Introduction
The problem of alienation is typical of the literature of the first half of the 20th century: this could be fairly considered as one of the postmodernist tradition’s displays. Though Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” and Nathanael West’s “The Day of the Locust” were published in 1915 and 1939, the theme of alienation is present in both of them, which meets the cultural context of those times. “The Metamorphosis” is one of the most famous works written by a German-speaking Bohemian writer Kafka who actively criticized the capitalistic organization of society (Ullah et al. 3). Meanwhile, “The Day of the Locust” originates from the American literature tradition and is closer to the satirical genre. Nevertheless, despite the a priori differences, these pieces have a lot in common. This essay aims to prove the following idea: in their works, Kafka and West demonstrate that the system creates modernist alienation for the main characters from the reality they exist in. In this work, this thesis is examined in two dimensions: 1) alienation from the people and the life around and 2) from the moral center and self.
Modernist Environmental Alienation
To begin with, it is essential to define the direct alienation occurring in the plots of the texts under discussion. In “The Metamorphosis,” the disconnect with the family appears to be a separate disappointment in Gregor Samsa’s transformation – but for the pain and disgust of the metamorphosis itself. It can be demonstrated by the relations with Gregor’s sister: “His sister, naturally, tried as far as possible to pretend there was nothing burdensome about it, and the longer it went on, of course, the better she was able to do so, but as time went by Gregor was also able to see through it all so much better. It had even become very unpleasant for him, now, whenever she entered the room. No sooner had she come in than she would quickly close the door as a precaution so that no-one would have to suffer the view into Gregor’s room, then she would go straight to the window and pull it hurriedly open almost as if she were suffocating” (Kafka 19).
However, what seems even more critical is that Kafka convinces his readers that this personal alienation was taking place before the tragic transformation itself. On the one hand, there is no mention of friends or, in fact, anyone but for the family members and work colleagues. In a way, the lifestyle of the traveling salesman defines a lack of social interactions and is for Kafka, another proof of the destructive capitalistic nature (Ullah et al. 1). On the other hand, Gregor seems to have not had a comprehensive impression of what his relations with family were like (Kafka 30). The protagonist’s primary motivation at work was almost saving the family from debts and financial burden: “he felt a great pride that he had been able to provide such a life in a beautiful apartment like this for his parents and his sister” (Kafka 15). In reality, his loved ones could keep up a decent level of life without him: thus, in a way, the family exploited Gregor when he was a human (Kafka 32). Thus, Kafka emphasizes that the metamorphosis was not the start but the continuation of the main character’s alienation.
Meanwhile, if Kafka criticizes capitalism, West focuses on its other dimension and speaks in other terms, but builds the same dichotomy of human nature and the modernist environment alienating for an individual. It is illustrated by Homer’s relations with Faye: for instance, in chapter 19, he happily watches her talking about shopping while she brought Tod to the dinner to his house: “She was living in Homer Simpson’s house. The arrangement was a business one. Homer had agreed to board and dress her until she became a star. They were keeping a record of every cent he spent, and as soon as she clicked in pictures, she would pay him back with six percent interest. To make it absolutely legal, they were going to have a lawyer draw up a contract” (70). In other words, West shows the artificial nature of the interpersonal relations in the system the author criticizes.
Alienation from Self and Humanity
Finally, it is vital to draw one’s attention to the most significant dimension of alienation in both Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” and West’s “The Day of the Locust.” On the one hand, the allegory of Gregor’s transformation is straightforward: he loses his body. He first did not even know how to use the new form: for example, “Gregor was shocked when he heard his own voice answering, it could hardly be recognized as the voice he had had before. As if from deep inside him, there was a painful and uncontrollable squeaking mixed in with it, the words could be made out at first, but then there was a sort of echo which made them unclear, leaving the hearer unsure whether he had heard properly or not.” (Kafka 3). Moreover, his habits changed: for instance, at the beginning of the novella, when drinking his favorite drink – milk – he finds it disgusting, unlike rotten food (Kafka 15). Habits and body transformation seem not as important as the mental changes: Gregor starts to think and act as an insect, hiding below the bed and treating himself as a monster. In a word, Kafka’s novella demonstrates Gregor’s loss of personality.
On the other hand, the orthodox interpretation of “The Day of the Locust” is the alienation of characters created by the atmosphere around. In this context, it is worth mentioning that Homer appears to be a medium of such modernistic values himself, though readers sympathize with him. Moreover, as Lukes sees the phenomenon’s under discussion reflection in “The Day of the Locust,” “alienation of the artist arcs toward the quasi-alive aspects of the virus in as much as the artist ceases to be an artist—that is, a human, expressive part of the whole of the body politic—and instead becomes a reification of group effect, an ecstatic form of being that is both less and more than either a human being or an artistic product” (191). Thus, the loss of a moral compass is one of the alienation dimensions shown by West.
The disconnect from self is metaphorized by Homer’s relations with his own body, namely hands. As West describes it, “every part was awake but his hands. They still slept… He got out of the bed in sections, like a poorly made automaton, and carted his hands into the bathroom. He turned on the cold water. When the basin was full, he plunged his hands in up to the wrist. They lay quietly on the bottom like a pair of strange aquatic animals. When they were thoroughly chilled and began to crawl about, he lifted them out and hid them in a towel” (82). West elegantly implements direct references to Frankenstein, which is the canonic symbol of dehumanization (Rogers 371). Homer cannot stop moving his hands compulsively, which does remind of Gregor’s inability to control his own body.
Conclusion
To conclude, Franz Kafka and Nathaniel West represent the tradition that criticizes the modernist capitalistic worldview, and it is reflected in their pieces “The Metamorphosis” and “The Day of the Locust.” The problem of modernist alienation appears to be demonstrated in two dimensions: on the one hand, from the loved ones and environment overall, on the other hand – from the characters themselves. Kafka’s story protagonist seems to be alienated from his beloved family even before the tragic transformation. His extremely average commerce job is another illustration of the author’s capitalistic system criticism. Moreover, Gregor is alienated from his body and, evidentially, mind. At the same time, West shows the cultural aspect of the modernist capitalistic culture that still influences Homer destructively. This character also loses control over his life and even his body sometimes. There are several common features in the stories under discussion. To name some, there is physical alienation of the characters from their bodies, fake interpersonal relations, and the suffering from environmental alienation. However, the differences are present in the texts as while Kafka’s metaphor is surreal and, in that context, more direct, West depicts a more realistic yet still colorful plot.
Works Cited
Kafka, Franz. “The Metamorphosis”. The Project Gutenberg of Australia, Web.
Lukes, H. N. “Portrait of the Artist as Social Symptom: Viral Affect and Mass Culture in “The Day of The Locust””. Women’s Studies Quarterly, 40(1), 2012, 187 – 200.
Rogers, Martin. “Monstrous Modernism and “The Day of the Locust””. The Journal of Popular Culture, 44(2), 2011, 367 – 384.
Ullah, Ahmad, Ali, Syed, & Shah Khalid. “Exploitation As The Real Implied Theme of Franz Kafka’s Novella “The Metamorphosis””. Al Qalam Research Journal, Punjab University Lahore, 22(2), 2017.
West, Nathaniel. “The Day of the Locust”. The Project Gutenberg of Australia, Web.