Candidate Number 006879-039 Xavier School 006879 English SL

Oxales, Alberto Leonardo III Casabar The Use of Transformation as a Tool for Character Development ! Characters are usually dened at the beginning of the story; this is because it is

important to shape a character in the mind of the reader since failure to connect the authors idea of the characters will result in wrong interpretation of the story. After shaping the characters, the author can then subject them to change. This change will help in further developing the character in the story. The instantaneous change that George Samsa went through was able to develop this character in a way that did not remain metaphorically monstrous but rather changed this character entirely into a monster. The Odyssey also shows instantaneous character transguration such as the numerous disguises of Odysseus, that likewise develop how a character differs from his previous form. It is seen that there are two purposes of showing instant transformation in both of these literary works; they are present either to contrast or exaggerate the prominent characteristics of each persona in these stories. Both works show that transformation is used as a literary device to efciently develop and unmask the characters of literature. " In analyzing these works I have taken note that the epic poem of The Odyssey was written long before The Metamorphosis. Since it is a classic, the pattern, symbolisms and character development of later works such as The Metamorphosis would somehow be patterned on this classic. ! There have been numerous interpretations as to why Kafkas main character was subjected to the monstrous change. The metamorphosis of Samsa was successful not only in contrasting but also in exhibiting his supercial traits. In contrasting, Kafka took away his usefulness by changing him into a monster which is shunned by society as compared to his previous breadwinner state. According to Maria Luisa Antonaya His vermin label implies a useless and parasitic nature that clashes with his personality. {The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. p 2756} Since the metamorphosis was the main conict in Kafkas work, Kafka used it to show the sudden plunge of Samsa into darkness. Kafka did not leave a reason as to why this
1

Candidate Number 006879-039 Xavier School 006879 English SL

change happened but he showed that it actually did happen. He did not stress that the change remained only as a gment of Samsas imagination. ! The metamorphosis does not change only George Samsa himself but also his family as well. Peter Dow Webster critiques: Metamorphosis is misleading as a title [...] since the whole family constellation [...] is transformed in the intrapsychic action.{pp. 349-65 The American Imago, Vol 16, No.4, Winter, 1959.} Although it was only Samsa who is turned into the monstrous vermin, the family moved with his change. They adapt to the consequences of having a useless, isolated and insignicant son. The father is able to step up and provide for his family with the absence of his son to do so. Samsa choses to ignore his fathers usefulness pre-transformation and alongside the drastic change, the tables are turned, which results with the father ignoring his sons usefulness and only noticing the lack of it. It can be also said that Samsa has the least change in personality, still remaining to have devotion towards the family. It was the family rather that is forced to undergo a deeper change due to the end of their dependance on Samsas provision. In exaggerating Samsas character, the monstrosity was said to have been a greater depiction of his true being since according to Kafka, Samsa was already a monster. ! At the beginning, he was even trying to resist the change he didnt know he was about to undergo. He said to himself, Just dont stay in bed being useless. Thats what he says but later on, his body decides to become useless beginning with an illness and its decision becomes more permanent than he could ever have imagined. He became useless and inadequate vermin. No one in the book knew about the cause of his misfortune. Although, it can be seen that he somehow alienated himself from society. Although he did not want to be useless, the transformation made him slowly become useless. Kafka transformed him to show the effects of his alienation toward society more than effects toward himself. It helped develop all the characters in the story by putting them in the extreme scenario of the surreal transformation. ! Homer also uses transguration to set the characters current need to become someone else or to not simply be described but be the metaphors used to dene their characteristics. Instead of simply saying these men are pigs, in Book X of the Odyssey, Circe transforms some of Odysseus's men into pigs. They are not the rst of
2

Candidate Number 006879-039 Xavier School 006879 English SL

her victims. Circe thinks that she does not turn these men into animals since she believes that these men are already savage and her magic simply releases their true form. After confrontation with Odysseus, Circe transforms the men again back to their human forms only taller, stronger, and more handsome. Homer wanted to link the nature of humans to the once more savage traits our ancestors had. When the men are again transformed, Circe does not turn those men back to their previous form but perhaps takes away the animal inside those men. ! Homer also uses the transguration of Odysseus into the beggar to contrast his true self. Athene disguises Odysseus into an old beggar to contrast the very characteristics which have made him the hero of this epic. In his own house he becomes an outcast, not able to sleep on a bed under sheepskin. {BookXX} His disguise as an old beggar is the perfect transguration for his character development. He is able to achieve two things: rst, a closer bond with his son, Telemachus, who helps him defeat the suitors sponging on his household; second, a good inspection of his home and of the current situation of his household. These two things show how a contrasting transguration can be helpful in enhancing the value of the characters real form. Just like Odysseus's men in Circes island, he returns to his actual form stronger and having a glow on his face, to stress the greatness of his true being. ! Unlike Odysseus and his men, Samsa did not return to his original being. The death of his human form gave a better contrast to his transgured self. The many uneasy legs (symbolism for his job as a traveling sales man) and acceptance of rotten food (symbol of the complete desertion of his human self) showed how Samsa had fully become the monster. This is where the two works differ. In choosing to deny Samsa return to his human self, Kafka created a rather depressing story with no hope of re-transguration. Samsas character stopped developing and simply faded away without any plot twists and simply ending with his death on Christmas eve. ! Although written during different times and in different countries, the Odyssey and the Metamorphosis both use a distinguishable literary technique: using transguration to deepen the characteristics of each persona. The object that triggers these characters to undergo transguration is the same element in the story that allows it to move on and continue. Deus ex Machina, the constant intervention of divine
3

Candidate Number 006879-039 Xavier School 006879 English SL

bodies (Athene) to aid and push the characters of the story was the main cause of all the transformations in the Odyssey. Society (the aggregate of people living together in an ordered community) was the main cause for Samsas metamorphosis. The transformations do not only shape the characters but they also allow the whole story to move. The transformations offer something different; something unreal and still surprisingly adequate to pass a developed message. ! In conclusion, both authors have chosen to not simply keep describing their characters with well thought metaphors. They chose to transgure the characters into the metaphors themselves in order help contrast the characters in a way that is easier to digest. As a literary device, it is able to give a more descriptive view on characters in a story. Just like exposing a character to different scenarios (external change) to show their personal reaction to the situation, the transformation to different faces and forms (supercial change) also develops a characters personality. By the example of these two great literary works, transformation is seen to be a very useful literary tool. 1378 words

Bibliography 1. Homer. The odyssey. 2. Kafka, F. (1915). The metamorphosis. Hungary: Kurt Wolff Verlag, Leipzig.