"Rhinoceros" and "The Metamorphosis"

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes how Ionesco in "Rhinoceros" criticizes his conformist Nazi society while Kafka in "The Metamorphosis" shows us our inability to look beyond the surface of people. The paper shows how both authors and their characters successfully escape the mass mindset by maintaining their individuality, yet as a result they become estranged to their society and to themselves.

From the Paper:

"The society Ionesco lives in is subject to the "mass mindset" of conforming to Nazism. Although Ionesco experiences the pain of nonconformity, he is the only one who endures it to remain an individual. He makes characters in the book transform into rhinoceroses one after another to criticize the peer pressure of conforming to Nazism in his society. He displays this by presenting characters that are unable to think for themselves."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Ionesco, Eugene. Rhinoceros and Other Plays. New York: Grove, 1994. Print.
• Kafka, Franz. Metamorphosis and other stories. New York: Dover Publications, 1996. Print.

More papers on "Rhinoceros" and "The Metamorphosis":

• Analytical Essay # 42184 : "The Simple Heart" and "The Metamorphosis"
• Comparison Essay # 96596 : "The Death of Ivan llyitch" and "The Metamorphosis"
• Analytical Essay # 16677 : "Kafka's predicament of modern man as portrayed in "The Metamorphosis"

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