Long

Jake Long

Ms. Phillips

English 10 Honors

March 6, 2011

Centuries of Struggles

“Where there is no struggle, there is no strength” (Winfrey). People have been abused

and maltreated for thousands of years now, but one of the biggest hurdles to beat is

discrimination. When you are not treated as a person, you lose self-dignity and love for yourself.

You cannot beat discrimination alone and you have to fight for survival. In Franz Kafka’s, The

Metamorphosis, the struggles of those outcasted from society and the struggles of blacks in the

1980’s are relative because they were dehumanized, abused, and shunned by society.

There are many reasons why people who do not fit in society and blacks in the 1980’s

were dehumanized. When a member of the minority group dies, the majority group rejoices.

When Gregor dies, his family feels like a burden is lifted off their shoulders, “Well, thanks be to

God” (Kafka 1997). Both parties are driven by desire to be equal to others, show they are people

too, and do things that would make their families proud. Gregor still has human emotions, even

if his family did not believe it “Drawn by her playing, Gregor ventured… into the living room”

(Kafka 1992). Both people outcasted from society and blacks in the 1980’ are being injured and

even killed struggling to get this equality.

People outcasted from society and blacks in the 1980’s have been abused for centuries.

They have been left in the dust and left alone to die. People have their injuries talked about like

it is a joke or if they do not care: “his left side seemed to be one long scar; it pulled unpleasantly,

and he was reduced to limping on his twin rows of legs” (Kafka 1976). They are driven by

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desire to overcome their injuries and prevail over the wrongdoers, to fight back and stop the pain

for themselves and their families, and prove their value as human beings. The wrongdoers have

no respect or care for the people they are fighting, even if they are a family like in Gregors

situation. His family got to they point where they wanted him dead, even though he was a

member of the family, “We must somehow get rid of it” (Kafka 1995). This makes Gregor feel

even more alone in defending himself and shows that no one is there to help him. Both people

outcasted from society and blacks in the 1980’s have been struggling to overcome the hardships

of being abused.

There are many ways that people who do not fit in society and blacks in the 1980’s can

overcome being shunned by society, but there is one big way. They must band together to

overcome racism, because there is strength in numbers. When people band together, they are

not shunning one person, they are shunning a big group of people: “He that shuns trifles must

shun the world” (Chapman “Shunned quotes”). When you shun someone it changes the world

and makes it darker and creates less togetherness. The world cannot be bound together if we are

shunning people in society.It is just like a crab dying in a pot, it is like a disease and everyone

sort of joins in, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (King “African American

Quotes”). They are driven by desire to be socially accepted, for equality, and band together for

survival.

In Franz Kafkas, The Metamorphosis, the struggles of the people who do not fit in to

society and the struggles of blacks in the 1980’s show how both were dehumanized, how they

have been abused and treated wrong their whole lives, and how they are shunned by society. If

you really want to stop people from being racist and discriminatory towards others, it takes

leadership, compassion and hardwork. If you are not a part of the effort to stop it, then you are a

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part of the problem. This is how the struggles and hardships of people who do not fit in society

and blacks in the 1980’s struggles are the same.

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Works Cited

Kafka, Franz. "The Metamorphasis." The Norton Anthology of Western Literature. By Sarah

Lawall. London: W.W. Norton &, 2006. 1966-999. Print.

Chapman, George. "Shun Quotes - BrainyQuote." Famous Quotes at BrainyQuote. 17 Feb.

2011. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/betray.html>.

King, Jr., Martin L. "Martin Luther King, Jr.::African American Quotes." Welcome to African

American Quotes.com. 5 Oct. 2007. Web. 09 Mar. 2011.

<http://africanamericanquotes.org/martin-luther-king-jr..html>.

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