Gregor and Othello: Disillusionment Essay

An illusion is something that we think is real but is actually not. We produce illusions when our minds play tricks on us. When we discover the truth, we feel a terrible sense of disillusionment. This is when we discover that what have known all along has been false. Disillusionment thugs at our innermost core and lead us to deep misery. The characters of Gregor Samsa in Franz Kafka’s â€Å"The Metamorphosis† and Othello in Shakespeare’s play of the same title both experience this sense disillusionment. They both think that the thing that they believe in is real but towards the end of their lives, they discover that what they have believed in are just illusions. When Gregor Samsa turns into a giant insect, he notices the transformation but he still believes that he is still the human Gregor. Even if he notices that he turns into an insect, he is not worried. What he is worried about is that he is late for work and that his boss might get angry at him (1085). He forces himself to get up and thinks that what he has to do even if he sees that he has turned into an insect is to get dressed, have breakfast and catch the next train to work. Gregor’s illusion is that the world will treat him as Gregor the human even if his appearance has turned into an insect. It is an illusion because everybody who sees Gregor sees only the monstrous insect and not Gregor. He tries to make everyone understand that he is still Gregor but being turned into an insect, he talks like an insect and the insect noises that he makes are not understood by his family. The family sees a giant insect and hears insect noises. So even if inside that insect shell, there’s still Gregor who thinks human thoughts and feel human warmth and affection, outside, he is not Gregor anymore. His illusion is that others will see him as human and not as insect. There’s even a point in the when Gregor’s insect body grows on him that he starts to enjoy moving and using his new kind of feet. He learns to crawl around his room, on the wall and on the ceiling. When Gregor’s sister, Grete, notices Gregor’s behavior, Grete thinks that they should get rid of the furniture inside Gregor’s room to allow Gregor to crawl more freely (1098). Gregor initially welcomes the suggestion but is startled because he notices that with that suggestion, he is actually allowing his family to think that he has really turned into a crawling insect (1099). So he scared Grete and his mother while they are carrying the furniture out. Gregor holds on to his illusion that his family will eventually see that he is still Gregor. He always makes it a point to be courteous to his family. Since his family cannot take his hideous appearance especially his sister Grete who comes to his room for food, Gregor hides his body whenever he senses Grete getting inside his room. There is even one time when he labors for four hours just to cover his whole body for his sister Grete (1097). But as days pass, it becomes evident that Gregor’s family members will not look or relate to him as a human. Gregor’s disillusionment happens when he gets out of his room to get closer to Grete who is playing violin for the lodgers. When the lodgers and Grete see him, Grete tells everyone with Gregor in front of her: You just have to try to get rid of the idea that it’s Gregor. Believing it for so long that is our real misfortune. But how can it be Gregor? (1107) When Gregor hears his sister he becomes sad, returns to his room and dies in misery that he really cannot be Gregor anymore to his family. Othello’s illusion is that his wife is cheating on him. This is not real but Othello is tricked and made to believe of his wife’s infidelity. It is Iago, one of Othello’s men who cunningly produces the illusion in Othello’s mind. In Act 1 Scene III of the play, Iago makes a speech about his intention for tricking Othello. He hates Othello, â€Å"I hate the Moor†, because Othello does not make him Lieutenant. Instead, Othello chooses Cassio whom Iago believes to be less experienced and qualified (Shakespeare Act I Scene III Lines 383-404). Iago uses Cassio and even his own wife, Emilia to achieve his plot of ruining Othello by making him believe that his wife is having an affair with Cassio. Iago asks Emilio who works for Desdemona to steal Desdemona’s handkerchief given to her by Othello. Emilia does not initially suspect of Iago’s evil plot; she gets the handkerchief and gives it to Iago. Iago then puts the handkerchief in Cassio’s room (Act III Scene IV). This is what Iago uses to make Othello believe that Desdemona is having an affair with Cassio and Othello believes him. Othello’s disillusionment happens after he has killed Desdemona for believing that Desdemona is cheating on him. In Act V Scene II, Emily tells Othello that Desdemona loves him and that Desdemona does not give Cassio the handkerchief as token of her love (Lines 226-229). Othello confirms this with Iago’s behavior. As Emily is divulging the Iago’s evil plot, Iago kills Emily and runs away (Act V Scene II Line 239). Othello recognizes his foolishness, â€Å"O fool! O fool! O Fool! (Act V Scene II Line 322) The disillusionment leads Othello to misery and takes his own life. The characters of Gregor and Othello both hang on to illusions and feel a terrible sense of disillusionment upon learning of the truth. Disillusionment is a universal human emotion. As in the case of Gregor and Othello, disillusionment always result in pain for us humans because pain is the result of the destruction of that part of us that keeps us ignorant. The pain that comes with disillusionment signals that something in us is destroyed: our illusion and ignorance. Works Cited Kafka, Franz. â€Å"The Metamorphosis. † Literature World Masterpieces. 4th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996, 1084-1110. Shakespeare, William. â€Å"Othello the Moor of Venice. † The Compact Bedford Introduction to Drama. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. 5th Ed. New York: Bedford’s/St. Martin, 2005, 246-288.