Kafka Reflection

In part one of  Kafka's The Metamorphosis the manager isn't sympathetic to Gregor and makes him feel like the situation is his fault. Gregor's mom is pleading with the manager to that he is sick and doesn't feel well but the manager isn't listening. He trys to explain to the mother that this is business and sometimes you have to get over your sickness in order to be successful. "On the other hand, I must also say that we business people, luckily or unluckily, however one looks at it, very often simply have to overcome a slight indisposition for business reason" (Kafka 4). Gregor works hard and hardly ever misses work but the manager does not seem to realize that he is really sick. The mom is trying to get the manager to realize that just because Gregor is sick, doesn't mean he is a lazy employee. The manager's plea with the mother isn't getting him anywhere so he decides to lay all the guilt on Gregor. "You are barricading yourself there in your room, answering with only a yes and a no, are making serious and unnecessary trouble for your parents, and neglecting-I mention this only incidentally-your commercial duties in a truly unheard of manner" (Kafka 5). Gregor is very proud of himself and his work and so the manager tries to target this by saying that he is purposely neglecting work by barricading himself in his room, when in reality, Gregor wants to get out of his room and go back to work. The manager doesn't see that Gregor is truly upset about missing work but he doesn't even stop to consider that he might be.

In part two of Kafka's The Metamorphosis the mother contradicts the manager by being overly sympathetic. The mom is worried about Gregor and truly misses him so she tries to visit him, but Grete and the father won't let her so she starts to get upset. "Later, however, they had to hold her back forcefully  and when she then cries, "Let me go to Gregor. He's my unfortunate son! Don't you understand that I have to go to him?" (Kafka 14). The mom sees Gregor as being "unfortunate" and wants to help him. She is trying to make sure he gets better because she realizes that he isn't well. She fights against the father and sister just to be able to comfort Gregor and even though she is scared of him, she wants to comfort him. Later, Grete and Gregor's mother are rearranging the funature in Gregor's room and his mom brings up the fact that he might not want this. "I think it would be best if we tried to keep the room exactly in the condition it was in before, so that, when Gregor returns to us, he finds everything unchanged and can forget the intervening time all the more easily" (Kafka 15). She is showing compassion to Gregor by thinking about how he would want things. She wants him to be able to forget quickly and knows that it would be easier if things were the same. The mother contridicts the manager's point of view because she goes out of her way to think what Gregor would want instead of not thinking about it at all.

Dante Reflection 3/8

The canto I found the most interesting was Cantos 34 and 35. Canto 34 is in the ninth circle of the inferno. I thought it was interesting this is the lowest circle of the inferno and in most modern day westerners mindsets, we would picture this being hot and fiery yet, it is just the opposite. This circle is covered in ice and contains the traitors to their benefactors. I was shocked that Lucifer's arm was bigger than all the giants from circle 8 put together. I also thought it was interesting that in canto 35 Dante places Brutus and Cassius in the bottom level of the inferno due to their betrayal of Julius Caesar. Dante also places Judas  the betrayer of Jesus in this circle which shows how Dante felt just as strongly about politics as he did about the church and religion.

Dante Reflection

I found Canto 17 interesting. This canto takes place in the 7th circle of the inferno. The sin in this canto is usery. I didn't understand how the punishment of having purses of the sinners' families around their necks relates to the sin of usery, which is making immoral and unethical loans or loaning money unlawfully. I also don't understand how being pelted with fire rain relates to the sin of usery either. I don't see how family relates to the sin of usery in any way. In the other canto's Dante is really clear in created punishments that match the sins, but in this canto they don't seem to relate as well. For usery, I  would make the punishment be something having to do with trying to get money and not being able to because in life, these people always got what they wanted when it came to money so they would be forced to have the opposite in the inferno.




I really liked the 20th Canto. Canto 20 is in the 4th pouch of the 8th circle of the inferno. This pouch is for fortune tellers. I thought the punishment of the sinners' heads being on backwards is really clever and representative of their sin. Because of the fact that the sinners weren't in the present moment and they always tried to look ahead and now they are forced to be stuck in their bodies and see what has come before instead of looking at what is to come. I also thought Dante's reaction to this was interesting. He is so taken aback by what is going on and starts to weep. That reaction really shows how Dante is compassionate and cares about the people in the inferno. I also didn't understand why this sin was so far down in the inferno, to me, fortune telling isn't that big of a sin.

Journal 2/9

In my hell I would include all of the sinners who weren't repentant, the ones that never showed any sort of remorse. The sights would be of constant fear and death There would be suffering all around, in every direction and extremity. There would be unending suffering and discomfort. It would feel like rejection and helplessness. There would not be an option to get out because the people that are in there didn't realize their sins during their time on Earth so they should not be allowed to go back now. Also, people who were passive and didn't stand up in the midst of tragedy. The sounds would be shrieking, like nails on a chalk board and high pitched, continua shrieking, The smell would be must and burning flesh and trash.

Journal 1/25

My parents.

The other day my Mom came home and told that she was bragging about how self aware I am to someone. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was. The way it is in my house is that my parents see me and my actions as "The Norm" for teenagers, but as I know from being surrounding by teenagers all day, that is not the case. My parents expect me to excel and be a good kid because that's the way it's always been. There is no special accolade or prize for good grades and behavior, just a "Hey, I knew you could do it."  With this in mind, I thought it was really nice for my mom to mention the fact she is proud of me even when I wasn't there. It's just nice to know that my parents are, in fact, very pleased with me and my behavior and realize it gets really hard sometimes.

Journal 1/14

Tragedy 

What's tragic to me is the genocide in Sudan, the burning of women in the Middle East, the starvation rate of kids around the world, the fact that everyday people die in sweatshops. These events are sad, yes, but they go beyond the realm of sadness for me because of the lack of recognition on the U.S's part. Plenty of sad, horrible events happen each day in the U.S i.e mass murder, deaths, natural disasters, but those are mentioned and talked about and mourned for. The tragic part that sets these global disasters apart for me is that in the U.S they don't recognize these massacres on the same level that they do of a "Home soil" one. News station are fairly local and brief when presenting the news, there is hardly ever anything about things that have happened outside of even the current state. World news stations do their best to cover the most that they can but they simply can't cover everything. The true tragedy in all of this I suppose, is how easily people forget. Many Americans are used to the news simply repeating facts over and over again and so instead of these facts sinking in, which causes us to remember them like a textbook and watch them play out like a movie. "Yep. Apple Factories in China have suicide nets on the outside." What!? That's a big deal and it's rarely discussed on a daily basis. My theory is that this is because people don't want to think about the fact that these horrible things are happening around them, it's uncomfortable and calls for fixing which requires sacrifice.

The Gap

                                    The Gap

I've learned that I have the potential for a well written, well informed analysis but I also have the potential for a lazy, basic analysis as well. I didn't reach as far as I should have at some points in my writing. Especially with  I also noticed that I am really reevaluating my life and the meaning of it all. I wrote several entries questioning life and more importantly, the gap between the Eastern and Western world. I have noticed that I am troubled by this gap and at the same time, I am grateful for the position I am in. I said, "It's weird to me that as I sit here writing this in a warm, free classroom as a woman, girls around the world will be shot and raped today." That's so stunning to me and I write about it a lot because I think I could think about the answer to why things are the way they are all day. I am trying to figure this question out and that's the main topic on my mind currently and so it is the main topic of my writing as well. Even so, I definitely have room for improvement.

I find that the times which my writing is lack luster, are times in which I don't understand the assignment or citation. In a lot of my journal entries about Lord of The Flies I struggled with being deep enough. The first part of that book just really confused me so my writing is poor. To improve, I can do my best to get a full and deep understanding of the text by asking the teacher and my peers questions. I can also think about the text more and really try to gain a deeper understanding for myself just by thinking about it. I also think that at times I struggle with just being lazy and not getting into the assignment. I can improve on this by seeing the beneficial things about the assignment and trust that I am writing for a good reason even if I don't see it. All the entries that I have written have given me a fuller understanding of my writing style as well as the texts that I was writing about. The entries have helped me because i can look back and see what my thoughts were on certain things, I can realize this fact and that will help me be more interested. Part of the reason I feel like my writing lacks at times is because I'm not writing about things that I enjoy.

When I read a good quote, hear a good speech or read a good book, I am often inspired to write about it. I like to write about Thich Naht Hanh and Stephen Bachelor because Thich Naht Hanh is my teacher and I read a lot of Bachelor's books. His wise words and over arching statements about the human condition and society make me want to elaborate and analyze everything as well. When I write, I like to  be in a setting with people around, but on my own. My house is too familiar and small so I usually go to a coffee shop so that I can be around society and unfamiliar location. I don't like to listen to music or drink anything because I am distracted to easily and am unable to focus. Inspired writing inspires me. Even if the topic that the author is writing about is fairly boring to me, I love when I feel like the author is passionate.