Comparative Essay: Metamorphosis and Oedipus Essay

Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka and Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, although written in completely different time periods and by different authors, still write out with similar issues. One issue that they have in common is family relationships, how they argon broken, then connected again. Gregor from Metamorphosis has a strong love for his sister and counts on her to be there for him, but when the most horrific affaire happens to him, surprisingly it is his mother who cares for him more. And Oedipus, in Oedipus Rex, his mother rejects him at birth, but ironically takes him in by and by as her maintain. Gregor and Oedipus had very different relationships with their families yet ultimately or the inability to perceive reality.The relationship that Gregor and Oedipus had with their mothers shows how the position or family divisions status really does matter in ones reality. It was.a child of Laius house.(Oedipus pg.58) Oedipus realizes that when he was born his mother instantly rejected h im because of a prophecy. Yes, master- They said twas on account of twain(prenominal) wicked spell.(Oedipus pg.58) Jocasta sends Oedipus to be killed in order to detect her husband safe. . And husband, to the woman who bore him (Oedipus pg.38) As the years go by, Jocasta later takes in Oedipus, ironically, unaware that he is her son, and marries him. Yet strangely enough she wants him when he is gr witness and his true identity is not known, while when he was born, she valued him dead. Just as Jocasta did to Oedipus, in Metamorphosis, Gregors mother did not contain overmuch attention to him when he was a normal person. Instead she do by him generally and then later when he turned into a fluff gave him great amounts of attention and love. Ironically during the play of Oedipus Rex, Jocasta takes on a maternally role towards Oedipus even though she is now his wife by saying, What is the way of life of this loud argument , you quarrel some(prenominal) men?You are reservation much of some unimportant grievance. (Oedipus pg.43) Jocasta realizes that Oedipus is her son and again rejects him by killing herself. Gregor to a fault was employ by his family yet in his case it was for the income he brought into the house. two Jocasta and Gregors mother lonesome(prenominal) acknowledged them after they went done some kind of transformation. Gregors mother wanted to put through him and rulemed to be the only one who wasnt repulsed by him being a bait. Yet she had a very ironic presence in the novel as ahead hand it was his sister who had really cared for him and now couldnt stand him. through and through this, he saw the reality of the relationships he had been exposed to all his life.The Oedipus labyrinthian is when the boy understands that he has to become just like his beginner to infuse his mother. This occurs with Oedipus when he marries Jocasta and would of course try to be better than her pass away husband without knowing that it was actually h is father. Both Gregor and Oedipus connect with their mothers to a great point yet ironically spend most of their lives in a difference with their fathers and unintentionally trying to become them.Every father and son has some type of struggle at some point in their lives to see who will succeed and who is better. Oedipus and Gregor are two men who die conflict in this struggle against their fathers to find the stability in their new lives. Gregor is utilise by his father and his family for the income that he supplies yet when he turns into a wiretap his father despises him and refuses to believe that it is his son. If only his father did not keep making this intolerable snort sound It made Gregor lose his head completely.(Metamorphosis pg.19) His father turns into a threatening figure and begins to hiss.One apple, thrown weakly, grazed Gregors back and slid off harmlessly. But the very next one that came quick after it literally forced its way into Gregors back. (Metamorphosi s pg. 39) His fathers hissing is a symbol of him being intimidated and the apple thrown at Gregor was a symbol of something being forced onto him. These serve as metaphors for Gregors perception of reality towards the challenges of life. Gregor tries to escape his father, but his father chooses to fight and exasperate Gregor. In contrast, it is Oedipus who wounds his father and eventually kills him. Between these two characters, it is Oedipus who conquers his father, where as Gregor neer accomplished that goal.Gregors relationship with father before was tolerable, but Gregor was not sexual with his father or anyone else. He seemed to block himself from any emotion that took regularize in his life. As soon as he turns into a razz his family no longer appreciates him. Oedipuss downfall is brought about when he in the end sees the truth that he himself killed his father and then as a termination chooses to finesse himself from the world. As Tiresias says to Oedipus, You are ple ased to mock my blindness. Have you eyes, and cannot see what company you keep? (Oedipus pg.37) Oedipus goes through his life being blind to the event that he killed his father.He then chooses to blind himself because he killed his father and does not want to see the people he has hurt anymore. They had just gotten used to it, the family as well as Gregor, the money was received with thanks and pass around with pleasure, but no special feeling of warmth went with it any more. (Metamorphosis p.27) Gregor goes through life before he turns into a bug being blind to the fact that his parents are using him and only realizes it when he turns into a bug and sees how his family all of a sudden take part in their own lives and go out and work and worry about income. The reason for Gregors death is that his father lodged an apple in his back and this ended up killing him. What seems most ironic about Metamorphosis is that Gregors last thoughts were about his parents.In conclusion Oedipus Re x and Metamorphosis are comparable on a basic level. Their family relationships were very similar and at the end, led to both of Gregors and Oedipus downfall. This shows that the theme of family relationship is a common and possibly, an important theme.