Alienation in “The Dead” and “Metamorphosis”

Alienation in “The Dead” and “Metamorphosis”

In both Joyce's The Dead, and Kafka's Metamorphosis, the central character is suffering from a severe alienation about their self. Gabriel, in Joyce's The Dead, believes he is the one true love in Gretta's life. When this deception is shown Gabriel’s world becomes shattered. Also, in The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samka realizes that he is only a pain in society, and his whole life is changed in self-esteem. The importance of self knowledge becomes apparent in these two tales.
In The Dead, James Joyce, shows the life of a man loaded with self deception. Gabriel is secure in the knowledge that he is smarter than his companions, and that he is on a social level far apart from the people around him. Gabriel states "He was undecided about the lines from Robert Browning for he feared that they would be above the heads of his hearers" (Dead, 1948). He ranks his superior knowledge and social precision above the rest of his ...