The theme this week involves the human condition of making major life decisions, and the effects on our psyche when we feel trapped, helpless, or unable to make decisions that affect our own lives. We may not wake up as a literal insect, as is the case in Kafke’s “Metamorphosis”, but we have all been carried along by circumstances at some point in our lives. In the Metamorphosis, the main character may look forward to his fate as a form of escape, and we never really know how deep the metaphor goes. Is Gregor Samsa a literal insect; did he turn into a giant cockroach? Or did he suffer a mental break, and this is his mind’s method of coping with stress? These are some of the questions left for the reader to decide, and some of the topics that teachers may discuss with their students.
In Goethe’s “Faust”, we meet a protagonist who makes a deal with the devil. He sells his soul in exchange for knowledge and power. Unlike the helplessness of Kafke’s Gregor Samsa, Doctor Faust enters the bargain intentionally. However, the story is still steeped in metaphor, and causes the reader to imagine what they would give up in life in order to get what they want. Again, people make these decisions all the time, whether consciously or not. The news is filled with stories of politicians and CEO’s who sell their own souls in the form of turning their backs on ethics and morals in order to obtain money or power. A teacher might ask students if they would enter a Faustian bargain to get straight A’s, or score a 1600 on their SAT’s. If so, what would they be willing to give up in return?
Mokeymark 101 
