Gregor Vs. Mulan

4 Pages 1096 Words

Mulan vs. Gregor Samsa

Solitude is a very key part in a hero’s journey to their final destination or goal. Often we find that heroes are subjected to periods of solitude en route to their acts or situations that could classify them as a hero. It helps to portray the hero as a person the reader can connect with not just some character in a story. Everyone has experienced some form of solitude or loneliness in his or her lives at some point; and in this way we can more easily relate to the hero. It helps the reader to view them not simply as some mythical superman but as a person that could quite easily be in the same room as them.
Webster’s dictionary has several definitions for hero. One of them is that of an illustrious warrior. This definition comes to fruition in the ancient Chinese poem from around 500 A.D. “Mu-lan”. It is about a warrior woman Fa Mu Lan that leaves her family behind and disguises herself as a boy in order to fight in a war. She is gone for 12 years fighting side by side with thousands of her comrades, never revealing her true self to them. Only in the end to the other soldiers, much to their amazement, find out that she is a girl.
Webster’s also defines a hero as the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work. It also defines hero as a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities. This is the case in Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”. In Kafka’s story the main character, Gregor Samsa, awakens one morning to find that he has transformed into a large bug. After his family finds out about their son’s great misfortune they are not sure
how to treat this change. Therefore Gregor is confined to his room with little or no
contact with the rest of his family. Only on several occasions does he have any contact
with his family and others. These incidents usually do not end well for Gregor. One even leading to his demise.
While these two stories are ent...