Narrator in the Metamorphosis

To me, one of the most intriguing aspects of The Metamorphosis is the narration style. As discussed in class, the narrator seems to be a detached observer, as if conducting an experiment on the Samsa family. In class, Joey mentioned that he thinks the "experiment" (if we take this hypothesis to be true) is conducted on the whole family rather than just on Gregor. That is, whatever being is organizing the test is comparing how the family reacts to their providing son becoming a "gigantic insect" versus how they, or any normal family,  acted when life was routine. I'm not sure I agree entirely with this, because of the narrator's perspective. In the novella, we are forced to look at the world from Gregor's point of view. This is not unbiased, this is designed to make us feel sympathy for him. Perhaps the experiment is actually about how a person percieves their family and work. Gregor's first reaction to being a cockroach is to think about getting to work, and then he thinks about how he spports his family. Over the course of the book, he praises his sister often. He fears his father, but also has a degree of respect for him. Maybe the book is trying to show how he needs emotional support from his family, since seeing people he cares about turn on him breaks him inside, eventually leading to his death after his sister's outburst.
Maybe we are completely misguided, and it is not an experiment at all. Maybe his family really does still love him, and are acting happy at the end of the book to hide their sadness. The narrator is not omnipotent, he relates what he onserves in Gregor's mind and from what a person outside can see. One possibility is that for the last passage (after his death), the narrator is still conveying Gregor's point of view, just now from heaven!
It is interesting how the narration style becomes much more impersonal after his death, and there are again many possible interpretations for this. Does the narrator lose interest in the story, but want to wrap it up? Is he realizing that he became too involved with Gregor, and is desperately trying to save face in his scientific Deity community by detachedly observing the actions of the Samsas post-Gregor?
Is Kafka just pulling a prank on all of us and just randomly changing the narrative style to mess with our minds? Is he attempting to rescue the thousands of schoolchildren in need of blog post topics? The world may never know...

Jake

I wish I had found the time to write a more extensive post on Jake, since he is one of the more complex characters in the novel. At times, he is one of my favorites; sometimes I cannot stand him. He also has his "disability" to deal with, which is something I must take into account when evaluating his decisions.
Overall, I really respect Jake. We dealt the most with Brett during class discussions, so I will first address his relationship with her. I think that he is just a great guy, who deserves someone better. I suppose that with love, one cannot really choose to like "someone better", since he sees her as ideal. However, he gives her everything she asks for, sans question. If she wants emotional support, he is always there for her. If she is broke, he's there for her. If she wants help hooking up with a new guy, he's there. If she broke and in need of emotional support after breaking up with a guy he helped hook her up with, guess what? He's got her back! What a great guy.
I often wondered as I was reading the book, "What does Jake really feel when Brett associates with other guys in front of him?" Jealousy, because she chooses them over him? Resentment, that they can provide her with something he will never be able to do for her? Acceptance, that they provide somethings, and he others? Or pride, that she will always claim to prefer him over all other men in her life? I can think of plausible arguments for all of these hypotheses, and think that at different times, he feels different emotions. With different people, as well. Perhaps resentment towards Cohn, pride towards Mike, and acceptance towards Romero?
The only thing that I mind about Jake is his attitude regarding Robert Cohn. He seems to string him along, acting like a friend to him, but not truly feeling any compassion for the man--even talking shit about him behind his back. While Jake seems to be for the most part a man worthy of my respect, this treatment of Cohn strikes me as petty and mean. When Mike is going off on Cohn while drunk, Jake says to stop talking like that. By saying that, he is pretty much admitting that he agrees with Mike, just not publicly. If he were a real friend, he would have defended Robert. I think that maybe one reason for this animosity is the fact that Jake considers Cohn unworthy of Brett, so the fact that she sleeps with him (even out of charitableness) offends him.
To wrap up, I think that Jake is generally a great guy, especially when interacting with Brett. However, he is quite harsh to Cohn, something that I find inconsistent with what i had previously thought of him. One could defend this by saying that his injury excuses him from animosity towards Brett's flings, since it would be hard for anyone to not be taken by jealousy in a sumilar situation. While I think that it is still inexcusable, I maintain that Jake is a good "mind husband" to Brett and friend to men such as Bill, who have no connection to his love.

Brett

Do I really need this post? I feel like the topic of Brett has been exhausted is class discussions, but it never hurts to hate on a deserving character some more. I've decided to give Brett the benefit of the doubt, and argue that she isn't an inconsiderate bitch (that argument is too easy to make). Instead, I think that she is just clueless. That is the only plausible explanation for a lot of her actions, if being heartless and inconsiderate is not an option. Given her obvious feelings for Jake, I think that (at least in situations regarding our handicapped narrator) she just fails to realize how much her flings with other men hurt him. If she was aware of the effect they had on Jake, surely she would stop immediately. Only at the end of the book does she start to become aware of the fact that she really has the power to chance a man's life, and she is frightened by this knowledge. In fact, when she is realizing this, I actually come close to pitying her--that is, until I realize that she is only frightened and confused because she led on multiple guys and was quite ungrateful to them in the process.
I think that part of the reason Brett is ignorant about Jake's true feelings is that he is determined to not let her know. He's a great guy, so he wants her to be happy no matter what--even if that means more emotional pain for himself. Still, it seems pretty obvious that you don't ask your "one true love" to hook you up with some random spanish guy.
Nevertheless, I find it impossible to maintain that Brett is just stupid; there is undeniably some ungratefulness and inconsiderateness going on with her. What we did not cover as much as I had hoped for in class was her relationship with Mike, since her actions affect him as well as Jake. Mike, however, is not nearly as good of a guy as Jake is. (As Brett says, they are good for each other.) He isn't as good at putting her misguided happiness ahead of his emotional wellbeing, so his reaction to her going off with Romero and Cohn is more jealous than Jake's which is mainly regretful. At the end of the book, Brett expects to go back to Mike, assuming that he will take her no matter what. For me, this really speaks volumes about how ungrateful she is. He doesn't have to take her back, he doesn't owe her anything! She left him! What Brett assumes is that she can do basically whatever she wants, with no consequences. After all, whats to stop her from hooking up with whoever she wants if she can go back to her fiancee afterwards and pretend it never happened? No level of simply stupidity could account for that; it remains that Brett is without a doubt ungrateful.
The final argument I have against Brett is that she seems to pretend to reform without having any real commitment to doing so. At the end of the novel, when she is talking to Jake, she says that she's going to change, and wants him to help her through the hard times that will surely be encountered. Of course, this could be her cluelessness, but to me it seems obvious that Jake is not going to hold her to ANY OBLIGATION WHATSOEVER. If she decides to sleep with the Count next week, Jake won't do anything to stop her, since he sees the act as one that makes her happy. If it isn't cluelessness, Brett is saying an empty resolution with the knowledge that she will not be held to it if she chooses to go against it. I can't truly be annoyed at her for this, since we never find out what happens after she decides to "go straight", but judging from her past actions, the reformation will be short-lived.
Overall, I have to say that I just do not respect Lady Brett Ashley.

Robert

Robert Cohn is a loser. That much is obvious. Mike is right when he calls Cohn out-- no one wants him around. But part of me respects Robert. Loserish as he may be, he still commands some respect. His values would be very respected anywhere but with Brett, Mike, Jake, and Bill. Defending his lady would be very appropriate if she actually was his lady, and was actually offended. I feel bad for Cohn, since he seems stuck on a group of people whose morals are extremely low, and whose respect for people different than themselves is minimal. Of course, this is his own fault, but I'll forget about that for now, attributing it to his general cluelessness.
The moment in which Robert really does gain my respect is when he fights Romero. The fight in itself is a very stupid thing to do. Again, I'd be okay with it if Brett really was his lady, but in the given situation, Robert is extremely misguided in his plan to make Brett become "clean". What makes me respect him is when he refuses to hurt Romero any more, and offers to help. To me, that is a really big thing to do. Sadly, part of me thinks that he only stopped fighting because he was too wishywashy to continue, not because he thought it was the right thing to do. I think that this wishywashiness governs a lot of Robert's life, a regrettable situation for him to be in.
I wish that Robert had not just left Spain without any true goodbyes, because I think that those goodbyes would have been very interesting. I also wish that we were able to see his last conversation with Brett. However, I realize that leaving quietly is a fitting end for such a character.
Overall, I think that there are two things that hold Cohn back from being well liked. First, who he hangs out with. If he had been with any respectable people, I feel that Robert would ha ve been more well-liked. Also, the man just needs to be more assertive! The difference between Cohn and every other guy in the novel is how assertive they are, and he is the clear loser when compared with Jake, Mike, and Bill.

Bill

On to the other person I like! Bill is just hilarious, and brings a light side to the novel that improves is drasticaly. If it weren't for Bill's presence, I would soon have gotten bored of the serious tone of the novel. Despite being a racist (which I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for since I guess a lot of people were back then), Bill is my favorite person in the book. He manages to stay out of all the Brett-drama,  which shows something about his laid back attitude.He's also a very loyal friend. Jake could count on Bill to be there for him, as we know from the fact that Bill is aware of Jake's injury. (We also know that Bill is not always just a comedian, since he can be very tactful about the injury and Jake's relationship with Brett.)
I think that Bill serves a very important role in the functioning of the novel, too. His presence keeps the mood light when we know how tense the other people are. It is important that he has no previous connection to Brett, since that allows him to remain detached from the main drama of the story (which I think was a pretty good idea). What I found interesting was that naither he nor Brett endeavored to get to know each other more-- they both seemes content with their current relationship.
I enjoyed seeing Bill happy, so one of my favorite scenes in the whole novel was when he and Jake are drinking on the bus with the Basques. While this is not a dramatic scene at all, it is still very interesting, since it marks what Bill is getting out of the trip. It seems like Bill has finally found his people, those who love fun just as much as he does. I think that an ideal ending (if a bit too poetic) would have been for Bill to become a Basque. Of course, I realize that they actually have to work physically more than Bill, the writer, would be cool with. But iI do feel like Bill enjoys this time with Jake and the Basques more than anything else on the trip.
Go Bill!!!

Mike

Mike annoys me, but I do feel bad for him; he has the misfortune of being engaged to Brett. I think that he should not have treated Cohn the way he did in Spain, but he did have a reason. I mean, his fiancee is going off to have sex with pretty much whoever she wants to. At first, Mike comes across as not really caring, but when he is drunk he shows how he truly feels.
The two mains instances are when he goes off on Cohn and when they are all drinking with Romero.
First, he calls out Cohn for following Brett around when nobody likes him. Everyone feels that way, but he is the only person tactless enough to say it out loud. But while I disagree with his manners, his behavior was not without good cause. Brett is being Brett (inconsiderate and ungrateful) and Robert is obviously in love with her. Neither really cares what Mike thinks about the whole situation.
The second occasion in which Mike shows his feelings while drunk is when they are drinking with Romero, and he keeps shouting about how Brett wants to see Pedro put on his pants. This is when Mike first shows how jealous he is of the attention Brett pays other men. Sadly, Brett doesn't acknowledge his feelings, taking him for granted in her life. I think that the way she treats Mike makes him act more harshly and crudely towards the other men in her life (Jake excepted).
In conclusion, I think that Mike would have been a very likable character in any other setting. He is social, funny, and not too annoying. The only thing that makes me dislike him in this novel is Brett. I think that, as with many men, she brings out the worst in Mike.

Romero

I have mixed feelings about Pedro Romero. Part of me respects him, since after all, hes an amazing toredor! However, most of me thinks that he's a naive, stupid child. To go along with the comparison between Montoya and the traditional world, I feel that Romero represents the shift from tradition to industrialization. Despite being seemingly content with his life before meeting Jake and Brett, he is drawn to them, to the extent of compromising his soon-to-be illustrious life as a masterful bullfighter. In the battle between the traditional world (which offers him respect, comfort, safety to a degree, and lots of wine) and the urban world (which is flashy in the form of Lady Brett Ashley), the new worlds wins. In his defense, Romero wants Brett to grow out her hair and marry him, which shows that he still has some ties to the world he is most familiar with. However, one could argue that this just means he is ignorant about her world.
Personally, I think that Romero is quite foolish. In class we talked about how Cohn and Jake both try to appear agressive, courageous, stoic... masculine. However, I also see Romero as trying to establish his masculinity. For me, he fails at this. When Robert Cohn confronts him and Brett, Romero is an idiot. Cohn destroys him in a fight--completely overpowering Romero so that one can hardly call it a fight--but then asks for forgiveness and refuses to continue massacring Romero. I see this act of peace (albeit following an act of violence) as a very manly thing.. being the bigger man! However, Romero wants to "defend his honor" or something stupid like that, so he hits Cohn, and promptly collapses. What does he prove by this? Not much, other than that he doesn't know when to quit. Cohn wants to help him (again, being the bigger man) but what does he do? Threatens to kill him. Yeah, big talk for the guy whos too weak to stand. After this occurence, my respect for Romero diminished rapidly. Perhaps it was his traditional side urging him to maintain honor and never admit defeat (or something eqully misguided), but I think it was his stupid side. I was angry when Brett stayed with him, comforting him and tending to his wounds. Even someone as undeserving as her should have someone better than Romero. I think that he's one of those guys for whom life will favor, as long as he learned his lesson about interaction with the urbanites and sticks to bullfighting. One of my only complaints about an otherwise great book is that Robert should have stayed in town one more day, just to beat him up again, because, honestly, Romero deserves a good beating. Also, after his threat to kill Cohn, a nice ego shrinking might have done him some good.

Montoya

Unfortunately, I have been incredibly busy and fatigued over the last couple weeks, so I haven't been a ble to blog about all the stuff I really wanted to address. However, I HAVE to talk about one thing from The Sun Also Rises: the characters. They are so intricate and intriguing that I won't be able to discuss them in nearly enough detail to satisfy me, but I'll do my best to convey my general feelings on them. I'll start with Montoya, since he is one of the few people I actually like.
Montoya is the stable character throughout the novel. His actions always represent his views, and his views never change. To me, he represents the traditional Spain painted by Hemingway. Throughout the book, this pastoral scenery is what seems appealing to the reader, and Montoya personifies this feeling of comfort and stability. In my opinion, Hemingway uses him to show how the industrialized world is closing out the traditional, peaceful world. When Romero begins to hang out with Brett, Montoya loses respect for Jake, who he had thought to be on his side. This signifies the victory of the urban society over the rural society. While the traditional scene of Spain has much to offer in comfort and safety, Brett, Jake, Bill, and Mike show Romero a more exciting world that appeals to an adventurous young man such as himself.
I think that Montoya has every right to feel as he does towards the expatriots. All he wants is to see his world continue, and they are encroaching on this territory and ruining it for him. For his reason, I see his a tragic figure, since he represents a whole culture.