Spider-man has become a symbol of the ultimate underdog around the world. The 12-cent comic book has helped to create an empire of Marvel comics, tv shows, movies, toys and a culture that celebrates superheroes. The writer of the comic book (Lee, 1962) was able to witness the success a lot of his superheroes, as they became symbols of hope after World War 2 and during the very height of the Cold War (O’Neil, 2016). When it comes to this one character, Spider-man, the idea of a man being transformed into an insect was not new. It can be claimed that idea of spider-man originated from a small book in 1915 by Franz Kafka, called “the Metamorphosis,” although the stories take two very different paths after the transformation takes place (National Post Staff, 2013). It seems that both the comic by Marvel, and the book by Kafka are meant to be symbolic, but representative of two very different ideals. Kafka’s Gregor grows sad and depressed, while Marvel’s Spider-man harnesses his new transformations with a lot of love and passion (Sanford, 2012).
Both stories originate almost the exact same way. They feature a young man living a mundane life, strapped down by caring for aging family and work or school. They are both in what should be stress free times in their lives, yet with all the responsibilities they have, they do not have any time to enjoy their lives. Then one day, Gregor wakes up — thinking that he is still dreaming — and comes to a very slow realization that he is no longer human. Peter was bitten by a spider, and wakes up to find that he now has the same abilities that a spider has to make webs, stick to things, jump and move very quickly. In Gregor’s case, there’s really no backing of the narrative, he becomes an insect, the people around him are horrified, they leave him, and he dies. In Spider-man, he goes on to adventures with the goal of avenging his uncle’s death and fighting evil for the greater good. On the surface, one story is beautifully written with attention given to every detail, but with no real clear reason for telling the story, so it would seem. On the other hand, there is a comic that has great pictures, but writing that is not very good. It has a point, to fight evil and injustice.
That, however, is only on the surface. Franz Kafka was not an author known for his horror stories. As a man, he was extremely political. He was pro-Socialism and his work is often compared or held up to that of Karl Marx. He was also very anti-war. He went to peace rallies in Austria-Hungary as much as he attended Communist meetings (Howard and Roberts, 2011). Perhaps of greatest relevance to this topic, Kafka considered sending young men to their deaths in World War 1 was inhumane. They were not being treated like they were human beings. They weren’t human anymore. In fact they were just like insects, being sent off to be killed. The beauty of Kafka’s intense detail masks his message very well. He lived in a time and place when and where he would have to hide such messages. It really speaks to his talent how well he is able to take the reader right into Gregor’s situation as though the reader was right there with him. Kafka was a political and literary genius, though his work was not really recognized until after his death.
“Spider-man” gives a different perspective, in a very different way, but is just as effective in hiding its message. The pictures do a better of describing Peter than the words. In fact, without the comic or graphic stylings, the words are very simple. This may seem intentional on the surface, but it was probably very intentional. In the American context, the world was on the verge of another, third, world war. It was 1963, and the Russian Nuclear standoff in Cuba was heavy on everybody’s minds here. Comics were a great way to spread propaganda to young, impressionable minds. By marketing the comic to younger readers, and telling them that they could fight evil and be superheroes themselves, just like Spider-man (or Captain America, Thor, Batman, Superman, many others). It was an innocent way to recruit younger men to be soldiers, should the need for them exist.
So, there is a pivotal difference between the two stories. Kafka is sneaking in a message about the absurdity of war, and does so through the beautifully written tragic life of Gregor and his horrified family (Haddock and Roberts, et al.,2011) . In Spider-man, fighting for the greater good, for justice, is condoned, even appreciated by the community. Spider-man is commended for his work most of the time, even when causing significant damage to the city he lives in. Both messages are strong, though Kafka’s went largely unrecognized as having deeper context until more recently. Before, it was usually presumed that the work was somehow autobiographical about how Kafka felt about himself. There’s not really anything to back that claim, and that type of narrative was hardly used at that time. Spider-man’s message was slightly more transparent.
This only describes half the story though. “The Metamorphosis” carries on with the family completely maladjusted to supporting themselves without Gregor’s finances. It seems both parents were incapable of working, and the sister was still school-aged. They finally decide that he is of no more value to them now that he is no longer human, making it hard to rent out space in their house, and can’t give them money, because they are so incapable of working themselves. They resolve to run away and leave Gregor for dead, which is what quickly happens to him. After the Germanic Wars, the symptoms of PTSD were known, and the idea that soldiers came back damaged from war was widely accepted. This is where the symbolism gets a lot deeper in the book, so much so, that they overlap.
Imagine that when Gregor wakes up, it is a symbol of him coming back from the war. He wants to go back to work, wants to support his family, but finds that he can no longer do so. The family tries to deal with it, but eventually the insect (or haunted soldier) that Gregor has become makes living unbearable. They are unable to keep tenants, and they eventually they give up. At this time, there was really only one way to treat PTSD: Heroin or other opiates (Shepard, 1919). There were no psychologists, no specialized drugs, just something that numbed the person so thoroughly that they forgot what happened to them. Many soldiers died and continue to die too early in their lives because of this disease (Reid, 2010). He shrivels in the pain of loss and despair, and quickly dies as well.
Does Spider-man attempt to explain PTSD? Not really. The narrative seems to focus more on accomplishment and grateful women. Of course, as time went on, the comic books became less about propaganda, and more about a fun experience and a world of imagination. It has become a sensation in most parts of the world for children and adults alike.
Based on the argument made in this paper, it is pretty hard to say which story is more realistic from a psychological perspective and they really end up being two completely different stories, with the only similarity that they both attain bug-like qualities. The fact that Peter is still able to maintain his human qualities and appearances probably makes the situation a little easier for him. He also has the driving force of wanting to find the person who killed his uncle. He goes on to fight the good fight, and has a love life to boot. Gregor was completely subjected into becoming a revolting bug. He was not able to retain any human qualities. Even his voice sounded like an animal’s.
Placing myself in the situation, Kafka’s psychological outlook for the man has become a bug is probably the most realistic. It would be mortifying to know that one could never be a human again, that they were being left behind by the people he loved the most. It would be indescribably sad to live a life being afraid of how everybody saw you. Then, looking at Peter, and the age that he is probably at, a more likely reaction would be to want to go to the doctor and be cured, not to go around, showing off to people all the new powers that he possessed. Powers or no powers, the public has a cruel way of marginalizing anybody who is different, whether that difference is good or bad. Though Peter was a little afraid in the beginning of the movie, that wore off pretty quickly. He is a superhero though, so his mentality may be super as well.
Works Cited
Brekman, Warren. “Kafka's Metamorphosis In His Time and In Ours.” University of
Pennsylvania. 2000. Web. 28 Apr. 2016
Haddock, Bruce and Peri Roberts, et al. “Evil in Contemporary Political Theory”
Edinburgh. 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2016
Kafka, Franz. “The Metamorphosis.” Bantam Books. 1975 edition. Translated by
Stanley Corngold. 1915. PDF and Print. 2 Apr. 2016
Lee, Stan. “Amazing Fantasy: Spider-man.” Marvel Comics. #15. 15 Aug.1962. Web.
3 Apr. 2016.
O’Neil, Tim. “How the Cold War saved Marvel and birthed a generation of superheroes.”
A.V. Club. Mar. 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2016
National Post Staff. “Franz Kafka's 130th birthday marked by a Google-Homepage
Metamorphosis.” The National Post. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2016
Reid, Fiona. “Broken Men: Shell Shock, Treatment and Recovery in Britain 1914-30.”
Continuum Books. New York. Pp.99-162. 2010. Web. 27 Apr. 2010.
Sanford, Jim. “Spider-man and Philosophy.” Wikey Publishing. Pp. 150-153. 2012. Web.
28 Apr. 2016
Shepard, Henry. “Psychology made Practical.” San Francisco. 1919. Web. 28 Apr. 28, 2016
.
