From The Wild, And Gregor Samsa - 1299 Words

Every day, people are forced into positions they do not want to be in. Christopher McCandless, the protagonist of Jon Krakauer’s non-fiction book Into the Wild, and Gregor Samsa, the protagonist in Franz Kafka’s fictional novel The Metamorphosis, are perfect examples of people who are unhappy with their current lives. Both men are tired of their mundane existences. On the surface, the men seem to have a lot in common, including their subpar familial situations and their discontentedness with their current existences. Both stories unfortunately also end in misery that eventually leads to death. Despite McCandless’s and Samsa’s similarities, the men are actually very different. It is much easier to relate and gain insight into McCandless’s world than it is into Samsa’s world, largely because of their differences. On the one hand, there is Gregor Samsa. He is tired of his job as a traveling salesman. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka alludes to Samsa’s dissatisfaction with his job when he reveals Samsa’s thoughts on what it would be like to quit. The only reason Gregor has kept his job so long is because he is his family’s provider. Samsa even says, â€Å"If I didn’t have to hold back for my parent’s sake, I’d have given notice a long ago—I’d have marched right up to [my boss] and given him a piece of my mind† (23-24). The reason Samsa transforms into a bug is never explicitly revealed, but it could be argued that the disappointment in his life caused him to transform.Show MoreRelatedThe Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka1380 Words   |  6 Pagesexplain it to myself†: A Psychoanalysis reading of â€Å"The Metamorphosis† by Kafka The Metamorphosis is known to be one of Franz Kafka’s best works of literature. 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