Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Comparison - Essay Example At the same time, the tables are turned, and he depends on his family and assistance and care from his sister while it used to be the other way round; hence, the family which was dependent on him has to start working again. The play Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe follows the life of a young boy who is caught robbing a bakery by the law enforcers, and this lands him a place at the prison school at Ruxton Towers. The living conditions at the Borstal are tough and Smith seeks solace in long-distance running to escape from these circumstances. He attracts the attention of the school authorities who promise early to release from the brutality of Borstal if he wins an important cross-country championship. Smith has all the reasons and the powers to win the competition, but on an interesting turn of events, he deliberately loses the race to the dismay of spectators and school authorities. The two stories seek to present the social problems faced by the society, whic h are social and emotional alienation, loneliness as demonstrated by the main characters. Both authors, Kafka and Sillitoe explore effective use of metaphor to address these issues and present them to the audience. While Kafka uses vermin, Sillitoe uses running. Both are demonstrated throughout the respective stories in examining major obstacles faced by the characters. Therefore, the metaphors are used to convey the actions of the characters, Samsa and Smith, and how they interact with them to achieve the purpose of the stories. Kafka is one of the greatest German writers, famous for writing technique that unites concrete and figurative language in order to demonstrate purpose and idea. As such, amazing use of metaphor in writing is one of the significant elements of his writing techniques. In the story Metamorphosis, he does not fail short of this technique, which he uses to convey the social problems in the society through the main character. Kafka uses metaphor to represent or r eveal the relationship between people or characters in the story, in which he uses vermin. The first metaphor in this story is metamorphosis itself whereby Samsa suddenly changes to a monstrous insect one morning. Samsa contributes a great deal to the enhancement of the metaphor of metamorphosis because, despite unusual transformation, he does not stop to question why and how it could be possible. Metamorphosis is a metaphor because it is unrealistic for human beings to transform into insects, but Samsa accepts this situation fairly, readily without questioning the reality or logic behind this matter. This direction taken by the main character is peculiar because normal human nature would seek inquiry to explain the transformation. This lack of query is unusual, and one could argue that the transformation occurred mentally and not physically. The transformation into a beetle represents the life in Samsa’s family, as well as a reflection of his own life. Samsa provides for his family the same way an insect would provide for the rest of the members; thus, the transformation represents his role in the family. He is so much concerned with work and provision for his family that he does not even have hobbies or real friends, let alone a good friendship with his own family. This behavior can be compared to that of an insect, and thus, Samsa successfully delivers the purpose of the story with the aid of the metaphor. Another metaphor in this story is communication in the Samsa family. Kafka uses metap