The question of the sense of self has been a source of studies and philosophical essays since ancient times. However, this issue seems to be unsolved even in the 21st century despite significant technological progress. The author of the book Thrive Arianna Huffington (2017) claims that the planet faces an epidemic of stress. People work too hard to achieve imaginary and unnecessary goals. It is possible to notice the same idea in the text of Franz Kafka (2015) The Metamorphosis, where the main hero becomes an insect and cannot provide his family with financial support anymore. Huffington puts forward the thesis that humans need urgent aid to overcome challenging times. The novella of Kafka is written philosophically and abstractly, and it is not easy to task to find out the point of view of the author. The purpose of this paper is to describe how the two writers express the idea about the value of financial well-being and to analyze the plot and the style of the texts.
In order to provide a precise and detailed analysis, it is necessary, to begin with, the description of the literary works. Huffington (2017) reflects on the reasons for the decreasing quality of life in current circumstances. She gives an example of her mother, who did not have any serious significant results in her career or social life. Nevertheless, she was a happy and wise woman who raised two wonderful daughters and who could find something pleasant in every moment of her being. Huffington (2017) supports the thesis that financial success cannot make people carefree. Moreover, the process of hard work affects in a negative way the quality of life and the health indicators of the human. Well-being has nothing in common with money and results in the office.
The problem of the correlation between the financial level and the way of life of the person is also raised in The Metamorphosis by Kafka. The main hero of the novella Gregor Samsa once woke up being an insect. His mind was clear, but without his body, he could not get out of bed or open the door. His family was astonished by these changes; at first, his sister was kind to the young man; she fed him and took care of the brother. It is crucial to mention that Gregor Samsa was the main breadwinner of the family (Kafka, 2015). He could not earn money anymore, and his relatives had to starve and rent out a room to rude people. This situation caused a change in the relationship of the sister – she did not help her brother anymore. After a while, Samsa died, and the text ends up with the description of the walk of his happy family (Kafka, 2015). The metamorphosis of the young man made earning the income impossible, and it resulted in the fact that his relatives turned away from him.
The style, the type of the narrative, and the genre significantly differ from each other in the analyzed texts. First of all, the work by Huffington is not fiction; it is presented as a practical guide. The novella of Kafka is a literary piece with an imaginary plot (Rhodes & Westwood, 2016). None the less, they have several similarities; for example, the reflection on the role of money in the life of a person. Huffington (2017) maintains that well-being is much more crucial than the financial level. However, Kafka (2015) shows that the treatment of a person may depend directly on his ability to earn money. This idea is so noticeable in the novella because of the fact that even the family is ready to turn away from a human who cannot provide them with the desired way of life.
The points of view seem to be contradicting, but they lead to another issue raised in both examined texts: what is more important – the financial success or the environment? From her birth, the author of the Thrive lived in the atmosphere of the piece and had absolute respect for human dignity (Huffington, 2017). It is possible to assume that Huffington was taught to live in the moment and to enjoy life from her childhood. She did not pay attention to the money capital; she is concerned about the level of stress and anxiety because it relates to a more crucial issue – the human capital. She created an environment that supports her ideas and has the same principles, that is why she can be happy even without a high income.
Another situation is presented in Kafka’s novella: money plays a significant role in the family of Gregor Samsa. On the one hand, the salary becomes a survival need; on the other hand, the value of money is so high that they cannot find any pleasant emotions in other circumstances. It means that the perception of income depends on personal ethics and the morals of the people around.
The role of the material part of life is overrated in the modern society of the 21st century. The desire to build career results in problems with health and the decrease of well-being. Both authors, Kafka and Huffington, claim that money is not the basis for evaluating and appreciating a person; human capital should be the foundational value of every person.
References
- Huffington, A. (2017). To my mother, Elli. Thrive Global. Web.
- Kafka, F. (2015). The Metamorphosis. Diversion Books.
- Rhodes, C., & Westwood, R. (2016). The limits of generosity: Lessons on ethics, economy, and reciprocity in Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Journal of Business Ethics, 133(2), 235-248.