HypeHater 693 I honestly didn't get so much philosophy out of it. I was so stuck on relating to Gregor and the Marxists perspective in the book where he feels dehumanized and kicked around by society and his peers. A really important book though it opened the door for existentialism and so many other literary movements. If you read more of Kafka and the things he said he had a pretty good sense of humor and injected it into his writing. Cheers!
It’s so weird how he writes such weird, drama filled story with no emotions at all. I think we are so used to looking at stories that over dramatically explain everything and needs to have plot twists and ups and downs, looking at this story is just calming yet frightful, while suspenseful (THE GUY TURNED INTO A BUG OF COURSE ITS SUSPENSEFUL) it’s not over dramaticzing it, rather it’s almost funny how the guys bug state is looked by everyone as some sort of Illiness rather than what ever it is we call people that transform into bugs.
Gregor turning into a bug can be seen as an allegory for a person becoming elderly or disabled: 1. You can no longer support others with your income. 2. Others have to support you with their income. 3. If heartless or overburdened, your friends/family will try to leave you or put you away. 4. In such cases, it feels like they are just waiting for you to die. Very depressing indeed.
Before anyone says anything. You could suffer TB symptoms a long time before getting diagnosed properly- especially early 1900’s. He wrote this 1912 and was diagnosed professionally in 1917. The texts reminds me of many people who go through everything you listed above due to any of the multiple reasons that stops someone from working and/or providing for others etc etc etc…
That's exactly how I interpreted this story too . Any of us could become helpless and a "burden" to others when we least expect it It also reminded me of the fact some people in a vegetative state may actually be conscious, but are trapped with no way of communicating to the outside world.
That’s exactly what it is once you become a burden society and love ones they will just push you to the side if that wasn’t the case this country’s nursing homes will be empty.
Thug notes does what only a few teachers can do. Explaining complex matter in simple and clear language (and with humor). You dear sir should be a teacher. Props.
tijs van Kan I totally agree, this is a sign of passion and understanding. If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.Albert Einstein
It provides a basic analysis. While it was mediocre, it didn't mention the post-strucalist, feminist, and Freudian thought (esspicslly repressive thought) analysis of the novel.
While true with a lot of the videos, he does a good job for the time squeezed in. And more importantly, it's gotten me to think deeper about a lot of these classics that I was honestly too lazy to dive into before, even with English teachers pushing me. Plus, it actually makes literary analysis look fun. I hope it encourages more people to read them!
I think the book's ending might be implying that what happened to Gregor is going to happen to his sister too. The parents are going to be on her case about getting married to the point that she stops feeling human too and, whether the transformation to an insect is literal or figurative, she ends up like her brother
I read the book just to see this analysis... and damn it's depressing. Seriously, when he walks to his sister while she's playing the violin, and imagines both having a great time... and then she says that he should be kicked out... dem feels, man.
feel sad bcs his sister loved him so much too. but the financial burden of the family must be getting to her, and she must've been frustrated that he was scaring the guests away, despite the pinch they're in. the love they had was destroyed just like that. now she's the one used by her family to probably marry a rich man she doesn't love
What makes it even more depressing is that the book's ending imply the parents are planning to do just the same with their daughter after Gregor's death. She has to get married quickly to a promising party so they could gain from it. They don't see their daughter as a person either
Well I read all of them in class and I love shakespeare and grimm bros and other great books. I think Thug Notes is wonderful because even though most of the books are dark and complicated, his analysis's feature lessons we can all learn from in these books.
Because the bug is actually a metaphor. Because people have been pressured by society's rules, the bug represents that we all felt like a freak or an outcast in society. The ending felt really sad to me because it's almost like he was committing suicide, which is pretty darn depressing. I didn't read 1987. I thought you were referring to 1984. I've read some really dark serious books in english class. But it helps me learn how life can be complicated and beautiful too.
Well I read Animal Farm. So too late! But i like reading adventurous fantasy books where you can relate to the characters. I did read Les Mis and I loved it! Best book ever!
Page 39- He remained in this state of empty and peaceful reflection until the tower clock struck three in the morning. He still saw that outside the window everything was beginning to grow light. Then, without his consent, his head sank down to the floor, and from his nostrils streamed his last weak breath. Moments before his exit, Gregor sputtered a quiet regret, "Why didn't I subscribe to Thug Notes for some discounted swag and the fly-ass Thug Notes official book?"
Capitalism is a strong thematic in the book, but what about the psychology behind it? Kafka had heavy psychological problems that influenced his work, leading to a slightly different interpretation of the ending: when Gregor's parents say that he isn't their son anymore because their real son would have realised what a nuisance he has become and left for good, Gregor just accepts that as a fact and dies fucking happily. This could reflect Kafka's problematic relationship with his family, especially his father. Gregor's father is violent and he is the one in the family who is always against and even the most harmful towards Gregor. Which could be interpreted as an expression of the responsibility that Kafka's father had for his problems.
I wouldn't say that Kafka had heavy psychological problems... I'd say there's a likelihood that he suffered from anxiety and depression. BUT you're on the money regarding his relationship with his father, who he hated due to his general rudeness to everybody, his disdain for Kafa's writing/political views/'unmanly' shyness, his complete disregard for his sister's desire to work hard and obtain independent wealth as it wasn't traditional or lady-like for women... I could go on. After his death, his letters and personal diary were both published, and he goes into detail about how shitty he is on every level. I remember him complaining, because he worked at his father's business for a while, that his dad was so cruel to all of their employees that Kafka felt like he had to legit follow him around, so he could apologize and be nice to everyone his dad had just interacted with because he knew that like 99% of the time, he was being a massive jerk to them.
@@andygotthebass6525 He definitely had severe anxiety, but he didn't suffer from social isolation. He had some mild level of schizoid disorder but he had many friends that he regularly interacted with
The detail that struck me when I read this book is how the family eventually learns to get along just fine despite Gregor no longer supporting them, and being a burden to them instead. This seems to even futher hurt his sense of identity when he discovers they don't need him. Maybe the metamorphosis in the title is not only his turning into a bug.
And it goes even deeper. They were practically useless because they had no need to work or worry. Gregor was so dedicated to giving his family a good life that he de-humanized them to a point, just taking care of them while they were always inside their house. Funnily enough, the roles are reversed when he wakes up a bug
I feel bad for Gregor cause a lot of the stuff he goes through applies to people today. Like if the world were just...better...maybe we wouldn't feel like worthless insects. Maybe we wouldn't -want- to crawl into a ball and die if we just felt loved and appreciated enough.
I just finished this novella yesterday and I immediately felt like Gregor's guilt and how his family treated him like a burden reminded me of how a (horrible) family might act to an elderly or disabled member of the family. They no longer "have use" and need constant care until they die. Going at it with the perspective made the book even sadder for me.
I remember this book from the movie "The Producers". Max Bialystock is trying to find a story for a play that he wants to have flop (so he can abscond with the money he raises for it.) He picks up the Metamorphosis, reads the first sentence, then dismisses it as being too good.
I live in Germany, and I have to say your Summary and Analysis helped me a lot! Even my teacher could not explain it as good as you did ! Thanks man and much love from Germany
This has got to be the most depressing story of all time. I read it in high school, but didn't get it. The worst part is, his family is better off after he died than they were before he stopped working. Before the beginning of the story, he had been providing money for his family because his dad was broke from a bad business deal, but in the middle we find out the dad wasn't as broke as well all thought. When he dies-- after a long, slow illness-- it's the cleaning lady who finds his body, and buries him, because not one other member of his family wants to go near. Then the rest of the family lives happily ever after. Now ain't that some shit.
Super late reply but I don't think the ending is as "happy" as it sounds. It's implied the daughter will get married off by her parents quickly so they get another source of income without having to work, so they don't really see her as a human being either
Loved this! One thing you caught that others didn't mention was that all three of them working was 3 times the income but they still resented him in ways he never resented them.
More like the most idiotic nonsense I've ever read, was he taking drugs or something? Considering this is supposed to be one of the greatest literary geniuses my country ever produced, I guess we're fucked.
As a nurse I've always felt like this story highlighted the hardships and emotional pain the families of chronically ill people go through. I've seen the caregivers of horribly sick people cry when that person dies because they are both mourning the death and feeling guilty because there's a sense of relief that they are now free. Gregors family reacted the way a lot of families react when the breadwinner get sick and can't work. But they all got jobs and made it work as bed they could. Still really depressing tho...
To me this is about realistic transformation that the people around you may not understand. This story made a large impact on me as it was recommended when I started to take learning to be a musician seriously. People around me started looking at me like I was a metaphorical insect.
Great analysis! I also thought the book said a lot about what happens when a family suddenly has to provide for an ill or elderly person. Like Gregor's sister, they may still love that person, and try their best, but the undercurrent of resentment that they have this new responsibility is strong. And the person being cared for won't like it much either - after a lifetime of being independent, to suddenly become a burden on your loved ones might be intolerable. My book request: Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
In part 2 of metamorphosis I love the part where when his sister recognises that the furniture would be better out of the room so he can move about more easily, and he agrees with her until he hears his mother's view that it would be forgetting his old life - removing things that have a comforting nostalgia to them. His sister then feels threatened by him when he tries to stop her taking one of the paintings. I see this as similar to when political parties try to do what they think is right and best for a people, and then the people try to prevent the changes because change happening too quickly can create a sense of isolation - not recognising the world as the one they grew up in, and this leads to the party being offended and not understanding the actions of the people. Although it was probably not a metaphor to describe this I think it is something quite a few politicians could learn from. There are lots of other situations where this pattern emerges too - so thought provoking!
I took that part as his family and their ongoing extortion of him monetarily. The painting is suppose to have major significance. I'm thinking it's kind of part of his flashback on his old life as a human (the woman in the hat shop) and maybe that whole existentialist theme of suffering vs pleasure, being uncertain of a clear path, etc. I dunno. I'm studying for a test.
I once compared a situation of mine to Gregor's in this book. My caseworker and I agree this was an accurate comparison I've used. Gregor's plight is all the more sympathetic. Wanting to please your family but you feel small and insignificant when they just exploit you in return.
I showed this to my students in class after we read this. The kids really loved the story and this really solidified their engagement with this great work!
I'm listening to the audiobook atm and I'm trying to figure out exactly why this is a classic and this 5 minute Thug Notes just explained everything to me.... I need to be a teacher like this guy omg
I think I was 14 or so when I read that story, and that the time I just took it for a dark-fantasy tale. Great to revisit it years later and understand the symbolism and social criticism.
I saw this in the theatre with my high school's High Society Club. Some years later my mental health got bad at university and I dropped out and became psychotic. I felt like Gregor when I got home. It only got worse, more depressing, and surreal. It was really surreal. The teacher and head of the High Society Club who I sat next to at the theatre killed himself. He was my friend. Man fuck.
I love your take on this! Years back there was this movie "Kafka" where to introduce the setting a bit some people recognized Kafka and talked about some of his published works. And he was very shy, hard to talk with them. But they pressed him about his latest work... "It's about a man who wakes up one morning to find he's become an insect..."
I feel as if the part where Gregor's father secretly still had money from back when he (the father) was employed was a huge part in the story, but a pretty good summary all in all.
Some channels you might also love, if you like this channel for the same reasons I do: - Nerdwriter1 - The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows - kaptainkristian - The School of Life - Casually Explained - Exurb1a(and Exurb2a) - You Suck At Cooking(more focused around humor) All interesting and captivating which is pretty rare for UA-cam content. Or for any kind of content really.
Spent three hours reading this and doing a one page report for my online modern fiction class. You've given the best summary and analysis anyone has ever made. Should've just submitted this vid to my instructor lol
I am a teacher and discovered Thug Notes. Clearly, the content cannot be shown to my middle school students; but the way the analysis is explained is amazing. I work in a 99.9% black school and like the way slang is used in explanation...as a white teacher from Wyoming; I am using this site to help me figure out how to explain the themes of these classics to my students without the profanity! Love this!
Wisecrack That's pretty hard, a long novel, convoluted and with a lot of characters. But you've proved great analytical skills with other novels... Don't make it so short.
Wisecrack It's hard to do justice to some novels in 5 minutes o less. Especially to the universally acclaimed masterpieces and the ideologically dense autors like Ayn Rand.
Could you please try doing a review of one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature? Journey to the West, Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Dream of the Red Chamber. Journey to the West is the most famous, but I would be thrilled if any of the four novels is featured here.
I freaking love this concept, you guys, this is the first video of yours I've seen but instant subscription. Thanks a lot for doing this and stay awesome!
Man, you’re awesome!!! Sharing with my kids! Read this when I was little and read Kafka since. Turned my dad on to him and he got it immediately. Keep up your great fantastical gift to everyone!!!
It's not on point. It barely scratches the surface. what about the theme of alienation? Of cruelty? and of the ending where as a bug, Samsa appreciated her sister's more than as a human? And the absurdism? A 5-minute video can never encapsulate everything. Probably, not even a 500 book can explain and tell what Kafka felt and wrote in that 70-page story. It's just too personal. We can barely relate, like Kafka could barely relate to our lives.
Other Pill he woke up as a cockroach, his dad beat him with apples, his sister still cared for him when he was a burden. Kafka was a depressed man living in a culture where his only purpose was to support the family around him and nothing else. Feeling unsatisfied with that made him a depressed outcast with little to find joy in. Done in a paragraph, details not with standing.
Other Pill he woke up as a cockroach, his dad beat him with apples, his sister still cared for him when he was a burden. Kafka was a depressed man living in a culture where his only purpose was to support the family around him and nothing else. Feeling unsatisfied with that made him a depressed outcast with little to find joy in. Done in a paragraph, details not with standing.
Here are some suggestions- In Cold Blood-Truman Capote Norwegian Wood-Haruki Murakami American Psycho-Bret Easton Ellis One the Road-Jack Kerouac One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest-Ken Kesey The Bell Jar-Sylvia Plath Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-Hunter S Thompson
wow I love your videos, but I think you missed the WHOOOLE point. It was about the stigma surrounding depression and mental illnesses at that time (even now, but it was much worse then). That was the reason he felt so ugly and drawn to isolation, he wasn't an ACTUAL bug lol and that's why his family acted that way because they didn't believe it was a "real" illness. The way he described depression and all the horror that comes with it was just nothing short of brilliant, I love that book.
Ehhh... While you can surely interpret the story in any number of ways, there's simply no doubt that one of the main themes that Kafka intended to comment on was how the continuous demands of modern work life result in the isolation and dehumanization of the individual. In Gregor's case, a literal dehumanization. You can read the story as a lesson about mental illness leading to isolation, or how monetary dependency from disabilities impact relationships, or a whole lot of other things. The mental illness angle is quite a lot harder to square than the dehumanization from work demands though. If his family don't believe it's a real illness, why are they so terrified of him? The mother passes out at the sight of him, the father attacks him, his supervisor from work flees in terror. They seem quite convinced of the illness. In fact, Gregor is the only person who is relatively undisturbed by his transformation. He expresses disgust upon seeing himself the first time, and then he accepts it and immediately begins to panic that he will be late for work. He is so consumed with the need to make money, that his worries about missing his train and being fired supersede his concern of being turned into a giant bug. He spends the entire first chapter desperately scrambling to get to work and explain to his supervisor why he will work extra hard if he just puts in a good word for him with the boss. Nearly everything in the story is tied in some way to earning money. Gregor works relentlessly to support his family who no longer appreciate even this support. Gregor has to do this because his father's business supposedly went totally bust (something which we later find was a lie). Grete and the father both undergo drastic changes in personality as a result of taking on jobs. They feel that they cannot afford to pay for their current apartment, so they take in lodgers. The lodgers refuse to pay because they see Gregor. The family decides he needs to die because they can't monetarily sustain their situation. Everything in the story is tied to work, financial dependence, being trapped by debt, having absurdly demanding bosses who show up at your home the minute you're late, working long, isolated hours on the road. On top of that... This is just an absolutely pervasive theme throughout Kafka's work. It's very clear that he dedicated a good deal of effort to criticizing the modern work life and the over complicated bureaucratic systems which must inevitably isolate and thereby dehumanize the participants who make it up, none of whom seem to particularly know how the system works or what their place in it is. Again, the depression angle can work, and if that's what you take from it, that's great. That's what's great about art. Different people relate to the same things in very different ways. To say though that someone "missed the point" when you have a non-standard reading of the work is kind of ironic though. You should probably leave room for other interpretations of a complex piece of art. If it were only about one thing, it likely would not have survived a century of analysis.
Yeah you know what, you're right. I can admit that. And I wasn't being pretentious about missing the point, I just thought the ugliness of the illness was described so masterfully that it was a shame if anyone didn't see it, but 100% agree about the interpretations.
takopulpfiction depression and dehuminization are not mutually exclusive. If a piece of artwork makes you take away a certain interpretation, that feeling is valid. There is no wrong way to interpret art. Even readings that are antithetic to the authors intent.
Hi ^^ I'm from Algeria & I learn a lot form your videos with your sense of humor .. u just make it enjoyable to read , everytime I read a book I come to check ur analysis ~ thank you so much !
This book is sad. If you get bent and broken most people stop treating you like a person. Your just one more liability, a painful load they have to carry! Is that what we want to be as a society? That's how it is and will be until we allow that all people deserve to be treated will love and respect. That war vet thats laying about, that guy you know who got wrecked in a car accident, or someone born broken are all people. Thank God for every day that's not you, and give them your love and respect, not your pity and derision. Not a preach, just think about it.
Ever think about doing a book club? Like every week you could do a really quick video where you talk about what insight the commenters seemed to get from the book a couple chapters at a time, maybe get another host for that part, maybe even get guests who already read the book in the final episode of each book or something. I dunno, just a thought, I love what you're doing with this channel, so I'd like anything that would make more of it haha
Disturbing book. The realism of the parents' disgust given the situation is terrifying. I love how Kafka writes it all with such an indifference.
I laughed when he started talking about him rocking back on his bug back "like as if it was a game."
jjhollier agreed, like he's reveling in his own apathy. I loved this story and took so much from it my first read through
HypeHater 693 I honestly didn't get so much philosophy out of it. I was so stuck on relating to Gregor and the Marxists perspective in the book where he feels dehumanized and kicked around by society and his peers. A really important book though it opened the door for existentialism and so many other literary movements. If you read more of Kafka and the things he said he had a pretty good sense of humor and injected it into his writing. Cheers!
Indifferent because he lived in that world
It’s so weird how he writes such weird, drama filled story with no emotions at all.
I think we are so used to looking at stories that over dramatically explain everything and needs to have plot twists and ups and downs, looking at this story is just calming yet frightful, while suspenseful (THE GUY TURNED INTO A BUG OF COURSE ITS SUSPENSEFUL) it’s not over dramaticzing it, rather it’s almost funny how the guys bug state is looked by everyone as some sort of Illiness rather than what ever it is we call people that transform into bugs.
Gregor turning into a bug can be seen as an allegory for a person becoming elderly or disabled:
1. You can no longer support others with your income.
2. Others have to support you with their income.
3. If heartless or overburdened, your friends/family will try to leave you or put you away.
4. In such cases, it feels like they are just waiting for you to die.
Very depressing indeed.
This is probably my favorite comment here.
Not far off. He had TB when writing this so …
Before anyone says anything. You could suffer TB symptoms a long time before getting diagnosed properly- especially early 1900’s. He wrote this 1912 and was diagnosed professionally in 1917.
The texts reminds me of many people who go through everything you listed above due to any of the multiple reasons that stops someone from working and/or providing for others etc etc etc…
That's exactly how I interpreted this story too . Any of us could become helpless and a "burden" to others when we least expect it
It also reminded me of the fact some people in a vegetative state may actually be conscious, but are trapped with no way of communicating to the outside world.
That’s exactly what it is once you become a burden society and love ones they will just push you to the side if that wasn’t the case this country’s nursing homes will be empty.
Thug notes does what only a few teachers can do. Explaining complex matter in simple and clear language (and with humor). You dear sir should be a teacher. Props.
Cheers!
tijs van Kan I totally agree, this is a sign of passion and understanding.
If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.Albert Einstein
deadass i didnt read the book and he made me want to read it
It provides a basic analysis. While it was mediocre, it didn't mention the post-strucalist, feminist, and Freudian thought (esspicslly repressive thought) analysis of the novel.
While true with a lot of the videos, he does a good job for the time squeezed in. And more importantly, it's gotten me to think deeper about a lot of these classics that I was honestly too lazy to dive into before, even with English teachers pushing me. Plus, it actually makes literary analysis look fun. I hope it encourages more people to read them!
I think the book's ending might be implying that what happened to Gregor is going to happen to his sister too. The parents are going to be on her case about getting married to the point that she stops feeling human too and, whether the transformation to an insect is literal or figurative, she ends up like her brother
I hope it happens to her too, that b*tch deserves it.
Yes you're right
I read the book just to see this analysis... and damn it's depressing. Seriously, when he walks to his sister while she's playing the violin, and imagines both having a great time... and then she says that he should be kicked out... dem feels, man.
Matias Alric 💔yeh it was very sad moment
feel sad bcs his sister loved him so much too. but the financial burden of the family must be getting to her, and she must've been frustrated that he was scaring the guests away, despite the pinch they're in. the love they had was destroyed just like that. now she's the one used by her family to probably marry a rich man she doesn't love
What makes it even more depressing is that the book's ending imply the parents are planning to do just the same with their daughter after Gregor's death. She has to get married quickly to a promising party so they could gain from it. They don't see their daughter as a person either
Dude this book is literally so depressing. I almost cried at this.
Sorry, ***** :)
No it's okay. *hugs* :)
Well I read all of them in class and I love shakespeare and grimm bros and other great books.
I think Thug Notes is wonderful because even though most of the books are dark and complicated, his analysis's feature lessons we can all learn from in these books.
Because the bug is actually a metaphor. Because people have been pressured by society's rules, the bug represents that we all felt like a freak or an outcast in society. The ending felt really sad to me because it's almost like he was committing suicide, which is pretty darn depressing.
I didn't read 1987. I thought you were referring to 1984. I've read some really dark serious books in english class. But it helps me learn how life can be complicated and beautiful too.
Well I read Animal Farm. So too late! But i like reading adventurous fantasy books where you can relate to the characters. I did read Les Mis and I loved it! Best book ever!
Page 39-
He remained in this state of empty and peaceful reflection until the tower clock struck three in the morning. He still saw that outside the window everything was beginning to grow light. Then, without his consent, his head sank down to the floor, and from his nostrils streamed his last weak breath. Moments before his exit, Gregor sputtered a quiet regret, "Why didn't I subscribe to Thug Notes for some discounted swag and the fly-ass Thug Notes official book?"
slee 1993
Gregor's last words are certainly some of the most regretful in all of literature
*Page 93, but the regret is real man
Capitalism is a strong thematic in the book, but what about the psychology behind it? Kafka had heavy psychological problems that influenced his work, leading to a slightly different interpretation of the ending:
when Gregor's parents say that he isn't their son anymore because their real son would have realised what a nuisance he has become and left for good, Gregor just accepts that as a fact and dies fucking happily. This could reflect Kafka's problematic relationship with his family, especially his father. Gregor's father is violent and he is the one in the family who is always against and even the most harmful towards Gregor. Which could be interpreted as an expression of the responsibility that Kafka's father had for his problems.
what?
I wouldn't say that Kafka had heavy psychological problems... I'd say there's a likelihood that he suffered from anxiety and depression. BUT you're on the money regarding his relationship with his father, who he hated due to his general rudeness to everybody, his disdain for Kafa's writing/political views/'unmanly' shyness, his complete disregard for his sister's desire to work hard and obtain independent wealth as it wasn't traditional or lady-like for women... I could go on. After his death, his letters and personal diary were both published, and he goes into detail about how shitty he is on every level. I remember him complaining, because he worked at his father's business for a while, that his dad was so cruel to all of their employees that Kafka felt like he had to legit follow him around, so he could apologize and be nice to everyone his dad had just interacted with because he knew that like 99% of the time, he was being a massive jerk to them.
Yeah they originated from Capitalism
@@katiieeardley he suffered greatly from extreme depression, social anxiety, and social isolation
@@andygotthebass6525 He definitely had severe anxiety, but he didn't suffer from social isolation. He had some mild level of schizoid disorder but he had many friends that he regularly interacted with
it's disturbing how prevalent the themes in this book are today.
+QR One Its because Society got sick and now we're experiencing Stage 2 Cancer. Stage 3 when the resources gets thin is gonna be great.
+QR One Unfortunately I think isolation and bigotry will always be prevalent.
YOU CANT TRUST THE SYSTEM MAN.
(This all stems from capitalism.)
ya even thought they were written like 50 yrs ago
The detail that struck me when I read this book is how the family eventually learns to get along just fine despite Gregor no longer supporting them, and being a burden to them instead. This seems to even futher hurt his sense of identity when he discovers they don't need him. Maybe the metamorphosis in the title is not only his turning into a bug.
And it goes even deeper. They were practically useless because they had no need to work or worry. Gregor was so dedicated to giving his family a good life that he de-humanized them to a point, just taking care of them while they were always inside their house. Funnily enough, the roles are reversed when he wakes up a bug
I feel bad for Gregor cause a lot of the stuff he goes through applies to people today. Like if the world were just...better...maybe we wouldn't feel like worthless insects. Maybe we wouldn't -want- to crawl into a ball and die if we just felt loved and appreciated enough.
Nerdicaful I feel this on a spiritual level.
@@Nerdicaful preach
Find god and you will feel all the love and appreciation you could ever want.
Exactly, maybe folks see something of there life in this excellent novel!!!🙏🤔📖👍
I just finished this novella yesterday and I immediately felt like Gregor's guilt and how his family treated him like a burden reminded me of how a (horrible) family might act to an elderly or disabled member of the family. They no longer "have use" and need constant care until they die. Going at it with the perspective made the book even sadder for me.
I remember this book from the movie "The Producers". Max Bialystock is trying to find a story for a play that he wants to have flop (so he can abscond with the money he raises for it.) He picks up the Metamorphosis, reads the first sentence, then dismisses it as being too good.
I remember that. Mel Brooks put another reference to The Metamorphosis in Spaceballs. My guess is he really likes that book
That guy you may or may not know Mel Brooks is actually a big book nerd. That's not shocking to me, but most people don't know that.
We watched this for a class I took and I burst out laughing at that line. I seemed very strange to the rest of the room lol.
That was the way I was introduced to the book. I didn’t think it was real at first but I found out that it was. I’m reading it in AP Lit right now.
I live in Germany, and I have to say your Summary and Analysis helped me a lot! Even my teacher could not explain it as good as you did ! Thanks man and much love from Germany
This has got to be the most depressing story of all time. I read it in high school, but didn't get it. The worst part is, his family is better off after he died than they were before he stopped working. Before the beginning of the story, he had been providing money for his family because his dad was broke from a bad business deal, but in the middle we find out the dad wasn't as broke as well all thought.
When he dies-- after a long, slow illness-- it's the cleaning lady who finds his body, and buries him, because not one other member of his family wants to go near. Then the rest of the family lives happily ever after. Now ain't that some shit.
Super late reply but I don't think the ending is as "happy" as it sounds. It's implied the daughter will get married off by her parents quickly so they get another source of income without having to work, so they don't really see her as a human being either
Loved this! One thing you caught that others didn't mention was that all three of them working was 3 times the income but they still resented him in ways he never resented them.
I think this is the most depressing book I've ever read.
I agree, the best part is that it didn't try to be, if anything it was pretty realistic.
More like the most idiotic nonsense I've ever read, was he taking drugs or something? Considering this is supposed to be one of the greatest literary geniuses my country ever produced, I guess we're fucked.
Klára Dědková no u
Thats whats great about it! It makes you get uncomfortable with some humor thrown in!
@@klaradedkova2468 you’re mistaken. the only fucked up thing here are your comprehension skills
As a nurse I've always felt like this story highlighted the hardships and emotional pain the families of chronically ill people go through. I've seen the caregivers of horribly sick people cry when that person dies because they are both mourning the death and feeling guilty because there's a sense of relief that they are now free. Gregors family reacted the way a lot of families react when the breadwinner get sick and can't work. But they all got jobs and made it work as bed they could. Still really depressing tho...
If there is one book that deserve a musical it's this one
Check Home Movies the tv show. They made one. ua-cam.com/video/8uaaF83eVig/v-deo.html
Yep. It would be BOMB!!
He'll smite you with metaphor fists!
No it’s too good
There is a musical
He was burned out and depressed. The story makes sense now. Thank you!
Gregor should be out dominating the insect world
Haha good point made me laugh
FACTS.
And keep reproducing that disgusting giant insects!
we need the sequel
To me this is about realistic transformation that the people around you may not understand. This story made a large impact on me as it was recommended when I started to take learning to be a musician seriously. People around me started looking at me like I was a metaphorical insect.
Great analysis! I also thought the book said a lot about what happens when a family suddenly has to provide for an ill or elderly person. Like Gregor's sister, they may still love that person, and try their best, but the undercurrent of resentment that they have this new responsibility is strong. And the person being cared for won't like it much either - after a lifetime of being independent, to suddenly become a burden on your loved ones might be intolerable.
My book request: Small Gods by Terry Pratchett
In part 2 of metamorphosis I love the part where when his sister recognises that the furniture would be better out of the room so he can move about more easily, and he agrees with her until he hears his mother's view that it would be forgetting his old life - removing things that have a comforting nostalgia to them. His sister then feels threatened by him when he tries to stop her taking one of the paintings.
I see this as similar to when political parties try to do what they think is right and best for a people, and then the people try to prevent the changes because change happening too quickly can create a sense of isolation - not recognising the world as the one they grew up in, and this leads to the party being offended and not understanding the actions of the people. Although it was probably not a metaphor to describe this I think it is something quite a few politicians could learn from. There are lots of other situations where this pattern emerges too - so thought provoking!
I took that part as his family and their ongoing extortion of him monetarily. The painting is suppose to have major significance. I'm thinking it's kind of part of his flashback on his old life as a human (the woman in the hat shop) and maybe that whole existentialist theme of suffering vs pleasure, being uncertain of a clear path, etc. I dunno. I'm studying for a test.
I once compared a situation of mine to Gregor's in this book. My caseworker and I agree this was an accurate comparison I've used.
Gregor's plight is all the more sympathetic. Wanting to please your family but you feel small and insignificant when they just exploit you in return.
Please to The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
seconding this
Single greatest series of books ever written. C'mon people if enough of us ask maybe he'll do the whole series!!!
Yes please!
crippletime The greatest triology of five ever.
What a shitty, overrated series.
I showed this to my students in class after we read this. The kids really loved the story and this really solidified their engagement with this great work!
"We straight bugging" lmfao.
I'm listening to the audiobook atm and I'm trying to figure out exactly why this is a classic and this 5 minute Thug Notes just explained everything to me.... I need to be a teacher like this guy omg
I think I was 14 or so when I read that story, and that the time I just took it for a dark-fantasy tale. Great to revisit it years later and understand the symbolism and social criticism.
We talked about this in college and I think I got more analysis from this video than during those classes!
The timing of this video could not be more convenient :D I'm taking the test over it tomorrow
Haha, good luck!
6 years later, do you remember what you got 🤔
I saw this in the theatre with my high school's High Society Club. Some years later my mental health got bad at university and I dropped out and became psychotic. I felt like Gregor when I got home. It only got worse, more depressing, and surreal. It was really surreal. The teacher and head of the High Society Club who I sat next to at the theatre killed himself. He was my friend. Man fuck.
This is actually a life saver my friend found this channel and every single new book/story i go here first
"We straight bugging with The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka." Those intro jokes are one of my fav things about these videos. X)
I love your take on this!
Years back there was this movie "Kafka" where to introduce the setting a bit some people recognized Kafka and talked about some of his published works. And he was very shy, hard to talk with them. But they pressed him about his latest work...
"It's about a man who wakes up one morning to find he's become an insect..."
Read Metamorphosis a few years ago. Now Im listening to the audio version. Compelling yet a sad read. Thugs Notes is a the man :).
This channel would be an awesome help for me at the time I was in school.
I kinda feel uncomfortable hearing "Kafka" and "subscribe" in the same video
I feel as if the part where Gregor's father secretly still had money from back when he (the father) was employed was a huge part in the story, but a pretty good summary all in all.
WHY DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS CHANNEL BEFORE?????????????????
me too
Some channels you might also love, if you like this channel for the same reasons I do:
- Nerdwriter1
- The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
- kaptainkristian
- The School of Life
- Casually Explained
- Exurb1a(and Exurb2a)
- You Suck At Cooking(more focused around humor)
All interesting and captivating which is pretty rare for UA-cam content. Or for any kind of content really.
Tipsy River great list
Spent three hours reading this and doing a one page report for my online modern fiction class. You've given the best summary and analysis anyone has ever made. Should've just submitted this vid to my instructor lol
Still reigns true today!!! People wont love you until you have more than them..
Thank you so much for a summary that doesn’t take half an hour to get through thug notes
This is the English translation I needed after reading the story for an hour.
I am a teacher and discovered Thug Notes. Clearly, the content cannot be shown to my middle school students; but the way the analysis is explained is amazing. I work in a 99.9% black school and like the way slang is used in explanation...as a white teacher from Wyoming; I am using this site to help me figure out how to explain the themes of these classics to my students without the profanity! Love this!
THE DIVINE COMEDY!!!
Dante's Inferno is up - Dante's Inferno - Thug Notes Summary and Analysis
Wisecrack streetcar named desire PURTY PURTY PLEASE! :)
Wisecrack
oh gosh, thank you! Boy I feel foolish lol
Also, YOU'RE AWESOME :D LOVE THIS
omg yes, just started reading that
We need to start a petition to bring back thug notes
One Hundred Years of Solitude!!!!!!!!!!
Coming very soon :)
HURRAH ^O^
Wisecrack That's pretty hard, a long novel, convoluted and with a lot of characters. But you've proved great analytical skills with other novels... Don't make it so short.
Wisecrack It's hard to do justice to some novels in 5 minutes o less. Especially to the universally acclaimed masterpieces and the ideologically dense autors like Ayn Rand.
Aurel Wrath
i would kill for an Ayn Rand thugs note video though, those are the ones that needs the brevity the most.
Where has this channel been all my life. Subscribed.
Could you please try doing a review of one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature? Journey to the West, Water Margin, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Dream of the Red Chamber. Journey to the West is the most famous, but I would be thrilled if any of the four novels is featured here.
Id love to see that.
Persona Ohnlyne Not sure if serious...or trolling.
Lao Tzu Why would he be trlling?
Slashbash exactly. Why would he be trolling? Perfectly reasonable request.
+Lao Tzu is jealous cause Tao Te Ching got no shoutout here.
Plus Romance of the Three Kingdoms is long as fuck.
This book back in highschool seemed depressing but looking at it again at it in college is much deeper and relates to me. I wish you were my prof
Please do the Trial by Franz Kafka
yes, please!
This is the only video thag not only informed me of what happened and the meaning but kept me engaged
Could you do I have No Mouth and I Must Scream (Harland Ellison)?
I don't think he does short stories
One of my favorites. I'd love to see it get the Thug Notes treatment.
^This.
Oh this would be radical
YES!
Wasn’t my favorite a book, but man did this video make it x100 better
"Dem beats are so next level" - Awesome!
I freaking love this concept, you guys, this is the first video of yours I've seen but instant subscription. Thanks a lot for doing this and stay awesome!
oh man thug. I love that paper folding intro. it's the smoothest shit I've seen in a while.
This channel deserves so much than this,hope you get it dude.
Great episode! But I have to ask, how come "Don Quixote" has been neglected for so long?
Not neglected. Just want to do it justice. Hard in 5 minutes!
Man, you’re awesome!!! Sharing with my kids! Read this when I was little and read Kafka since. Turned my dad on to him and he got it immediately. Keep up your great fantastical gift to everyone!!!
The outsider by h.p. lovecraft!
Whag
I don't think there's any hidden meaning in the Outsider. Man was a monster and didn't know.
Thank you Wisecrack for putting this together.
This is perfect. So on point!!!
It's not on point. It barely scratches the surface. what about the theme of alienation? Of cruelty? and of the ending where as a bug, Samsa appreciated her sister's more than as a human? And the absurdism?
A 5-minute video can never encapsulate everything.
Probably, not even a 500 book can explain and tell what Kafka felt and wrote in that 70-page story.
It's just too personal. We can barely relate, like Kafka could barely relate to our lives.
Other Pill he woke up as a cockroach, his dad beat him with apples, his sister still cared for him when he was a burden. Kafka was a depressed man living in a culture where his only purpose was to support the family around him and nothing else. Feeling unsatisfied with that made him a depressed outcast with little to find joy in.
Done in a paragraph, details not with standing.
Other Pill he woke up as a cockroach, his dad beat him with apples, his sister still cared for him when he was a burden. Kafka was a depressed man living in a culture where his only purpose was to support the family around him and nothing else. Feeling unsatisfied with that made him a depressed outcast with little to find joy in.
Done in a paragraph, details not with standing.
I would love an episode on "A hundred years of solitude" by Gabriel García Marquez, my favorite novel
OMG, can you please do Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. I read this in high school and I loved it!
This and the review of “1984” got me to subscribe. I love this channel.
I would love to see you analyze Rime of The Ancient Mariner.
Or A Confederacy of Dunces.
Reading this book now in my English class, this video just makes the book better to enjoy
I would really appreciate an analysis of "Steppenwolf" by Hermann Hesse.
You sir are a genius in teaching people a story
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.
Soon! Early November-ish. shh! it's a secret. ;)
YES! Finally doing some Kafka. My all-time fav. author.
Would Edgar Allen Poe be too short for a Thug Notes episode? I've love a program on The Fall of the House of Usher or The Raven.
How have I just discovered this channel now, where has it been all my life?
I read somewhere that this was meant to be funny. Kafka has a unique sense of humour.
Dramedy.
Jonathan Vance here's an article I picked to confirm my bias. neonostalgia.com/?p=39
actually i know that some people do find it laugh-out-loud funny... not the whole thing of course but some scenes :)
Maybe more people would find it funny if we understood what it was actually supposed to be about lol
Relax_Guy Kafka had no sense of humour whatsoever, dawg.
Just finished reading the book. It was so depressing. It hit home so hard, I cried.
y'all should watch the video on the author by the school of life, it really gives more context to the story
This is like finding a jewel on UA-cam. Wisecrack keep it up buddy.
Please do "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" by Friedrich Nietzsche
Here are some suggestions-
In Cold Blood-Truman Capote
Norwegian Wood-Haruki Murakami
American Psycho-Bret Easton Ellis
One the Road-Jack Kerouac
One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest-Ken Kesey
The Bell Jar-Sylvia Plath
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas-Hunter S Thompson
wow I love your videos, but I think you missed the WHOOOLE point. It was about the stigma surrounding depression and mental illnesses at that time (even now, but it was much worse then). That was the reason he felt so ugly and drawn to isolation, he wasn't an ACTUAL bug lol and that's why his family acted that way because they didn't believe it was a "real" illness. The way he described depression and all the horror that comes with it was just nothing short of brilliant, I love that book.
Ehhh... While you can surely interpret the story in any number of ways, there's simply no doubt that one of the main themes that Kafka intended to comment on was how the continuous demands of modern work life result in the isolation and dehumanization of the individual. In Gregor's case, a literal dehumanization.
You can read the story as a lesson about mental illness leading to isolation, or how monetary dependency from disabilities impact relationships, or a whole lot of other things. The mental illness angle is quite a lot harder to square than the dehumanization from work demands though. If his family don't believe it's a real illness, why are they so terrified of him? The mother passes out at the sight of him, the father attacks him, his supervisor from work flees in terror. They seem quite convinced of the illness.
In fact, Gregor is the only person who is relatively undisturbed by his transformation. He expresses disgust upon seeing himself the first time, and then he accepts it and immediately begins to panic that he will be late for work. He is so consumed with the need to make money, that his worries about missing his train and being fired supersede his concern of being turned into a giant bug. He spends the entire first chapter desperately scrambling to get to work and explain to his supervisor why he will work extra hard if he just puts in a good word for him with the boss.
Nearly everything in the story is tied in some way to earning money. Gregor works relentlessly to support his family who no longer appreciate even this support. Gregor has to do this because his father's business supposedly went totally bust (something which we later find was a lie). Grete and the father both undergo drastic changes in personality as a result of taking on jobs. They feel that they cannot afford to pay for their current apartment, so they take in lodgers. The lodgers refuse to pay because they see Gregor. The family decides he needs to die because they can't monetarily sustain their situation.
Everything in the story is tied to work, financial dependence, being trapped by debt, having absurdly demanding bosses who show up at your home the minute you're late, working long, isolated hours on the road.
On top of that... This is just an absolutely pervasive theme throughout Kafka's work. It's very clear that he dedicated a good deal of effort to criticizing the modern work life and the over complicated bureaucratic systems which must inevitably isolate and thereby dehumanize the participants who make it up, none of whom seem to particularly know how the system works or what their place in it is.
Again, the depression angle can work, and if that's what you take from it, that's great. That's what's great about art. Different people relate to the same things in very different ways. To say though that someone "missed the point" when you have a non-standard reading of the work is kind of ironic though. You should probably leave room for other interpretations of a complex piece of art. If it were only about one thing, it likely would not have survived a century of analysis.
Yeah you know what, you're right. I can admit that. And I wasn't being pretentious about missing the point, I just thought the ugliness of the illness was described so masterfully that it was a shame if anyone didn't see it, but 100% agree about the interpretations.
takopulpfiction depression and dehuminization are not mutually exclusive. If a piece of artwork makes you take away a certain interpretation, that feeling is valid. There is no wrong way to interpret art. Even readings that are antithetic to the authors intent.
@@troliol dude... perfect
Awesome episode! Love them all, but this one really rocked it.
Do The World According to Garp by John Irving.
Great one!
Thank you so much! This was my favorite book to read in my senior English class in high school! You really did it justice :)
Can you do Julius Caesar please? :)
Yup
WHERE WAS THIS WHEN I NEEDED IT FOR SCHOOL??!!?!!? MAD PROPS DEAR SIR!!! MAD PROPS!!!
the left hand of darkness by ursula k. le guin
Hi ^^
I'm from Algeria & I learn a lot form your videos with your sense of humor .. u just make it enjoyable to read , everytime I read a book I come to check ur analysis ~ thank you so much !
I have no mouth and I mush scream!
I have no mouth and I must scream!
I hear ya!
Haku Ubaka "Repent, Harlequin!", said the Tick Tock Man.
bless this channel my AP lit exam is tomorrow
This book is sad. If you get bent and broken most people stop treating you like a person. Your just one more liability, a painful load they have to carry! Is that what we want to be as a society? That's how it is and will be until we allow that all people deserve to be treated will love and respect. That war vet thats laying about, that guy you know who got wrecked in a car accident, or someone born broken are all people. Thank God for every day that's not you, and give them your love and respect, not your pity and derision. Not a preach, just think about it.
'The Trial' by Kafka is also one that impressed me!
"The Last Unicorn" by Peter S. Beagle
Please!!!! =^-^=
Ever think about doing a book club? Like every week you could do a really quick video where you talk about what insight the commenters seemed to get from the book a couple chapters at a time, maybe get another host for that part, maybe even get guests who already read the book in the final episode of each book or something. I dunno, just a thought, I love what you're doing with this channel, so I'd like anything that would make more of it haha
I know of one theory that speculates this is how the family would react if Gregor was homosexual.
One of my favorite books and made it into a Thug Notes video, great start to today
Sisyphus reference @ 2:47
+gameprojectX I was literally thinking the same thing!!
Captain Obvious strikes again!
Such a great reminder for me, a favourite from such a long time ago.