American Horror Story: Gregor

So I know the newest season of American Horror Story just aired a week ago, but since I don't have cable and am still on season 4, I thought I'd share what occurred to me while watching Freak Show alongside reading The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Needless to say, there'll be ***spoilers***.

At the beginning of the season, we are introduced to a scary clown that terrorizes the 1950s town of Jupiter, Florida. He looks bedraggled, wears a mask covering his mouth, and carries a knapsack of equally dirty clubs and other simplified weapons. In the first few minutes of the show, we watch him viciously attack an innocent couple; killing one and kidnapping the other. However, a few episodes later, we learn about this character's past. It turns out this is just a simple-minded, misunderstood character. He mentions he was dropped on his head as a child, which explains things, and it's made clear that his intentions are innocent. Of course, this shouldn't excuse his actions, but it makes the audience sympathize with him to an extent. After being ridiculed all his life and taken advantage of for simply entertaining children, he's banished from the circus and turns to kidnapping children to enjoy his act. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to see the wrong in this. One thing that adds to the ambiguity of his character is the fact that he wears a mask, under which are the deformed remains of his face. Because he has a large, bloody hole where his mouth used to be, he's unable to communicate with others. This menacing exterior, on top of his strange actions, all reminded me of Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis. 

The first similarity I found between the two was that both transformed into their "monster" forms against their will or unknowingly, and consequently overlook this change altogether. At first, the reaction of Gregor's family struck us as insensitive, yet it's important to remember that he had, in fact, transformed into a giant insect. In the case of the clown, he's unaware that he's done anything wrong once he stops simply entertaining children and moves to drastic measures like killing their families, who are obstacles to him. Of course, Gregor isn't a murderer, but, like the clown, he values his old lifestyle of traveling salesman over the obvious changes that have occurred. Secondly, both have trouble communicating with the people around them on the physical level: Gregor no longer has vocal cords and the clown no longer has a normal mouth. However, they both still try to make their intentions clear, which unfortunately comes off as a bunch of undecipherable noise. Lastly, they both look pretty menacing, and the other characters are relieved once they die. When Gregor dies, his family is actually overjoyed, now excited by what the future has in store. Similarly, once the clown dies, the town gets to relax a little.

Overall, I don't know if I'm reaching, but I definitely saw some parallels between these two story lines. Also, we mentioned that The Metamorphosis may very possibly be about Gregor's family, not Gregor himself, and that's also true in Freak Show. The majority of the plot is centered around the main characters in said Freak Show, and the clown pops up every once in a while to add some terror.

The Sun Also Riseth

At the beginning of this unit, we took some time to read the epigraphs at the start of the book. They are:

"You are all a lost generation." - Gertrude Stein in conversation

"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever ... The sun also riseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to the place where he arose ... The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it wirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. ... All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again." - Ecclesiastes

Originally, we were all pretty confused on the purpose of these two quotes and how they related to the novel. However, we now had a hunch as to where the title came from. Upon reading this, I was intrigued by what the novel would entail. A short while in, however, I realized it would be much more ambiguous than I had bargained for. The Sun Also Rises follows a castrated man by the name of Jake Barnes, and his unfulfilling monotonous routine of life in Paris. He's in love with a woman, Brett, but of course she's very sexually promiscuous and satisfies her needs with men that are not Jake. The book hints that they met many years ago, and Jake is still tormented yet infatuated by her presence. The author makes it clear that he's not interested in any other women, especially not sexually, than Brett. 

All this made me wonder why the book is called what it is. From the Ecclesiastes quote, it is pretty clear that humans are just pawns in the bigger picture of the world. This made me consider the fact that The Sun Also Rises takes place right after the war, and Jake has lost a lot (specifically, his ability to reproduce). Though not all WWI veterans came out like he did, Jake represents the aimlessness and wandering of the Lost Generation. Like many others around him, he drinks and parties to dull the pain. However, he is never really happy when doing these things. He mentions repeatedly how the people he's surrounded by, his "friends," irritate him constantly. On numerous occasions, he expresses his distaste for a situation, then turns to alcohol as a way of comfort. When he sees the gay men dancing with Brett, he is so frustrated that he has to leave. "I walked down the street and had a beer at the bar at the next Bal. The beer was not good and I had a worse cognac to take the taste out of my mouth" (20). However, there are also times when he enjoys drinking. When Jake takes his vacation in San Sebastian, we get to see how being by himself changes his mindset. "I drank a bottle of wine for company. It was a Château Margaux. It was pleasant to be drinking slowly and to be tasting the wine and to be drinking alone" (232-33). 

Overall, I think the reason for Ernest Hemingway including the Ecclesiastes quote is to hint at the general theme of this book. Jake, a lone soul who literally lost a generation (he's no longer able to produce any offspring), finds himself in a meaningless loop of existence. However, the novel ends on a relatively positive note. Brett and him are finally happy with each other's company, and are optimistic about their roles in society. I also think it is significant that the last page of the book emphasizes how "hot and bright" it is outside. As a matter of fact, Hemingway says this twice. It looks like the sun has risen after all.