Political Cartoon for Harrison Bergeron

(Please excuse the position of the photo, I couldn't fix it)

My piece holds a very close connection to the story of Harrison Bergeron, as it's meant to be placed in the time period of the story. My piece displays how the handicaps really harm people, and what might happen if the government goes over the top with it. It is a clear exaggeration, but could possibly happen, story-wise. 

"The Metamorphosis" Chapter 3

I think Kafka decided to make Gregor into an insect to try and display how some people feel overly obligated to do their work, pushing themselves too hard. When Gregor first changed his first concern was that he wouldn't be able to follow through with his regular duties. Later, though, he did figure that being a roach was a problem, but that was way after he worried about his job and family. 


Kafka probably chose the roach because of the repulsion humans have toward them. Reptiles and frogs are actually pretty cool and not that bad. A roach, though, is a disgusting creature that is often considered to be ridden with disease. The size of the bug further increased the fear it would bring, because unlike reptiles up close bugs are pretty detailed and they can be pretty frightening. 

"The Metamorphosis" Chapter 2

As Franz Kafka knew from his own life and as portrayed in "The Metamorphosis," families possess the power to both improve and injure the psychological well-being of their members. Discuss the ways that the Samsa family benefit and harm each other, citing examples from the text. Then, use the family in the novella, along with examples from real life, to create a set of FIVE important rules for creating and maintaining a healthy family life. Finally, grade (A-F) the Samsa family on how well they follow your rules and provide your reasoning.

Certain members of the family are benefited by other members, but the only people who seem to benefit the family as a whole is the mother and Gregor, until after the transformation when it moved to Grete. The mother would make dinner, along with the servant girl (who I don't consider part of the family). I assume she would perform other tasks involving cleaning the house and making sure the rest of the family could get along at home. Gregor went to work everyday, and, according to the entire fifth paragraph on page 10, it seems nobody else in the family helps provide. Gregor is also trying to pay off his parents' debt, so he's really trying to help the family out.

The only member of the family that really seems to harm everyone else is the father. He helps out in no way at all and is actually a problem to have around. The way he treated Gregor is dehumanizing, he brought about the debt and he just sits around, eating,reading his newspaper and drinking beers, as stated by the sixth paragraph on page 10. And now, when Gregor has become a monster, all he wants to do is kill Gregor, not settle it. 

Rules

1. Conversing

2. Knowing about others

3. Being open to ideas

4. Try to help others

5. Don't intentionally harm a situation

(These rules also apply to a regular group of people, not just a family)

I would give the Samsa family a C on how well they follow my rules. I counted how many of my rules they really follow versus how many they don't and I got 3/5, which seems to be around a C area. Not too good, but they aren't completely dysfunctional. 

"The Metamorphosis" Chapter 1

What circumstances in Gregor's life might have caused him to feel dehumanized even before the metamorphosis took place?


It seems that Gregor's father doesn't see much in him, similar to Franz Kafka's own father. His father seems to see Gregor as just a tool to get his debts paid off. He treats Gregor in such a terrible way, like he's not a living creature, just something for his own benefit. It seems that due to this factor Gregor has even placed himself in a position where  he only cares about his work, being on time for something that he seems  to dislike so much. 


Which brings me to my next point. He hates his job, though it's for several reasons one of the big ones seems to be the way his boss and customers treat him. His boss sees him as just a tool to make money, the same as his dad, because that's all Gregor is to him. He doesn't have to pay Gregor because his income all goes to his parent's debt, so he really just gets money out of it. Gregor's customers dislike him because he's a door-to-door salesman, who just seem irritating trying to sell you stuff you don't want. Nobody in Gregor's life seems to treat him like an actual human other than his mother and sister, but no other characters seem to have been introduced, so I can't say otherwise. 

Of Mice and Men 4

The movie was very similar, but had it's different moments. The beginning, for example, showed what happened to them in Weed instead of explaining what happened later, in bits and pieces like the book did. Sure, it added some good description visually as to what happened preceding the actual story, but it felt too straightforward with such an important part. A couple scenes seemed a bit shorter, like the scene when Lennie enters Crook's room. A bit more happened in that scene in the book, it really showed how weak Crooks really was, despite how strong he act when, in the book, Curley's wife came in and took Crooks' power from him.


A really big part that I noticed was the scene after the the above-mentioned scene in the movie, when Curley's wife talks with George and Lennie. That scene in the movie really added something to her character. She was no longer just running around, flirting with boys, she was now a creature that had emotions. She spoke a lot about how Curley forbid her to talk with anyone and how she got lonely. Though, she did say that a lot in the book too, this time she acted more emotional about it and actually ended the scene with crying and running off to the distance. The scene really made you feel something for her when she got killed in the end of the story.


I would also like to point out that in the story none of the characters sucked at acting like they did in the movie.

Dear George

You are to write a letter to George telling him whether or not you agree with his decision to kill Lennie. In this 2 paragraph long response you are to include evidence from the book=quotes to support your reasons.


It's okay George. You did the right thing. Lenny wasn't one for this world. "Lennie, who had been watching, imitated George exactly." (Pg 5) He wouldn't be able to live in this world by himself, despite how many times he said he would "go off in the hills there" (Pg 13) , I don't think he could do it. He relies deeply on you to keep in check, to be sure he's doing everything right, to be sure he doesn't get into trouble.


And I suppose the kill was really to save him, so nobody killed him angrily. He couldn't have meant to hurt the girl. He couldn't have meant to hurt any of the things he killed. "Lennie never done it in meanness" (Pg 92). He never intended to hurt a thing. He just liked simple things and wasn't positive what to do when he got scared and didn't have you around. But it wasn't completely his fault here, Curley's wife led him on completely. "Here -- feel right here" (Pg 88). She wanted him to feel her head, and though he didn't respond to her protests, it was genuinely her fault. In the end, you shouldn't take it too hard. It's okay. 

Of Mice and Men Part two

(Page 29, small book) "Look, Lennie! This ain't no set up. I'm scared. You gonna have trouble with that Curley guy. I seen that kind before. He was kinda feelin' you out. He figures he's got you scared and he's gonna take a sock at you first chance he gets." This sentence is pretty self-explanatory as to why Lennie wouldn't want to stay. He's scared that Curley is gonna hit him at any moment, scared that he's gonna get in trouble and not know what to do. At least, in his eyes, George will take care of him and make sure nothing happens.

(Page 32) "Liisten to me, you crazy bastard," he said fiercely. "Don't you even take a look at that bitch. I don't care what she says and what she does. I seen 'em poison before, but I never seen no piece of jail bait worse than her. You leave her be." And now, here, Lennie even finds something that may be calming, bring him happiness and George says she's dangerous. He thought he found something good, but it turned out to be bad. Really, he just found it to be a dangerous place because there were more bad things than there were good. Then again, he said that statement before he got the puppy.