hope of ending the persons suffering. In the story it was Gregors sister, Grete, who demonstrated this kind of behavior. She was vocal about her frustrations in taking care of his brother who turned into a partially immobile vermin. On the final stage of the chain reaction, an unexpected thing will occur. The invalid gives up hope knowing that he will always see himself as a pitiful shell of his old self. Then the people around him suddenly put themselves into new roles. If the invalid was the breadwinner of the house while the rest depended on him for provision, now the situation will reverse itself and the dependent will become the bread winner so that the community or the household will survive. They will suddenly become much stronger in character, will, and purpose for the sake of the disabled member of the family. In the novella Gregor Samsa was the sole provider for the family, earning money to support his father, mother, and sister. While Gregor forces himself to succeed in a frustrating job his family demonstrated what it is to be a slot by not helping augment the income of the family. But when Gregor reached a point of no return and when his physical condition began to deteriorate into hopelessness, his father suddenly experienced a rebirth in terms of zeal in finding work. His father succeeded in his new career while the rest of the family are also discovering their potential to be more productive. As it turned out Gregor was not the only one who underwent a metamorphosis. His family members went into their own metamorphosis as they tried to cope with a member of the family that suddenly became invalid. This is one way of interpreting Kafkas work. But it must be understood that this is just one of the possible interpretation of the novel. One way of trying to comprehend the novella is through viewing the work in the context of the authors life. Thus, a facet of the masterpiece will be seen in a new light. A simple background study of Kafka will help unearth another set of interpretation, closer perhaps to what the author intended for the reader to grasp. Biographical Sketch Franz Kafka was born in the year 1883. He was born in Prague to middle-class Jewish parents. His father was an entrepreneur. According to Emma Chastain: Kafka held on to bitter memories of his childhood, particularly of his upwardly mobile, harsh father. As Kafka admitted in the never-sent Letter to His Father: My writing was all about you; all I did there, after all, was to bemoan what I could not bemoan upon your breast. It was an intentionally long-drawn-out-leave-taking from you. (2004, p. 519). The piece of information revealed above is enough to revisit The Metamorphosis and see some of the component of the story in a different light. But there is more. According to Sander Gilman, at the turn of the century Europe, the Jewish people were experience a whole new level of persecution. At the time when Kafka was growing up the degradation of the Jewish race came in the form of insult to their physical prowess. Gilman secured a copy of the physical exam that Kafka went through as a prerequisite for a job application and this is what the doctors said regarding the frail body of the author, His body is thin but delicate. He is relatively weak [] He has weak chest muscles (2005, p. 14). This view was based on the confession of Kafka who said that, It is certain that a major obstacle to my progress is my physical condition. Nothing can be accomplished with such a body [] My body is too log for its weakness, it hasnt the least bit of fat to engender a blessed warmth to preserve an inner fire (Gilman, p. 16). But it is Emma Chastains insights that proved to be the more significant revelation of all the literature reviewed for this study. Chastain mindful of Kafkas Jewish heritage wrote the following, Kafka did not quiet fit in anywhere. He was a Czech in the Astro-Hungarina empire, a German-speaker among Czechs, a Jew among German-speakers, and a disbeliever among Jews. He was alienated from his pragmatic and overbearing father, from his bureaucratic job, and from the opposite sex (p. 519). Using the above biographical sketch one can now go back to the story of the man-bug and see different insights. It is now clear that the Gregor Samsa was Kafkas alter ego. Gregors dysfunctional family mirrors that of Kafkas own family. The frustration of Gregor Samsa over his work, his inability to excel and show his true worth eerily resembles that of Kafkas struggle to become a great writer. Moreover the pained relationship between Gregor and his father was not just a way of filling up the pages but it was the personal expression of the author longing for his fathers love but was denied of ever feeling his warmth and gentleness. What he got in return was a harsh taskmaster that is content to receive but not able to reciprocate that love given by a dutiful son. The transformation of Gregor Samsa can now be understood as the longing of Kafka to escape his dreadful experience. It is as if he is saying that it is better for him to kill himself rather than continue living. But if that is not possible then maybe turning into a vermin will give him an excuse to stay in his room and not go to work and not face his family and even his employers. The alienation that he felt growing up as a weakling in a country where physical prowess is placed at a high pedestal is difficult for Kafka. But most of all it is his being a Jew that made it difficult for him to blend in. The vermin in the room is a reflection of that feeling. Something that people abhors and someone that the opposite sex fears and rejects. It is now very clear that Kafkas masterpiece is merely a pained expression of what he truly felt inside. And just like what he said in his letter to his father it is the words of a son that was muzzled and not allowed to speak up. It is his communiqu to his father and to his family that he was rejected and taken for granted until it was too late. Conclusion In a time when Hollywood movies are dictated by a simple dance-song formula, Franz Kafka was already experimenting new methods of writing. The man is an enigma to many and his work reflected that personality. A casual glance of his work makes one wonder what he really wanted to say as an author. On the other hand a true literary genius will never be able to downplay Kafkas achievements. He was a free thinker and was not afraid to express what he felt. Others may feel that he is simply a product of his environment. That he is merely a byproduct of a dysfunctional family. An abusive father has driven him to unexpected heights of literary genius and his frustration at work made him more disciplined in honing his skills. Franz Kafka should be admired as a great writer. At the same time his sad life story must be a lesson to all parents and family members that actions of rudeness and the inability to show love and tenderness will affect a family members life. Kafkas work was full of it even if he was clever enough to hide it. Works Cited Chastain, Emma. 101 Novels and Plays. New York: Spark Publishing, 2004. Corngold, Stanley. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. 1994. Literature, Arts and Medicine. 6 April 2006 Gilman, Sander. Franz Kafka. London: Reaktion Books, Ltd., 2005. Survivor Personality by Al Siebert PhD. 1996. No Nonsense Self Defense, LLC. 6 April 2006 http://www.nononsenseselfdefense.com/NNSDsiebertsurvivefull.htm