#just the change from samsa to passion

[misterxsamsa]

There's many references found within JTHM, but I'm especially intrigued by the ones to Kafka's Metamorphosis and The Fly by David Cronenberg. They tie into Johnny's character progression very interestingly, alongside his idealization of Mister Samsa, and relationship with Reverend Meat following his death and ressurection.

At the start of the comics, Johnny is evidently a self-indulgent person, whether he'd honestly admit that to himself or not. While he attributes his murderous tendencies as nessecary for the blood wall's ends, or justified due to his misanthropic philosophies, it's largely for his own amusement. This self-indulgence is ultimately what drives him to try and kill Devi, and successfully murder his other numerous dates before her. He's incredibly starved of happiness, catharsis, and connection. So, he seeks to preserve that fleeting bliss by killing those who provide him these things he covets. He "protects" these emotional resources before they can be tainted by his flaws, or the agency of the person he's murdering. Throughout the comic, he allows his self-indulgence to control and consume his entire life, or what's left of it. It's this weakness that allows the Lovecraftian wall beast to securely latch onto his deteriorating mind without his notice. Not only that, but his lingering obsession with Devi continues to haunt him even after the last issue. It forces him into a painful self-awareness, about his own selfishness and dependency on others for the closeness they offer, despite his monologuing otherwise. Johnny destroyed something he cared about through his own irrational, and human desire. By the time he reaches this conclusion, he's barely even passionate about killing anymore.

His self-indulgence also takes the form of petulant anger towards humanity at large. By the time he dies, and especially when he visits hell, he begins to realize how self-destructive that misanthropy really was, and how much it distracted him from what was truly important. When he's thrown down into hell, everybody's exactly like him. They're obsessive and explosive about minor inconveniences, inane things. Johnny's able to recognize himself in the eternally damned, just as unaware of their own deterioration as he was, and that recognition chills him to the bone. It's these two experiences that fundamentally cement his hatred of self-indulgence and human desire. Instead of turning his hatred of human qualities onto others through psuedo-intellectual misanthropy, he begins to turn that criticism onto himself.

In his own words, his mind stinks! The longwinded philosophy that once defined him has now rightfully been declared superfluous, and he now seeks to discard it. His own desires for intimacy with others, something he once placated, has now gained a painful association because it's just a reminder of his fundamental distance from others, and the inevitability that he will hurt them. On some level, he's even seemingly aware he didn't truly care for many of the dates he killed. He was simply using them to satiate the desire for the illusion of connection. Through this vein of thought, he learns to admire Mister Samsa, as in Johnny's eyes he's devoid of his human plights, and tendency towards self-indulgent destructiveness. Furthermore, since Mister Samsa is so devoid of thought beyond self-preservation, he is unable to be emotionally damaged, something Johnny desperately aspires to. This is where our friend Franz Kafka and Metamorphosis comes into play, as due to the neutral perspective of JTHM it's easy to misconstrue this as an objectively positive change in thinking. The reality is actually much more complex, in my opinion.

Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis is about the gradual deterioration of Gregor Samsa, who has transformed into a giant bug overnight. As the story progresses, his family begins to not recognize the humanity in Samsa, mistreating and neglecting him until his tragic death. Eventually, Samsa forgets his own humanity as well, his mind and preoccupation receding into that of an insect. He gradually disconnects from his family's continuing lives, and entertains himself with crawling. By naming his house's roaches after Gregor Samsa, and aspiring towards his example, Johnny is repeating his tragedy.

Johnny's previous tendencies towards hypocracy, and self-indulgence hatred, are worth critiquing. However, it's worth asking whether Johnny's new approach is entirely constructive? There's a desire towards self-improvement, however warped, but it's being distorted by his shame and fear. He's casting off his wants to avoid hurting people he may admire, like Devi, but he's also doing it to avoid being hurt himself. If he allows himself to want things, he's setting himself up for the inevitable grief of loss and obsession, again like with Devi. Instead of trying to form a healthy connection with his own psychological and physical needs, Johnny has essentially opted to pretend like they don't exist. This is in spite of the fact that it's still his humanity, his emotions and experiences with relationships, that are driving him towards this decision.

By choosing this path of so-called recovery, he's dooming himself to perpetual loneliness, self-hatred, and dissatisfaction. If Johnny continues to deny these crucial parts of his personhood, it's doubtful whether he will ever reconstruct the version of himself that existed before the consumption caused by his wall demon. With that fact that he aspires to be "as cold as the moon", it's clear that's no longer of complete interest to him, as he doesn't value himself in any capacity. No wonder he's decided to find solidarity within a creature that's devoid of self, given that every cockaroach is declared as "Mister Samsa" to Johnny, because none of them have distinguishing features. He's chosen to follow in the itty bitty footsteps of Mister Samsa or Gregor Samsa, so he'll become as stripped and depleted as they did given enough time. Ironically, his repression and compartmentalization of the parts of himself he cannot escape are what eventually leads to the creation of Reverend Meat. It's very poignant that Johnny describes him as a "different version of Mr. Eff" as that's essentially what he is. They both reflect the different relationships, and fixations Johnny holds towards his own desires at different points in the story.

Previously, Johnny was primarily in the business of joyful escapism through the quenching of his cartoonishly muderous tendencies. Naturally, Mr. Eff enabled that part of Johnny's subconscious to distract and take advantage of him. However, Reverend Meat has no such ulterior motive given he's an authentic, non-sentient part of Johnny's inner dialogue. His purpose narratively is to display the futility of Johnny's quest towards the elimination of his own humanity. Despite his best efforts, he's still weak to the intrusive desires that Reverend Meat encapsulates, and his self-denial has only served to make them stronger. Once again, by refusing to aknowledge and manage his humanity, Johnny has allowed it to control him. Last we see him, he's in a Sisyphean conflict trying to destroy his impulses, while arguing with essentially himself conceptualized as a Burger Boy. Through this venture, he can't eliminate his motivating self-hatred nor Reverend Meat and the part of him he represents, and so his progress becomes somewhat circular. That's an important thing to keep in mind, Reverend Meat is a direct part of Johnny in the same capacity that Nailbunny is. All of Reverend Meat's thoughts are actually just Johnny's, and that applies tenfold to the desires he pushes.

Now, if I didn't already have you convinced let's talk about The Fly by David Cronenberg. It's about a scientist named Seth Brundle who undergoes his own metamorphosis, similarly to Gregor Samsa and Johnny. He accidentally fuses his DNA with that of a fly's while testing out his invention that will revolutionize human teleportation. While he's physically and mentally deteriorating from the botched experiment, he becomes erratic and irate in response to concern. In his mind, the teleportation process and deconstruction of himself on a molecular level was a form of transcendance. He's evolving beyond what humans can naturally be, and their baseline capabilities, into something more. He's talking about a "penetration beyond the veil of the flesh" — doesn't that sound familiar?

[SURPRISE, THIS WAS SECRETLY A TESS POST!]

By quoting The Fly in this context, Jhonen's not only covertly signaling the destructive nature of Johnny's self-denial, but establishing Johnny's aversion to physical intimacy in this panel as well. This is also when Mister Samsa makes his first appearence, and where we begin to come full circle. See, Johnny's not the only character shown to go through a Kafkaesque metamorphosis throughout the comics. There's another key player to the discussion of JTHM's relationship with Kafka, and that's Tess! Yes, really! So, it only makes sense that in this vignette where she speaks with Johnny, she's inextricably tied to JTHM's themes of transformation through The Fly and Metamorphosis.

Tess is introduced to the story, and Johnny's insanity, through the unsavory company she consistently finds herself around. She's a people pleaser that's good at heart, but struggles with feelings of social alienation, and engaging in the ridicule of others when succumbing to peer pressure. However, during her time kidnapped by Johnny she's able to gain perspective on herself and the people around her. She faces her own mortality, escapes the grasp of a world-ending Lovecraftian abomination, breaks up with her shitty boyfriend, all while learning to stand her ground. By the end of the comics, she's a much more assertive and grounded person, and seemingly doing well. This is where we circle back to Metamorphosis and talk about Gregor Samsa's sister, Grete. The short story is about her transformation just as much as his, though hers is portrayed as a more positive one. As her brother's condition worsens, she becomes his primary caretaker, and eventually a far more dignified and respected member of the family. She hurts and mistreats Gregor Samsa in the process, but the overall dichotomy between the two is that she excels while he eventually withers away. That's shown best by the fact that the story ends talking about her growth.

There's a similar contrast to be found between her and Johnny. While he chips away at his personhood, putting it through a series of increasingly strict constraints out of his own self-hatred and disgust. Tess is able to healthily overcome her flaws, and change her life for the better through self-acceptance as well as self-critique. Say, when we see her for the very first time, what movie is she seeing...?

Oh, just none other than Kafka! I rest my case!

[ladyaryawolf]

Why Jonsa does not work in the books.

This post is where starts the conflict. Jonsa thoughs. My toughts.

What makes a lot o people ship Jon x Sansa is because of the show, and I can understand it. Ship what you want. It's your right.

It does not mean that people can lie about what happens in the books, or what is cannon by GrrM himself.

D&D gave part of Arya's history and traits to Sansa in the show. Fact.

Jeyne Poole was using Arya's name. She was the one that was abused by Ramsay Balton. This false Arya was the one that the North went into a War, and the one that made Jon Snow break his vows. It was not Sansa who Jon fought and died for.

Ship what you want. You are free to ship. Making paralelles about Cat and Ned with Jonsa. Okay. I am a Jonrya shipper. I make parallels of Jonrya and Lyanna/Rhaegar and Alyssane/Jaehaerys. We are passionate shippers after all, in a fandom where morality is not a big deal the most part of time. You have a mean to make your point, then use it.

But whatever. GrrM said that the show and the books are like different universes. Words of the author. You can't discuss that.

What I can NOT take is people lying about canonic things, and my mind explodes when I read a lot of lies of the books to justify Jonsa.

Like Sansa is Jon's type. Like Jon remembers of Sansa when he met Ygritte. Like Jon and Sansa were always close. Lies!

He compares Ygritte to Arya, tought he addmit they don't even look alike, he never, never tought about Sansa while with Ygritte. He compares Val to Arya.

"They had always been close. Jon had their father’s face, as she did. They were the only ones. Robb and Sansa and Bran and even little Rickon all took after the Tullys, with easy smiles and fire in their hair. When Arya had been little, she had been afraid that meant that she was a bastard too. It had been Jon she had gone to in her fear, and Jon who had reassured her." (Jon, A Game of Thrones).

"And Arya … he missed her even more than Robb, skinny little thing that she was, all scraped knees and tangled hair and torn clothes, so fierce and willful. Arya never seemed to fit, no more than he had … yet she could always make Jon smile. He would give anything to be with her now, to muss up her hair once more and watch her make a face, to hear her finish a sentence with him." (Jon, A Game of Thrones)

"The memory of her laughter warmed him on the long ride north." (Jon, A Game of Thrones) 

"Gods of my fathers, protect these men. And Arya too, my little sister, wherever she might be. I pray you, let Mance find her and bring her safe to me." (Jon, A Dance with Dragons)

"Bring her home, Mance. I saved your son from Melisandre, and now I am about to save four thousand of your free folk. You owe me this one little girl." (Jon, A Dance with Dragons)

“I have no sister.” The words were knives.

"The girl smiled in a way that reminded Jon so much of his little sister that it almost broke his heart." (Jon, A Dance with Dragon)

"What do you know of my heart, priestess? What do you know of my sister? "(Jon, A Dance with Dragons)

The Ygritte comparation:

“Jon could see fear and fire in her eyes. Blood ran down her white throat from where the point of his dirk had pricked her. One thrust and it’s done, he told himself. He was so close he could smell onion on her breath. She is no older than I am. Something about her made him think of Arya, though they looked nothing at all alike. “Will you yield?” he asked, giving the dirk a half turn. And if she doesn’t?” - Jon VI, ACoK 

“Ygritte watched and said nothing. She was older than he’d thought at first, Jon realized; maybe as old as twenty, but short for her age, bandy-legged, with a round face, small hands, and a pug nose. Her shaggy mop of red hair stuck out in all directions. She looked plump as she crouched there, but most of that was layers of fur and wool and leather. Underneath all that she could be as skinny as Arya.” - Jon VI, ACoK

“Ygritte trotted beside Jon as he slowed his garron to a walk. She claimed to be three years older than him, though she stood half a foot shorter; however old she might be, the girl was a tough little thing. Stonesnake had called her a “spearwife” when they’d captured her in the Skirling Pass. She wasn’t wed and her weapon of choice was a short curved bow of horn and weirwood, but “spearwife” fit her all the same. She reminded him a little of his sister Arya, though Arya was younger and probably skinnier. It was hard to tell how plump or thin Ygritte might be, with all the furs and skins she wore.” - Jon II, ASoS

“If you kill a man, and never mean t’, he’s just as dead,” Ygritte said stubbornly. Jon had never met anyone so stubborn, except maybe for his little sister Arya. Is she still my sister? he wondered. Was she ever?” - Jon III, ASoS

When he received the letter of Ramsay

"Jon saw no reason not to tell him. “Moat Cailin is taken. The flayed corpses of the ironmen have been nailed to posts along the kingsroad. Roose Bolton summons all leal lords to Barrowton, to affirm their loyalty to the Iron Throne and celebrate his son’s wedding to…” His heart seemed to stop for a moment. No, that is not possible. She died in King’s Landing, with Father."

"Jon could almost see her in that moment, long-faced and gawky, all knobby knees and sharp elbows, with her dirty face and tangled hair. They would wash the one and comb the other, he did not doubt, but he could not imagine Arya in a wedding gown, nor Ramsay Bolton’s bed. No matter how afraid she is, she will not show it. If he tries to lay a hand on her, she’ll fight him."

"His fingers closed around the parchment. Would that they could crush Ramsay Bolton’s throat as easily." (Jon, a Dance with Dragons).

"Jon felt as stiff as a man of sixty years. Dark dreams, he thought, and guilt. His thoughts kept returning to Arya. There is no way I can help her. I put all kin aside when I said my words. If one of my men told me his sister was in peril, I would tell him that was no concern of his. Once a man had said the words his blood was black. Black as a bastard’s heart. He’d had Mikken make a sword for Arya once, a bravo’s blade, made small to fit her hand. Needle. He wondered if she still had it. Stick them with the pointy end, he’d told her, but if she tried to stick the Bastard, it could mean her life." (Jon, A Dance with Dragons).

• In books the quote “Love is the death of duty” by Maester Aemon is used when Jon decidesld break his vows from nights watch to save “Arya”. Arya is the character Jon loves the most and he thinks on her in every moment.

He dies thinking about Arya:

"Jon fell to his knees. He found the dagger’s hilt and wrenched it free. In the cold night air the wound was smoking. “Ghost,” he whitspered. Pain washed over him. Stick them with the pointy end. When the third dagger took him between the shoulder blades, he gave a grunt and fell face-first into the snow. He never felt the fourth knife. Only the cold…" (Jon, A Dance with Dragons).

George's Interviews:

“At some points, when [Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss] and I had discussions about what way we should go in, I would always favor sticking with the books, while they would favor making changes,” he said. “I think one of the biggest ones would probably be when they made the decision not to bring Catelyn Stark back as Lady Stoneheart. That was probably the first major diversion of the show from the books and, you know, I argued against that, and David and Dan made that decision.” - Time Magazine, 2017

“You have to remember that I started writing this story in 1991 and I first met David and Dan in 2007. I was living with these characters and this world for 16 years before we even started working on the show. They’re pretty fixed in my mind and I’m not going to change anything because of the show, or reaction to the show, or what fans think. I’m just still writing the story that I set out to write in the early 1990s.” - Time Magazine, 2017

My conclusion:

Like I said before. You are free to ship everyone, but not lie about Canon things written by George RR Mantin himself. This is the canonic verse. Jon and Samsa rarely think of each other. Sansa was always distant from him, she regreats it later, but still is a fact. I am not an anti-Sansa. She is not my favorite, i addmit, but anti, for me, is somente idiot that says stupid arguements with insults just to put another character in glory, only because they dislike another, and even refuse to aguement as adults. In another words, those antis are childsh.

There is a lot of people saying that Jon would be good for Sansa and take him out of her is something cruel, as everything that is good for her is fanservice. We agree in disagree. There is no way we could try taking Jon from Sansa, if he was not hers in first place. Like I said, they rarely think of each other, she bullied him when they lived together, she kept distance following Cat's personal opinion. Sansa's fault? No. She was a child seeing her mother's opinions, and following it. It does not change what she have done. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that Jon hates her, but the memories he shares with Sansa during his childhood are not the best. It doesn't mean they won't get along. They will! Of course they will, by all they could know, they would be the lasts of the Starks alive. Sansa might go to Winterfell in TWoW before Arya. Would they get closer? Probably. Will they share the same bond showned on TV show? No. This is bad for her? No. She would be home, with her family. This is bad to you? Sounds terrible? Does it sounds harsh?

Like, other thing that I hate about Jonsa-stans (just a part of them) justifies that she needs someone to make her happy. With all respect, if you think this way about Sansa, you do not like her. Not really. Sansa is much more complex of a character to say that only a romantic relationship with a man could make her happy. She does not need someone else in a romantic way to make her happy. She passed through a hell in King's Landing, and Petyr actions with her can be described only as disgusting. To say the only good thing that could happen to her is a man, you are reducing her character to a simple one. Everything she wants it's to go home. She is smart, kind and clever. Sansa is making Petyr Baelish play in her hands. I don't want Sansa to end up alone. She deserves a lot. She is really strong, in so many ways. Her strengh is not like Arya, Ygritte or Val. It's subtle and delicate, like Margaery in someway. Sansa deserves a man who respects her, a man who loves her with all his heart, a man that carries for her the same way Jon carries for Arya. Uconditionally.

Other thing that I hear is that Jonsa stans always says that, we, Arya-stans, look to Jonsa as threat to Arya, and we all get mad about it. I can't talk in the name of the others. For me, fuck the show. I don't care. I don't even look at the show as part of GrrM work anymore. But what gets me mad as an Arya stan, and a Jonrya shipper is not Jonsa itself. They had chemistry on screen, but in the books they don't have any of it. This is what gets me mad.

It's trying to stole something that belongs to Jon and Arya alone that gets me mad. One of the strongest and purest bonds I have ever seen in books or screen. It doesn't belong to Sansa all this devotion. It's not canon in the books, and annoys me to see tons of people lying and self inserting Sansa in Jon's heart just because they want the books to happen the same way in the show. Forget it. It's not going to happen. A lot of other characters and relationships have been destroyed by D&D, not only Jon & Arya. Write and read fanfics. Ship whatever the hell you want, but don't lie about cononic things. If Jon and Arya get along as a romantic couple or not, does not change that this bond is theirs. Sansa has her own history in the books. Her own importance. She wil be part to take Winterfell back, not the same way she did on the show, but she will be a big part of it. And she is a Stark! The end! Sansa is a southern lady in many ways, but she is Sansa Stark and a princess by her own right, dammit! She says it herself that her strengh comes from the walls within Winterfell!

Thank you to read. I have to be greatful to another posts that helped me to write it. I have to say sorry about my grammar. English is not my first language, but I hope what I wrote was clear to understand. See you soon.

[drmyler]

Kafka - Psychoanalysis

Kafka, Metamorphosis a Psychoanalytical View

 by

 Dr Stephen F Myler PhD

 Abstract:

 Franz Kafka in 1916 wrote a short novella called Metamorphosis (1. Bantam Edition 2004) a book of immense psychological and insightful nightmare into the human condition. Here we will exam Kafka's masterpiece from a psychoanalytical perspective to see that this work was an insightful self examination of depression, mental health and the role of carers when love turns to loathing. To begin our journey for the non-reader of this famous text we will give a brief outline and then turn to the specific role of psychoanalytic insight from Freudian to Burns and beyond.

 Introduction:

 Kafka was born in 1883 a middle class Jewish boy, introverted, shy and inadequate, believed to be a result of a critical father, (2. Letter to his Father 1919) he was later educated in Prague in a German University however he went on in his spare time to write many works of outstanding literature. Here we are not going to delve into detailed life but satisfy ourselves with a small picture of the man as writer. Kafka was very driven and wrote daily through the night with a dedicated passion. Today he might be seen as OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Behaviour) prone to perfectionism. It is his perfectionist emotional driver that made his literature something very special.

 Kafka wrote Metamorphosis in 1916 as a short novella about a young man who was the stalwart of the family, supporting an out of work critical father, a doting mother and childlike sister, in which our hero, Gregor Samsa was not popular at work and under daily stress of travel and deadlines to meet for which he felt a losing battle. In the beginning of the book he awakes from a troubling dream to find he has in fact turned into an ugly giant beetle his mind trapped in an alien body. From this beginning Gregor begins to explore his new limitations and narrow world view, his sight becomes dim, he cannot move without constant pain and great effort. His family are dependent on Gregor going to work, earning their keep and supporting their needs when suddenly he cannot no longer act in this role. His father is disgusted, his mother stricken and his younger sister while becoming his carer is repulsed by this new version of her brother. As time passes and he does not return to his old self – the family must make new plans to survive and now see him as their burden (roles reversed). In the beginning Gregor thought this was just a temporary situation that would soon pass and he would re-uptake his old life and continue forward. However in the end there is no solution and suffers a lonely eventual death.

 In writing the following psychoanalytical analysis I have not read the many introductions, essays and critical insights of other writers. This was purposefully done to avoid contamination of my thinking process in treating Gregor as my patient in a psychoanalytical setting. I did not want to have the bias of others opinions to my way of seeing the text as the only evidence of the patients mental health problem.

 The Patient:

 Like any new psychological patient to the clinic a first one hour session would be usually conducted in two parts – the first – why have you come to see me? The second the clients ability to vent (tell their story in their own words) and so set the scene for further sessions. Lets imagine Gregor's typical answer to why have you come here.

 Gregory: My family is very dependent on me to support them but lately I have been feeling very stressed by work and home alike. I had a very bad dream a few weeks ago and woke up in a deluded state in which I found it impossible to get our of bed. I just felt overwhelmed with exhaustion and the loss of will to keep going on with my miserable life. It was like I was some ugly bug that everyone despised and yet took for granted. All they want to do is squash my passion for life and replace it with their needs.

 Psychoanalyst: It sounds very much as if you are stressed and reached what me might call a point of exhaustion – this means your energy has been depleted both physically and mentally. So to summarise – you are depressed right now from the burden of work and a non-supportive family environment and you feel you have given up trying to be the one who supports everyone else?

 Gregory: Yes, it is like I was a donkey with burden I could no longer carry.

 Psychoanalyst: Tell me a little of your background? (second part - venting)

 Gregory: I have a very critical, controlling father who tries to dominate the household, however he is unemployed right now and his health has deteriorated through becoming lazy and irritable. My mother cowers  to him and goes along with his demands even when unreasonable, I have a younger sister – she is just finishing her education but has not found any real outlet for her abilities just yet, she is kind and sweet but very nieve about the world at large. At work my supervisor while pleasant enough but he is also under pressure from our boss who like my father is controlling and micro manages our every move. This means you feel you are being scrutinized constantly and found lacking. I have to travel a lot for my work and often come home late and exhausted but then am expected to be there for the family as the main stay of their comforts. I do not have time for relationships and I am probably not a very good catch for any girl who might have any interest in  me beyond the obvious. At home things have changed now that I have been fired and lost my income. My sister has started to care for me more and tries constantly to rescue me from my mood swings, however my mother has just fell apart and cries insistently about her poor boy yet shy away from actually helping me. As for my father he is even more disgusted by me than ever as I forced him to go out and find work, he even took in some lodgers to help make ends meet and so the burden has passed to my mother and sister to keep the household clean and fed. We have had some cooks and cleaners but they have mostly left because they refuse to have anything to do with me. I cannot really think of much else to tell you – but at least I feel I managed to get it all out.

 Psychoanalyst: I think that gives me quite a lot to think about Gregor and you have been very clear and systematic in the way you have explained the background. Tell me how are you actually feeling right now?

 Gregory: A little relieved to have finally explained myself and someone listened without a sneer on their face or laughing at me. Thank you for that. In general I know that everyday I feel sad and tired by life – I just want to lay down and sleep – that somehow when I wake up everything will be normal again – that I can function and have some sort of life.

 Psychoanalyst: Well we have had our time today Gregor, an hour can pass very quickly the first visit. I hope to see you are least once a week for an hour, in the meantime I have a little homework exercise for you to complete for me. A one page biography of your family, where you grew up, your education, relationships and the current here and now situation. I know you have told me some of this already but it will help save some time in sessions by having a short version of your life so far. Please send to me via email before our next session so that I can read and analyse the content before you come. Here is my card and details. If at anytime you feel you are in crisis and need me – please call for an earlier appointment.

 Gregory: Thank you Doctor, I will see you same time next week.

 Psychoanalytical Analysis of the First Session:

 For insurance purposes the analyst is forced to write a psychiatric number and diagnosis. This labelling is not a reflection of the true nature of the mental health problem but merely a forced situation in order to get paid. In Gregor's case – Clinical Depression DSM V 296.3.

 In reality a psychological outcome may have been Reactive Depression to stress at both home and work leading to a lack of everyday cognitive functioning in both thought and behaviour.

 Clearly in this case – depression is the key element from signs of mental exhaustion, a sense of hopelessness and helplessness from the role reversal of stalwart breadwinner to helpless victim in need of rescuing by his sister in particular – the constant disappointment to both his parents and rejection of his work colleagues. At his stage we do not have enough data to surmise the underlying unconscious drives that might be fueling his depressive state other than the external pressures of family and work. In further sessions the need will be met from a more in depth scrutinizing of his emotional world and inner conflicts. He clearly feels alone in his burden although the sister is obviously doing her mother's duty of care. The client mentioned a bad dream – this can be further pursued for unconscious motivations.

 Further Sessions:

 Over 20 or more sessions – Gregor's analogy of being an ugly beetle are further explored and his relationships with both family and work – more importantly his feelings about himself and his depressive state. It also became clear that his family were now neglecting his everyday needs for nutritious food, care and comfort. They in fact have become physically violent towards him causing him to further withdraw into his delusional world where he feels he is nothing more than an ugly beetle that should be stamped upon. Risk of suicide has now become evident in his demeanour. His appearance shows he is not looking after his ablutions, clothing is dirty and unkempt and he has lost considerable weight. He was also becoming lethargic in that he no longer cared what happened to him as long as this constant pain would cease (pain being mental anguish). His sister although dutiful in looking after him has lost heart in him getting better and so now only is a functional caregiver as opposed to a empathetic one. His biography homework showed that his father was not only controlling but bitter in that he lost a business owing considerable money to Gregor's employer who now expected him to pay off his fathers debts through a reduced salary for his own work putting considerable burden on him to support the family at home. The mother was ashamed of the home situation and was too weak to stand up to her husband in any matters of  economy or otherwise. The sister was in the past spoiled and now resented her reduced situation and blamed Gregor for being sick. Again adding to his feelings of alienation and being alone.

 Sadly Gregor died after the end of the sessions from self-neglect – basically willing his life to cease as he saw no longer any purpose to it. His father had found new employment, the mother felt relieved to see her son no longer in this life suffering and the sister finally felt free of her own burden that being her brother. While psychoanalysis would have hoped for a different outcome – the book itself determined the ending that we have to accept.

 Conclusion:

 While Franz Kafka meant his novella of Metamorphosis to be a comic tragedy of a wasted life it springs out at any educated reader in the art of psychoanalysis as a perfect example of chronic depression and futility. Those in this delusional state often contemplate suicide although mostly via ideation (I think it but don't), however self neglect is very common trait that leads to slow death from a lack of self care. When you have a non-supportive family, where their needs are being thwarted by your mental state – then further rejection can cause a spiralling effect of deeper resentment about your own part in the downfall of your mind. Many depressives play victim (3. Berne 1960's) inviting others to rescue them – when in fact they need to rescue themselves – but in the end they become their own persecutor and further victimize themselves to that bitter ending of death.

 In real life via treatment for depression a sense of purpose is sought from the client in that he can see a new fresh change to his circumstances despite the battle of a non-supportive family and hostile work environment that is all to common in today's economy. In Gregor's case over time he would have explored his past traumas and realized the underlying demons that led to his lack of self assurance and efficacy to find a new solution to his mood.

 Summery:

 This paper was an exercise in psychoanalysis from a famous work of literature and reflects the art of the analyst who tries to understand the underlying concepts of the unconscious mind in creating monsters from our own imagination to battle with when we reach that point of exhaustion both physically and mentally called – depression.

 References:

 1.      Kafka F. 1915 – Metamorphosis – Bantam Edition 2004

2.      Kafka F. 1919 – Letter to his Father – Bantam Ed 2004

3.      Bernes E. 1960's – Transactional Analysis – various volumes.

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Extended project dissertation , Writing and essay Best 200 Extended Essay Topics Ideas, Examples, Writing Tips

The final word of advice while choosing an extended essay topic on any of those subjects would be to pick something that you feel passionate about. Splendid Ideas for Extended Essay Topics. As opposed to ordinary essays, extended essays require more factual backup. Therefore, writing a solid extended essay requires considerably more dedication and research, as well as more critical thinking and experimentation. When writing an extended essay, it is crucial to keep in mind all the existing relevant theories and keep all the facts you refer to substantiated. Biology How photosynthesis can take place without sunlight How does a plant grow differently when it has to share its habitat with others How to store cow milk safely How does change of habitat affect an organism How are land plants different from aquatic ones Is remote pollination possible How various drugs affect human brain How plants can heal disease Can flowers be manufactured How climate affects the reproduction process of plants Economics Trade policies in different countries What does the industrial policy mean The overall influence of fiscal policy on the economy Expansionary fiscal policy and when it can be used Taxes and Spending: The tools to make it more effective How big is the government sector in economy and is it justified Why does personal income tax go to the federal budget How do transfer payments work How does the business cycle cause instability in the labor market Why does recessionary gap occur English Racial Conflict and racism throughout the 20th century Spirituality Attitudes of People Ethnic and sexual identity in the 1990s How ideas of social Darwinism got translated into politics The significance of the literary function of a language How does media portrayal influence everyday life Female empowerment in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Why is it important to learn English literature English Literature John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars Sarah Dessen’s Just Listen Lisa Kleypas’s Devil In Winter The Importance of Dance in Emma by Jane Austen Possible parallels between Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein monster and Gregor Samsa from Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis Noblemen and noble traits. Illustrated by three exemplary characters Religion and religious imagery in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights Racism as illustrated by James Baldwin Exploring Jane Austen Inanimate objects in Sylvia Plath’s Bell Jar Geography How did the continents come to their present-day location What factors influence the location of industries The impact of economic development on the environment Levels of cultural interaction between the neighboring nations How geography affects the relationships between people Does gendered economy have any connection to geography How are nations with access to the sea different from the ones without Oceanography and its significance for preserving the quality of water How the knowledge of the terrestrial crust has evolved in the past 100 years Why is it important to explore the seabed History Why did the USSR fall apart The bias in the Salem witch trials The Treaty of Versailles and its significance Cuban missile crisis and its consequences The pact between Stalin and Hitler and its realization Why was Pearl Harbor a game-changing checkpoint in the 2nd World War The evolution of perception of opium as a rural culture Political motives in Shakespeare's drama The reasons for the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki How the Roman Empire conquered Britain Maths Spirograph and curves Using color polynomials to distinguish knots Voting polynomials and fairness of constitution Methodology employed by statistics Why planets move the way they do Egyptian forces in arithmetic Symmetries of plane tessellations General relativity and cosmology Egyptian fractions and their significance for arithmetic General functions of the theory of partitions Physics Understanding the terminology of physics The basics of dynamics: forces and motion How energy can be conserved The phenomenon of heat The nature of electricity and electrical energy The nature of magnetism and magnetic force Particles and their interactions The nature and behavior of light Main stages in the development of the physical thought The scientific methods employed by modern physics Psychology How parental negligence leads to child obesity Why are we so obsessed with fast food How narcissist mother influences her child How is television connected to obesity Preterm delivery and adjacent stress Types of suicidal behaviors and how they develop How not to allow an abortion damage the mental health Violence and other abuse among teenage couples Difference between male and female schizophrenia Psychological reasons causing depression World studies How global food crisis affects our everyday lives How to tell that an issue is of global significance How local factors influence the developing expressions How to make globally appreciated contributions How global climate changes affect our view of the world Global terrorism: Its causes and consequences Why energy security is necessary Health safety precautions every traveler should know The importance of ongoing cultural exchange Immigration and emigration: Causes and consequences. There are your ultimate topics for extended essays in English, History, Mathematics, and other subjects. And, of course, you have to make sure that the scope of your topic meets the number of pages you have to write. Say, for example, you are a high school student, and you are supposed to write a 3-page essay. Obviously, you will not be able to dig into many details; so choose accordingly. Do the necessary background reading. Examine those academic papers that have the maximal number of interconnections with your favorite theme. Examine the previously published works as well as your previously accomplished texts. Dissertations and reports produced by students in previous years will help you gain a sense of styles and standards required. They will also enable you to look at a variety of approaches relevant to your discipline. After you have selected a topic, which is the most suitable for you, it is necessary to decide what writing strategy will be most useful. Usually, students prefer to buy from essay writers papers online in order to save their time and focus on those aspects of their academic assignments that are more significant for their education.... View more ...

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In The Valley of Beautiful People- Alex Quyen

You never know truly what you think of your face until you lose it. When I had mine, I hated it. I detested it with a passion, a fiery burning vengeance that morphed over time into a sallow, oozing abhorrence. My nose was too round, I would think as I poked and prodded it in the mirror. My eyes were too big, I’d believe when I pulled down my eyelids and gazed into the reflection at the two sclera. My then-boyfriend always used to disagree with me. “Your eyes are my favorite part of you.” He’d whisper in my ears, which I thought too big and too pointed. I tried to take his compliments to heart, but something deep inside of me kept me from using them a salve. Perhaps I knew they were only made to keep me quiet.

“We are all born with our face.” My mother, a hard and sturdy Swedish woman with far too much sensibility and far much less compassion, said to me when I told her of my worries. She gestured to the wart on her forehead and the great big mole that I swore grew every time I saw her, “Am I happy about these? Of course not. But I live with them. It does no good to complain.” She turned away from me, ending our conversation. I hadn’t even broached the subject of cosmetic surgery yet. Maybe she sensed it coming and decided to end it before I could bring it up.

“What will you do though?” My then-boyfriend asked me in bed as I sat perusing blogs of miracle transformations, the ones that documented the twelve easy steps to a new you. “A nosejob? Chin and cheekbone implants? You have too many issues with yourself, and nearly not enough money or time to fix them all.” He turned away from me, rolling over so he faced the other

way. I sighed, closed the lid of my laptop. I tried to put all thoughts out of my head.

Eventually the then-boyfriend exited my life, breaking up with me over dinner. “Sort yourself out,” He had told me over the salmon I had cooked as a surprise for him, “then give me a call.” I never saw him after that night. I heard he had made his way down to America and ended up the paramour of a closeted Senator. Since him, only one other man took his place, an artist from Kensington that had sketched me as I worked. With broad strokes and tiny lines he had drawn my face; my lips that parted slightly as I entered a deep focus, the freckles spattered across my skin in a mock imitation of a rash. He had hung his studies around our shared apartment, hoping to surprise me. I had taken them down every time I saw them, eventually requesting for him to stop, focus his talents elsewhere. We parted after a month or two, him claiming I had no appreciation his art. I let him go. I had no more energy for dealing with people.

*** I remember the morning clearly, although not the date. I had awoken for

a job interview, setting my alarm clock the night before for a time too early for me to really function straight. As I stumbled in a sleep-crusty haze I managed to pull myself towards the shower, turning the knob towards scalding before stepping in myself. When I exited, my hair still sopping, I began to brush my teeth as I stared into the fog-obstructed mirror. Something was off, I could tell. A feeling stirred in my gut that something was wrong and so I reached up and wiped the condensation off the glass. It was my face I realized, that had brought upon me such a feeling of discontent.

Or rather, not my face. Because what was staring back at me was not mine. The round button nose I had hated so much was gone, replaced with one with a narrowed tip that angled up so very slightly. The cheekbones had been

raised and my jaw had hardened, becoming square and chiseled. It was a Kafkaesque circumstance, I considered as I warped and contorted my new visage, bending and stretching it to see how it looked at every angle. Only thankfully what looked back at me from the mirror wasn’t some Gregor Samsa looking fuck. It was a fine face, I thought as I ran a razor over its new features. It could’ve been a model, or an actor. I wondered whose face it was, if it was anyone’s at all.

*** I had ended up getting the job, and so I fell into a new life. I reinvented

myself; throwing out the little amount of photos I had with my old me, discarding my driver’s license and all my old student yearbooks. I chose a new name, one handsome and befitting of such a face I now owned, as well as a new history; a series of fake circumstances that had brought me to the moment in which I had walked in for the interview. In my old life I was no one special, an ordinary body flickering incorporeally through time. The artist once told me, in neither a fit of anger nor a moment of therapy, that I tied myself to my partners, that their life and friends became mine. When I had no one to sleep next to I became lonely and solitary, preferring my own company rather than any one in particular. A desperate creature, my mother had once called me in a burst of rage. I did nothing to argue her point. I knew deep down inside it was true. With this new face however I was able to change my path. I went out to drinks with coworkers, danced long nights away and flirted with men I previously considered far out of my league. It seems shallow, in retrospect, to think all this came about because of my new appearance. But I hated my old one so much, it only seems fit that a change would occur. Perhaps it was a gift from the man above.

I had sworn long and wide to myself that I’d keep this secret. The mystery of my transformation was one I did not like to dwell on, and I found my life going by so much easier when I didn’t. I’d go to the grave with this, I’d

tell myself, the undertaker would be piling cold hard earth on my strange new features and still no one would know. But now I have to tell someone. I can no longer repress this, keep it bottled up inside me. Because the face staring at me from across the street, the one peering lovesick into my eyes; that face is mine.

*** I had met him at a bar on the north side of town. He had approached

me from the side, my peripheral vision catching only glimpses of him before he tapped me on the shoulder and asked to buy me a drink. It took a second to register. I remember blinking to clear my eyes, but nothing I tried worked. It still stared back at me, a reminder, a haunting vision. He had shaken my hand, given his name. He gave no indication that he recognized me, that the reason he had approached me was because he knew he wore my face, or maybe because I wore his. As far as I could tell he was simply entranced by me. He sickened me. I tried to ignore him all night, ordering more and more drinks to pound back until I was so woozy I could barely remember why I had done so. But he was there every step of the way, eventually carrying me back to his car and driving me home. He asked if he could come over the next day, and, me, the ever-courteous creature, let him.

For a month I had met up with the man who had my face, curious of who he was. He spilled so quickly, so easily. By the end of the first date I knew everything about him except how he got his countenance; how his favorite drink was a dirty martini with the saltiest olives one can find, how he once wanted to be a singer when he was a kid but soon found he couldn’t sing for shit. He was confident, or maybe just horny. He’d lie in my lap and gaze into my eyes, twist my features of his into an approximation of a swoon that caused something in me to gag. It took every effort not to push him off. Perhaps it would’ve been better if I did, if I shoved him off and told him to never speak to me again. Instead I’ve found myself becoming increasingly

tangled in this web. Now, like an Almodóvar horror or an X-Files special, I sleep with my face next to me every night.

And now I’ve reached my limit. No longer can I bear to see that visage again. I’ve gotten up early in the mornings to avoid the eyes and nose and lips next to me. I’ve come home late and eaten out when I can. Maybe he knows, the signs are all there, but I doubt it. He still snuggles up to me, presses my lips onto my cheek or rubs my nose onto mine in an eskimo kiss. He had shown no sign when I called him from work. It was a business trip, I had lied to him; I’d be away for a week or so. I had already found a condo to rent online and had exchanged a series of emails with the landlord. I was all set to leave, be gone forever.

He greeted me at the door, kissed me before I got the chance to turn away. He had packed me a suitcase and gushed as he placed it in my hands, telling me to take pictures and text every night. I thanked him before stepping back and swiveling quickly to avoid dwelling on that face. I could see the taxi he had called, and began to quickly make my way there.

“Your boyfriend?” The driver, an old woman with graying hair stuffed into her cap, said. I nodded as she pulled away from her curb. I thought about my face standing on the sidewalk in front of the apartment that now was just his. I wondered what he would do when he realized I wouldn’t be coming back. My eyes began to water. I was not a cruel person, I told myself. It was me I could not stand. It was my face I hated. It was not the man-who-wore-my- face’s fault, but my own lack of self-confidence and abundance of disgust. Tears began to drip down the creases of my strange unfamiliar features. “Don’t cry,” the cabbie said as she patted my shoulder, “You’re too handsome to cry.”

But that made me only sob more