In “Parable of the Prodigal Son,” the term prodigal is used for someone who lives a wasteful lifestyle. We read that the younger son approaches his father and asks for his portion of “the goods that falleth to me,” or a portion of his future inheritance from his father. The younger son takes the inheritance to “a far country” where he wastes everything on a riotous life (pg. 230). Once the son loses everything, there is a famine in the “far country” which eventually causes the son to move back to his father. When the son returned to his father, his father welcomed him with open arms.
In “Parable of the Prodigal Son,” the younger son goes to his father with the intentions of saying “Father I have sinned against Heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son; make me as one of thy hired servants” (pg. 230-231). The prodigal son thought his father was not going to accept him back as his son, instead the son believed the father would force him to be a servant. Instead the father accepted the son with open arms and compassion. The father demanded the servants to gather the best robes, place a ring on his hand, put shoes on his feet, and to bring a fatted calf so they can kill it and eat it. The son was expecting his father to resent him, instead his father graciously accepted him.
In D. H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking Horse Winner” we read a short story about a young boy named Paul who can predict the winner of a horse race by riding his rocking horse. Once the family finds out about this, we can see that they begin to value wealth over family relationships. At the end of the story, we read “And even as he lay dead, his mother heard her brother’s voice saying to her: ““My God, Hester, you’re eighty-odd thousand to the good, and a poor devil of a son to the bad…he’s best gone out of life where he rides his rocking-horse to find a winner”” (par. 244). The family used Paul’s powers to gain their own wealth, but once Paul died, nobody mourned his loss. Family members were fixated on winning the races and making money, not caring for how it would affect the rest of the family.
In “The Chrysanthemums,” Jon Steinbeck describes the protagonist, Elisa, as “She was thirty-five. Her face was lean and strong and her eyes were clear as water. Her figure looked blocked and heavy in her gardening costume, a man’s black hat pulled low down over her eyes, clodhopper shoes, a figured print dress covered almost completely covered by a big corduroy apron” (par. 5). Elisa is an attractive woman, yet she is limited in her capabilities because she is a woman. Men are supposed to make business transactions, take care of the farm, perform manual labor, and provide for the household. Women are not supposed to do any of this; instead they should tend to the house and please their husband. Secretly Elisa wants to prove that she can work the farm, fix her own pots and pans, and perform tasks like men can. In this time period, because she is a woman, Elisa is not “allowed” to do any of this.
In “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, we follow the protagonist, Connie, on a strange journey that leads to her death. Connie’s father spent most of his time at work and when he got home he would read the newspaper, eat dinner, and then go to bed (par. 3). Connie’s mother acted condescending towards her, making fun of her eyebrows and telling her to stop looking at herself in the mirror all day (par. 1). Connie had a strained relationship with her parents, because of this; Connie wanted to spend time by herself exploring her independence. Connie begins to be stalked by a man named Arnold and his friend named Ellie. After Connie decided to skip a family barbeque, Arnold and Ellie appeared at Connie’s house asking to go on a ride. Connie refuses Arnolds offer, this leads to Arnold stabbing Connie and kidnapping her. Connie choose to stay home by herself to get away from her parents, now Connie will never see her parents again. Oates is informing parents to create a relationship with your children, because you never know when you last day with them will be.
In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Anne Porter, the grandma’s last name is Weatherall. This is symbolic because Granny has the ability to be strong and withstand anything that may come her way, hence the name Weatherall. Granny Weatherall is strong and courageous, and she is not afraid of death, claiming that she has been ready to go for nearly forty years. We read, “Since the day the wedding cake was not cut, but thrown out and wasted. The whole bottom dropped out of the world” implying that her fiancé left her standing alone at the altar (par. 49). Granny Weatherall raised numerous children, taken care of her home, and has been the one to call in need of help. Granny Weatherall has truly weathered all situations that have come her way.
The largest similarity between “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” and “My Grandmother’s Love Letters” is how younger generations of the family are taking care of the older generations. Both stories involve a grandmother who is declining in health or has already passed. Granny Weatherall in “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” is physically incapable of caring for herself and she is beginning to lose muscle functions “I’m chilly…laying in bed stops the [blood] circulation” (par. 23). The grandmother in “My Grandmother’s Love Letters” is suffering from a mental illness, most likely dementia or Alzheimer’s, because we read “Yet I would lead my grandmother by the hand through much of what she would not understand; and so I stumble” (line 23-24). With these disabilities, these grandparents are left in the care of family members from younger generations.
In “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, we read a short story about a salesman named Gregor Samsa who wakes up one morning as an insect. Gregor has undergone a metamorphosis and he transformed from a normal human to a insect that can no longer care for his family like he once did. Gregor was the only member of the family that had a job; his parents and his sister all relied on him for financial support. Upon learning about Gregor’s metamorphosis, the family was slightly accepting, but as time went on they became more and more reluctant of the change. Eventually, Gregor’s father and sister had to take jobs in order to pay the finances. I believe “The Metamorphosis” is a symbol towards beggars and how they should not rely solely on others in life. Just like Mr. Samsa forced the three gentlemen (beggars) out of their house, Gregor’s death forced the family from a life of begging to a life of work (par. 95).
In “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, the entire story takes place in the Samsa’s apartment. The story begins after Gregor’s transformation from human to insect inside his small bedroom. Gregor was the sole provider for the family and his transformation now makes it impossible for him to make money, leaving the family responsible for making their own money. Gregor’s transformation in his small bedroom symbolizes his separation from the outside world. Gregor can look out his window, but nobody is able to help him throughout his sudden change. We see that his family becomes more and more resentful of his presence and they begin to wish he were gone. “We’ve got to try to get rid of it. We’ve done everything humanly possible to take care of it and put up with it; I don’t think anyone can blame us in the least” (par. 77). Being trapped in his small apartment shows Gregor’s isolation from society.
In “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka we see Grete’s, Gregor’s sister, transition overtime throughout the short story. At the beginning of the story we see Grete caring for Gregor after his metamorphosis. She notices that Gregor does not eat his food after his change so she gives him rotting food scraps. At the beginning of the story she is sympathetic and caring for his change, but we see her begin to despise Gregor. Grete has to get a job and pick up other responsibilities in order to care for her family since Gregor is no longer supporting them. Grete believes that the monster has taken over Gregor and he is no longer her brother, instead he is a monster that has consumed her family’s life. She begins to hate who Gregor has become exclaiming “We’ve got to try to get rid of it. We’ve done everything humanly possible to take care of it and put up with it; I don’t think anyone can blame us in the least” (par. 77). She has had to live with Gregor for quite a while and she has became sick of taking care of him, she believes that their life would be better without Gregor in it. After Gregor’s death, the family is relieved and they believe that they can now move out of their ran down apartment and move on with their lives. The story closes with the parents noticing how their daughter has developed since Gregor’s metamorphosis. “They watched their daughter become more and more vivacious, that in spite of the recent troubles that had turned her cheeks pale, she had blossomed into a pretty and shapely girl” (par. 98).