Families # 5

Dear AP Students:

Let's talk about the role of families in novels/novellas. Family members and the relationship between family members can often play significant roles in novels--oftentimes the motivation of the main character can be traced bakc to how he/she gets along/doesn't get along with a family member. That kind of conflict makes for great literature!!

We can't talk about families in literature without consider the great Russian writer Leo Tolstoy's quote: he said "All happy families resemble one another; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way."

There is certainly a strange family dynamic going on in The Metamorphosis. They certainly don't seem like a happy family--but that could be because of Gregor Samsa! Or maybe in spite of him!

Before we discuss Gregor Samsa's family, let's review some of the families we've read about so far this year.

In Frankenstein, we see the strong role the mother and father of Victor play in the story. The mother is a loving, caring person who sacrifices her life to take care of Victor's adopted sister. She sets an example of selflessness, one that Victor does not consider when he makes his own creation. And the father raises Victor in a nice house and provides him with affection and security. As you can see, the family members are used by the author to contrast with Victor's treatment of the monster.

In Catcher in the Rye, we see some kind of tension between Holden and his parents. We never see the parents, even when he visits his house in Manhattan. But it's obvious from Holden's narration that he realizes he has let his father down by getting kicked out of several prep schools. It's that classic type of tense relationship between father and rebellious son we often see in books and movies in Post WWII American literature. The father represents the establishment that Holden finds phony. Then there is the relationship between his older brother, who he considers a phony, and the one between he and his sister Phoebe, a character who serves as his foil. And of course there's that key relationship he had with Allie, made more significant by Allie's death. This relationship, in fact, drives the story by providing one of the key influences on Holden's life.

Of course, in Brave New World, the concept of family has been been eliminated by the government.

And then there's Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Without Lady Macbeth whispering in his ear we wouldn't have a story. We needed her and her evil, and we needed Macbeth to be willing to listen to her

Regarding family in The Metamorphosis....what can we say about the way Gregor thinks/acts regarding his family? What about the way the family treats him? What about the relationship between Gregor and his father in particular? What is going on there? Are there any budding psychologists out there that want to analyze that relationship and tell us what that relationship might symbolize from a Freudian perspective? (another perspective that can help us understand the story--go ahead and do some internet research on the Freudian perspective and comment on it for us) And how does the relationship between Gregor and his sister change during the story?