... in Metamorphosis and The Death of Ivan Ilyich Several themes occur in both Franz Kafka's, Metmorphosis and Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich, however the way in which these themes are presented and the meanings associated with them vary in each work. Isolation, materialism, and self discovery are ideas found in both pieces of literature. Both works have a constant theme of isolation. In Kafka's ... Ivan feels is in part self-inflicted. Economic livelihood and the importance of material possessions play a part in both of the stories. In Metamorphosis Gregor is almost enslaved by forc...

• Word Count: 1195
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... Along with a rapid explosion in scientific knowledge came a new form of relating man to the world. The modern rationalist, contrary to the earlier realist, sought understanding not by returning to nature, but by explaining it through the mathematics of physical, chemical, and biological law. Kafka, in The Metamorphosis, chooses to focus on an interesting side-effect of a world explained by science. Gregor ... serves as a vehicle to show the isolated alienation caused by the longing for real human connection in a world related through cold numbers. Once ... again, as did Voltaire and To...

• Word Count: 953
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate