Kafka vs Brecht

The words freedom and control for most people generally intwine. We tend to define freedom as having control over decisions concerning our lives. Typically we would rather be a boss controlling the lives of our employees than an actual employee under the control of the boss. Though we generally have a rough overview of what is to be control versus in control, we don’t particularly analyze the various themes of freedom and control. While comparing and contrasting the short story Metamorphosis, plays in Fear and Misery in the Third Reich, and a play by Wilfred Owen I was able to evaluate and scrutinize such matters.

Granting each piece addressed freedom and control in different ways, ranging from the constraints and responsibilities of family life to the constant eyes of watchdogs in a terror regime, it can be stated pretty accurately that freedom is a privilege not easily acquire while control is an act not actively wanted. In the short story Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka the themes of freedom and control generally centered around the main character Gregor.

Gregor’s metamorphosis into a gigantic bug in the beginning of the story depicted both the controlling aspects of his life and his liberation or freedom the transformation actually brought. Gregor worked as a commercial traveler for the company to whom his father owed money.

Gregor did not love his job, but did it as an necessity to help pay off his his father’s debt while relying on it as a source of income to support his parents and sister.

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” I am subjected to this torment of traveling, to the worries about train connections, the bad meals at irregular hours…”(Meta.: 12). Regularly during the first few pages of the story, Gregor describes his job as “tiring” and cruel”. In many ways Gregor was a slave to his family, but controlled by his occupation. There was no conventional escape for him. Not listening to his boss or quitting his job would strained his family financially. When Gregor transformed into a bug, although scary at the time, it freed him from the bonds of control even when guilt lingered. “At first whenever the need for earning money was mentioned Gregor let go his hold on the door and threw himself down on the cool leather sofa beside it, he felt so hot with shame and grief” (Meta.:24). He was now free of his tiring job, and most importantly it relinquished his responsibilities to his family. Gregor had become more than a bug, but rather an individual. He had spent his entire life relying on the decisions of others, but now could be truly alive.

Gregor’s metamorphosis did not only affect him, but changed the dynamic power struggles within his family. Gregor’s parents and sister had largely depended on Gregor, and in some sense Gregor had controlled their lives. With Gregor’s change the family had gradually become totally independent. Not only that, but his death had brought along newfound freedom. No longer were they hiding the creature inside their foyer from guests, or constantly contemplating what to do with him. As stated before, in modern society today we tend to discuss much on the themes of freedom and control. Looking at different societies and time periods, we have analyzed the differences in being controlled and being free. In Bertolt Brecht’s piece, Fear and Misery of the Third Reich, through a series of plays, we as readers are able to slipped into the conscious minds of Nazi Germany. Unlike the story Metamorphosis, freedom and control was addressed in more societal ways. The Nazi state guided by racist and radical principles, eliminated all individual rights and freedoms, even for the Aryan race which in comparison was supposed to “Free” compared to Jews, Blacks and homosexuals. Through Brecht’s plays we are able to see there was no freedom for anybody, even the ones loyal to the Nazi cause and agenda. For example, let’s take a look at the play titled The Spy’.

The play begins on a Sunday afternoon where a close-knit family have just finished having lunch. What starts out as minor bickering turns into full blown hysteria and fear. The father first begins by canceling plans he and his wife had with another married couple. It is pretty evident the father is in a poor mood, and it is no surprise when he starts complaining. His first complaints start with the weather then gradually move to what is being reported in the newspapers. “Do you really think it’s sensible to go round making remarks that?” ( Fear and Misery.:54). The mother insists he should not be talking about such things around their son, but the father continues to complain. After a while they realized their son has left their apartment without telling them. They begin to panic and fear as to where he possibly could of gone. Knowing their son is part of the Hitler youth group, thoughts of betrayal and distrust run through their heads. What if their son had gone to report them to the authorities? “Suppose he goes around telling people?…I’d like to know how much he heard” (Fear and Misery.:56).

The father and mother replay over and over the events of the day, in hopes they did said and did nothing wrong. As the play draws to the end the boy comes back, informing them them he had only left to buy some chocolate with the money his father had given him. Ultimately at the end of the play, the parents are relieved, but the message is pretty clear for readers. Bertolt Brecht named his book Fear and Misery of the Third Reich because it truly was fear and misery living in Nazi Germany. Even within their own home, citizens like the father and mother had no freedom as to their own opinions and thoughts, but lived controlled physically and mentally by regime. Similar to Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, our next piece, a poem written by Wilfred Owen titled S.I.W examines the controls of an individual’s duties and responsibilities versus the freedom of individuality. The poem recounts the life of a young soldier named Tim. Tim is pressured by his family to join the war and fight. In his letters home, Tim tells his family nothing about his current circumstances or that he is miserable. He insteads writes to them that he is safe and sound in a Y.M. hut, rather than huddled in a wet and cold trench.

No longer able to deal with bombs blowing up next to him and his nerves constantly strain, Tim commits suicide by killing himself with his own rifle. His family never finds out about his manner of death and instead received a letter saying “Tim died smiling.” Looking deeper it’s evident that Tim was greatly pressured by his family to serve, particularly by his father. “Father would sooner him dead than in disgrace”. Line by line you get the sense Tim feels very trapped in his role as soldier. He is filled with tension and his mind is disintegrating at a rapid pace.” his mother whimpered how she’d fret until he got a nice safe wound to nurse’. Since his family wants to believe that their boy is safe, they pressured the soldier to lie to them. “Death sooner than dishonour, that’s the style!” the father is quoted saying. For Tim he can’t just quit or go AWOL, because the stigma of his father and those around him would be too great. Feeling suffocated and nowhere to turn to, the only way for Tim to escape this nightmare and gain freedom was through death. To conclude, through our analysis of the three readings we were able to compare and contrast the two themes of freedom and control.

In Metamorphosis, the main character Gregor was controlled by his job and duties to his family, and only gained freedom once he transformed into a bug. Similarly, like Metamorphosis, the soldier Tim is pressured and controlled by his family to be patriotic and fight, but ultimately gains his freedom through death. In contrast, from the series of plays as told in Fear and Misery in the Third Reich control was a tactic used by the regime, and freedom was privilege led to believe you had, but truly didn’t. The themes of freedom and control addressed though the three pieces were able to depict the variety of ways which both actions could take and transpire.