How would you feel when a family member becomes a burden in the family? Mad, sad, compassionate, hate? In “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, the protagonist, Gregor, became a burden for the family after he transformed into a vermin. The living attitude that the family held was pretty positive, because every member worked hard to earn income to support their living. However, the way they treated Gregor was changing from positive to negative.
Although every member had different responses toward Gregor’s transform, as a whole, I feel there was a process on their attitude toward Gregor. At first, the family was surprised and scared. Then, they felt sad and hoped for Gregor to be recovered one day. After a period of time, they were like used to his sickness and lost their hope on him. They worked hard on themselves to earn money. Since Gregor no longer contributed anything to the family and all family members had their own jobs, they were like forgetting Gregor and not caring about him so much. Later on, they even locked him in his room. At the end, Gregor just died in the room.
I admire that the family‘s living attitude of not giving up their living when their family’s main income supporter is sick. However, I really do not like the way they treated Gregor. They ignored him, threw things at him, scared him and locked him in the room. Their attitude toward Gregor really made me feel pitied for Gregor. I do not think Gregor who had contributed to the family so much in the past deserves this kind of treatment when he is ill. Also, his situation reminds me of a popular debate topic “Euthanasia.” While I was reading this short novel, I keep thinking Gregor as a person that gets a strange disease in real society and got locked up in a room in hospital. If a person in real life gets this kind of disease, I think it would be better for the person to get euthanasia. The person gets no more happiness through his life, because he treated as a family’s burden and no one wants to get closed to him even his family members.
After reading the short novel “The Metamorphois” by Franz Kafra, I feel Gregor Samsa’s situation is like reflecting a situation in real life as someone who gets a strange disease and the reactions the person would have when being sick. I feel Gregor Samsa’s situation suggests a living attitude of thinking job is very important. It is really true that in twentieth century, people are living in a circumstance of worrying about losing their job every second. Every adult is living under working pressure.
On the first day of Gregor became an “insect,” he still thinks how he can keep his job other than how he can recover from his sickness. Also, on that day, Gregor did not get to work on time and a manager came to his house to ask for reasons. I wonder is this kind of situation really happened in Germany. Managers come to workers’ houses when they do not go to work on time? However, it shows human beings are living under time pressure as well. I have heard that competition and stress can help a person to improve. I think that is true, but I also feel today’s human being are often over-stress especially people who live in city.
Gregor has “worried about making trains, having bad, irregular meals, meeting new people all the time, but never forming any lasting friendships that mellow into anything intimate” (P,2000). When I read this, I just feel that is so true because I have worried about those things too. I have worrying about being late if a train suddenly runs on local, or if a train comes late. From my home to school, it takes one hour and thirty minutes. To avoid lateness, I would prepare two hours for my traveling. So, if the train runs on local and I still will not be late. But sometimes, when I go out early and suddenly the train runs on express, then I arrive to school one hour earlier. Sometimes I would have the thought of “I can actually have one more hour sleep, why I come to school so early!!! “ I just feel although everyone is having dissatisfaction and living under pressure today, but we still have to continue our living because we have family around and we have to support them.
After reading this short novel, I did not get a happy mood although at the end the family was like refresh and ready for a new start. Maybe my mind is still on stressful life that Gregor got, like living under stress, lack of family’s care, getting weird disease and unfortunately did not recover and died.
After reading the short story “Upstairs In A Wineshop” by Lu Xun , I feel it is showing human’s living attitude of losing future direction after his/her pervious planning couldn’t be achieved. Also, I see the living attitude of hiding and lying in this short story.
Between the conversation Lu Xun had with his friend, Weifu, I see how Weifu was in a situation of losing future direction on his loveand living. He did not want to struggle for anything anymore and just wanted to let time pass by. Just like he said, “I don’t know anything anymore. I don’t even know what tomorrow’s going to bring, or even the next moment…”(P, 1938).He was lost on his future, but he did not want to plan for future anymore. He had planned for future before, but future did not go the way he had planned so he gave up planning. This is a very usual situation for human who experienced failure, and lose their self-confidence and become decadent. However, in my opinion, planning is very important. Without planning, life would become worse and really make a person become lost. Although I have not experienced as much difficulties as Lu Xun’s friend, I think the sentence “human grows from failure” apply to everyone on every age group.
Also, I see the living attitude of lying and hiding to fulfill parent’s desire. When Weifu could not find his brother’s skeleton, not even his hair, he just placed the dirt where his brother’s body had lain into the coffin and moved to where his father was placed to fulfill his mother’s want. This is one example Weifu hid a truth. In addition, when his mother had requested him to send flowers to Ah-shun, the lady he loved, but she died. He gave his flowers to Ah-shun’s sister to avoid his mother from questioning him. This is another example of Weifu hid the truth from his mother. I believe everyone had tried at least once lied to their parents. Lying is usually considered as a bad thing to do, but sometimes, it is necessary. In Weifu’s situation, his mother is old, and I think it is better to lie to her and hide the sadness from her.
After reading the short story “Punishment” by Rabindranath Tagore, I feel human should never try or think of blaming an innocent. Also, it brings up the idea of comparing the importance between lover and family, which sometimes would cause an argument between lovers.
In this story, Chandara is an innocent who got blamed on murdering sister-in-law. I feel when Chandara’s husband, Chidam, tells her to admit the crime of murdering and tells her she would be safe is a very sad moment. At the end of the story, Chandara rather died than to live with her husband. I feel Chandara’s living attitude is like people who are admitting suicide. They rather died than to live and face the sadness in their life. Chidam caused his wife to death indirectly. If he never had the idea of telling his wife to admit the crime, I think she would never have the thought admitting the crime and to die. Human should have the living attitude of not blaming innocent, because I feel blaming an innocent to admit someone else’s mistake does not help anyone at all. The person who makes mistake does not get the punishment, and they may make the same punishment again.Also, I feel Chandara should not admit the crime since she didn’t do it. Chandara’s situation just remind me of a song “Innocent” by Taylor.
She is innocent. Innocent people should continue living . Just like the song tells “life is a tough crowd,” an innocent who getting blame should speak up instead of admitting the crime quietly.
I can feel Chidam is a selfish person and this is a living attitude that human has. I feel many people care themselves and their family more than their lovers. Even though Chidam wants to save his brother, he should not use his wife for an exchange of his brother’s life. He has ideas of making up stories to help his wife to release from the crime, but why he does not apply the stories on himself rather than his wife. I feel this really shows the living attitude that some people have in this real society.
In this short story “The Lady with the Dog” by Anton Chekhov, both of the main characters has some dissatisfaction about life.
The male character, Dmitri, has negative feelings toward women including his wife, but Anna Sergeyevna is an exception. He does not show the real “him” in front of other women, because he believes other women are deceiving him. It really shows some of the attitude the people have in this world. Some people believe they should not let others to know themselves too well. It is because no one knows what will happen in the future; no one knows will one’s best friend become one’s enemy one day.
However, like the feeling Dmitri has toward women. There is always exception. Dmitri feels Anna is different from other women, so he likes to be with her. I often make decision and do things based on my feeling too, when I am uncertain about something. Using feeling to make decision and judgment is one attitude that human has toward living, because it helps us to get rid of vexation and anxiety.
Also, Anna is dissatisfied with her living too. She is married but she lives in a house with fences around. The fence is symbolic of no freedom. I think this may tell that freedom is really important to human, but women in the 19th century did not have so much freedom. Living with no freedom can make a person depress and get tired of living just like Anna. I feel she cries a lot in front of Dmitri, because it is one way for her to release her depress. Freedom is an important factor that affects human’s attitude toward living. Some people would fight for their freedom, but some might just bear to this kind of living and living unhappily.
On the other hand, Anton Chekhov wrote Anna and Dmitri just fall in love with each so deeply without describing tell the reasons. They only met once and for not really a long time which make me wonder are they really love each other. Although I feel it is a little weird, I think that is kind of interesting. It is because I think that is a strategy that the author uses by not tell things so clearly, so the readers would think of the story more and deeper.
From this short story, the attitude that Ivan holds toward living was very special, because he was suffered from his illness. He had negative thinking such as death, isolated from others and lack of unconcerned from others. His situation just reminded me of one of my relatives who has also suffered from illness for more ten years, and fortunately, she is still living happily now.
Although Ivan was suffer from his illness and could feel his pain very often, I just feel he did not have the encouragement and the hope to continue living which made his situation became worse. I often heard from my parents said to my relative who is sick, “You should not think your situation is as bad as you think. Medicines and family cannot help you as much. The most important thing is that you have to take care yourself well. If you take care yourself well, then you help your family.” I agree with my parents that people who are sick should try and make themselves have a positive attitude toward life. Although Ivan knows himself is going to die soon, I think he should spend more time on enjoying moments when his pain didn’t get him, rather than thinking the past and thinking of death.
His situation just like the image above. In his world, light are always blocked. He doesn’t have hope for his recovery ,and he was pretty sure he will die soon. But, sunlight will not always got blocked. If he spends more time on what he can do instead of keep thinking himself as a patient, I think he would be better and happier.
Ivan wanted people’s pity, but he did not get that from his friends and family except from his son, Vasya, and his servant, Gerasim. I feel this is a real situation in this world. Most human are tend to be selfish and care oneself more than others. Although Ivan is sick, people around him still have to work and make their living. It is not anyone’s obligation to feel pity for people who is sick. What I think after reading this short story is that, we can be happier when we don’t demand too much from others. If Ivan doesn’t demand too much, then maybe he would live longer.
Although every member had different responses toward Gregor’s transform, as a whole, I feel there was a process on their attitude toward Gregor. At first, the family was surprised and scared. Then, they felt sad and hoped for Gregor to be recovered one day. After a period of time, they were like used to his sickness and lost their hope on him. They worked hard on themselves to earn money. Since Gregor no longer contributed anything to the family and all family members had their own jobs, they were like forgetting Gregor and not caring about him so much. Later on, they even locked him in his room. At the end, Gregor just died in the room.
They ignored him, threw things at him, scared him and locked him in the room. Their attitude toward Gregor really made me feel pitied for Gregor. I do not think Gregor who had contributed to the family so much in the past deserves this kind of treatment when he is ill. Also, his situation reminds me of a popular debate topic “Euthanasia.” While I was reading this short novel, I keep thinking Gregor as a person that gets a strange disease in real society and got locked up in a room in hospital. If a person in real life gets this kind of disease, I think it would be better for the person to get euthanasia. The person gets no more happiness through his life, because he treated as a family’s burden and no one wants to get closed to him even his family members. 
Gregor has “worried about making trains, having bad, irregular meals, meeting new people all the time, but never forming any lasting friendships that mellow into anything intimate” (P,2000). When I read this, I just feel that is so true because I have worried about those things too. I have worrying about being late if a train suddenly runs on local, or if a train comes late. From my home to school, it takes one hour and thirty minutes. To avoid lateness, I would prepare two hours for my traveling. So, if the train runs on local and I still will not be late. But sometimes, when I go out early and suddenly the train runs on express, then I arrive to school one hour earlier. Sometimes I would have the thought of “I can actually have one more hour sleep, why I come to school so early!!! “ I just feel although everyone is having dissatisfaction and living under pressure today, but we still have to continue our living because we have family around and we have to support them.
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