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A bit of a whiplash in reading this week. I read The Metamorphosis with my sophomore English class last quarter. I wasn't enthused about it. I did the unit because the honors class read it, and I'm supposed to have some similar units with that class. I hadn't read it before, so I was reading it along with the students. I'm not sure how well I did with the unit. The kids have a pretty keen grasp of absurdity. One of the first assignments I asked the kids to do was to give examples of Kafkaesque absurdity present at our school, and they delivered! They related to Gregor's anxiety over cruelty and pettiness reflected in the manager who visits in part one.
What struck me as I read is how this story is a great metaphor for chronic illness, sudden illness, and sudden disability. Gregor's family immediately forgets his humanity, which is easy to do because he is literally vermin. But they never really deny that he is still their son, so they should take care of him. At first, his sister does take it upon herself to help Gregor and keep his room clean and make sure he has food. But the longer his "illness" goes on, and the more they realize that he's not going to ever "get better," the less interested they are in taking care of him. In fact, they agree that their lives would be better if he were dead. By the end, when Gregor is dead, the family feels relief and hope. It made me really sad.
Since I've had a tough week at work, I bought a bunch of manga so I could read something fairly light. I also bought volume one of the English translation of the Mo Dao Zu Shi manhua. I have the Chinese editions, mostly just to have them. I was going to buy the print edition when I went home this summer, but I had a credit for an e-book, so I went ahead and bought the digital version and read it this morning. And it's fine! I like the little illustrations in the backgrounds of panels, like little Lan Jingyi reactions. And I love, in every iteration, "I'm his uncle. Do you have any last words?" Jiang Cheng -- what a dramatic bitch! I love you!
What struck me as I read is how this story is a great metaphor for chronic illness, sudden illness, and sudden disability. Gregor's family immediately forgets his humanity, which is easy to do because he is literally vermin. But they never really deny that he is still their son, so they should take care of him. At first, his sister does take it upon herself to help Gregor and keep his room clean and make sure he has food. But the longer his "illness" goes on, and the more they realize that he's not going to ever "get better," the less interested they are in taking care of him. In fact, they agree that their lives would be better if he were dead. By the end, when Gregor is dead, the family feels relief and hope. It made me really sad.
Since I've had a tough week at work, I bought a bunch of manga so I could read something fairly light. I also bought volume one of the English translation of the Mo Dao Zu Shi manhua. I have the Chinese editions, mostly just to have them. I was going to buy the print edition when I went home this summer, but I had a credit for an e-book, so I went ahead and bought the digital version and read it this morning. And it's fine! I like the little illustrations in the backgrounds of panels, like little Lan Jingyi reactions. And I love, in every iteration, "I'm his uncle. Do you have any last words?" Jiang Cheng -- what a dramatic bitch! I love you!
