VERY interesting! You made me think here, especially since you're referring to one of my favourite authors *g*. Comparing Giant!Dawn and Gregor Samsa makes a lot of sense; their situations are similar - at least superficially. However (and I know we're probably not going to agree on this) there are some things that I think make a big difference, and which strike at the heart of why, IMO, "Metamorphosis" is a great story:
1) You're absolutely right that Gregor was the hero of his own story, and that's significant. The reason his transformation becomes such a perfect metaphor is because we actually get to live it with him. It wouldn't have been the same story if it had focused entirely on his sister (who, of course, is a very important character in Kafka's story as well) with Gregor a secondary character, if we had never gotten to know how he feels and WHY. Because even if the exact logical reason for the transformation is never explained, there's hardly any doubt about the emotional logic, the metaphor of it: he feels like a vermin and so he is one. So far, all the Giant!Dawn segments have left us (or at least me) pretty confused about what Dawn's feelings here are and despite two different hints of why she could be a giant - because of Kenny or because she did something herself - neither of those has the same effect since we don't see the reason for either of them turning her into a giant, we don't get inside Dawn's (enormous) head the way we get inside Gregor's.
2) The reaction of others. "Metamorphosis" is a story about alienation. Everyone who looks at Gregor either loathes him, fears him or, at best, pities him - his parents even try to kill him (and, arguably, succeed). In contrast, while Dawn probably does feel pretty alienated at this point, others' reaction to her is quite different: Buffy's slight sternness in #1 aside, people are actually trying to help Dawn - and she's refusing to be helped. She won't talk to Buffy and prefers to talk to Willow. When Willow gets there, she won't tell her either. Gregor could no longer communicate at all. Dawn is free to communicate, is being urged to by those who love her, and by her own choice doesn't. Why? We don't know.
3) The effect on others. Gregor's situation is disastrous for his family, who depend on him and react with even more anger precisely because of this, which just fuels his depression. Dawn's situation... is less disastrous for Buffy; it's annoying and no doubt Buffy worries about her (at least the canonical Buffy would) but it's not like she's stopping anyone from saving the world from vampires. In fact, she can even help by stomping witches. Dawn isn't nearly as helpless as Gregor (or at least shouldn't be).
4) This is a point which I know is hard to argue, de guffawus non est disputandum, but I'm going to do it anyway: Kafka is funny, Giant!Dawn is not. This is something a lot of people miss out on about Kafka, and which apparently annoyed him quite a bit: his stories are chock full of very, very dark humour. Gregor's situation is utterly hopeless; since he essentially lives in our world, his turning into a vermin is unfixable; nobody even tries. The only way to treat it is as a very sad joke, the laughter of a guy who's about to be executed when a pigeon craps on his head. Dawn, on the other hand, lives in a world where people are routinely turned from one thing into another and back again with magic, and we are not shown any reason for her NOT to be turned back. All jokes about her situation fall flat, because with no good reason for her to stop being a giant, it's not funny when she or anyone else suggests that maybe she should stop being a giant; it's just common sense. ("I hate wearing red sweaters." "Do you want me to get you a blue sweater?" "No.")
Also, I honestly hope that Buffy won't decide that the only solution is to lock Dawn up and let her starve to death. ;-)
That's my 2 cents: while the stories are similar, the emotions and metaphors they raise are quite different. Like I said, I don't expect you to agree, but it was such an interesting comparison and I just couldn't help myself... :-)
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branchandroot
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Date: 2007-11-30 02:08 pm (UTC)1) You're absolutely right that Gregor was the hero of his own story, and that's significant. The reason his transformation becomes such a perfect metaphor is because we actually get to live it with him. It wouldn't have been the same story if it had focused entirely on his sister (who, of course, is a very important character in Kafka's story as well) with Gregor a secondary character, if we had never gotten to know how he feels and WHY. Because even if the exact logical reason for the transformation is never explained, there's hardly any doubt about the emotional logic, the metaphor of it: he feels like a vermin and so he is one. So far, all the Giant!Dawn segments have left us (or at least me) pretty confused about what Dawn's feelings here are and despite two different hints of why she could be a giant - because of Kenny or because she did something herself - neither of those has the same effect since we don't see the reason for either of them turning her into a giant, we don't get inside Dawn's (enormous) head the way we get inside Gregor's.
2) The reaction of others. "Metamorphosis" is a story about alienation. Everyone who looks at Gregor either loathes him, fears him or, at best, pities him - his parents even try to kill him (and, arguably, succeed). In contrast, while Dawn probably does feel pretty alienated at this point, others' reaction to her is quite different: Buffy's slight sternness in #1 aside, people are actually trying to help Dawn - and she's refusing to be helped. She won't talk to Buffy and prefers to talk to Willow. When Willow gets there, she won't tell her either. Gregor could no longer communicate at all. Dawn is free to communicate, is being urged to by those who love her, and by her own choice doesn't. Why? We don't know.
3) The effect on others. Gregor's situation is disastrous for his family, who depend on him and react with even more anger precisely because of this, which just fuels his depression. Dawn's situation... is less disastrous for Buffy; it's annoying and no doubt Buffy worries about her (at least the canonical Buffy would) but it's not like she's stopping anyone from saving the world from vampires. In fact, she can even help by stomping witches. Dawn isn't nearly as helpless as Gregor (or at least shouldn't be).
4) This is a point which I know is hard to argue, de guffawus non est disputandum, but I'm going to do it anyway: Kafka is funny, Giant!Dawn is not. This is something a lot of people miss out on about Kafka, and which apparently annoyed him quite a bit: his stories are chock full of very, very dark humour. Gregor's situation is utterly hopeless; since he essentially lives in our world, his turning into a vermin is unfixable; nobody even tries. The only way to treat it is as a very sad joke, the laughter of a guy who's about to be executed when a pigeon craps on his head. Dawn, on the other hand, lives in a world where people are routinely turned from one thing into another and back again with magic, and we are not shown any reason for her NOT to be turned back. All jokes about her situation fall flat, because with no good reason for her to stop being a giant, it's not funny when she or anyone else suggests that maybe she should stop being a giant; it's just common sense. ("I hate wearing red sweaters." "Do you want me to get you a blue sweater?" "No.")
Also, I honestly hope that Buffy won't decide that the only solution is to lock Dawn up and let her starve to death. ;-)
That's my 2 cents: while the stories are similar, the emotions and metaphors they raise are quite different. Like I said, I don't expect you to agree, but it was such an interesting comparison and I just couldn't help myself... :-)