Comparing the Wall and the Books, Before the Law and Dream of the Butterfly

Comparing the Wall and the Books, Before the Law and Dream of the Butterfly

Though the above-selected texts were from different contexts and are different in genre, they have multiple shared similarities as far as the themes, styles, and characterization. Borges’ The Wall and the Books gets set in modern China, and it is more of a mythical story that explains how the Great Wall of China got constructed by the first emperor of China, Shi Huang. Out of the fear of death and the need to get rid of the past, the first emperor conquered eight kingdoms in China, got rid of the past canonical books, and even banished his mother (Borges, 1971). On the other hand, Kafka’s text Before the Law is set in a fictional location where a man faces barriers in access to the law (Kafka, 1971). The text remains subject to multiple interpretations as, in most cases, it depicts the life of every individual and the struggle they go through to achieve their goals. Again, Zhuang’s Dream of the Butterfly emanates from the dream of a given person who undergoes a transformation during asleep and comes out not knowing whether he is transformed or not (Zhuang, 2000). Despite all the differences in context, the selected stories ride of the theme of transformations have shared the use of metaphor, and the characters in these stories undergo tremendous changes that shape up their lives. Therefore, the essay would examine the similarities of these three texts based on the above aforementioned shared elements.

The Theme of Transformation

The theme of transformation manifests itself through the development and change that the characters experience in the three stories. In Kafka’s Before the Law, the man goes through massive transformation before the eyes of the readers both in behavior and age. Kafka (1971) develops a character who is casually referred to as a man, the man embarks on a journey to learn about the law but gets hurdles on his ways in a bid to achieve his quest. In the eyes of the audience, the man develops from a young, ambitious man with a clear conscience to a desperate character who can do anything to access the law even if it means soiling his reputation through giving out bribes to the gatekeeper. As these events unfold, old age catches up with him still, beginning to be allowed into the premises, which have several chambers and even powerful keepers inside (Kafka, 1971). Initially, the man arrived at the gates of the premises, young, optimistic and ambitious in his quest to meet the law. However, in the eyes of the audience, the man grows old, gets pessimistic about all the happenings, and eventually becomes frail even to move an inch. Thus, Kafka develops the character through the eyes of the audience, make him undergo a massive transformation in age and ethically and gives people a different perspective on the life of the person.

In Borges’ the Wall and the Books, the character, Huang Shi, transforms just as he transforms the Chinese society. Initially, Emperor Shi practiced the religion of his mother and cherished all the canonical writings that were in existent in the Chinese community. However, after the conquest of the six kingdoms of China, he becomes obsessed with getting rid of the canonical books and everything that defined the past of Chinese society. The emperor orders the burning of all the canonical texts and destruction of the library, to destroy anything that could rekindle the memory of the past (Borges, 1971). He even banishes her mother and forbids people from mentioning or talking about death in Chinese society. Such tremendous transformation is also laced with violence, oppression, and suppression of any person who dares defy his orders or stand on his way. Interestingly, emperor Shi embarks on a need to preserve the past he destroyed. The emperor does this through recreating the past and taking the name of the mythical Chinese hero Huang Shi, gives people names form emperor one to infinity to preserve the past (Borges, 1971). The chines society also goes through a massive transformation as he builds one of the greatest wall in Chinese history to prevent him from death and other malice.

Similarly, in Zhuang’s Dream of a Butterfly, the main character Zhuang goes through a remarkable transformation with a short period during his sleep. In the dream, he transforms into a butterfly that can flit and flutter around. The change could be symbolical, but the custodian of the dream notes that after going through such a massive transformation, he felt happy since he could do anything that pleases him. Still, he remains oblivious of the fact that he is still Zhuang (Zhuang, 2000). However, he comes to a rude awakening and is tasked into determining whether the butterfly changed into him or he is the one who transformed into a butterfly. Though the part brings confusion to the readers, one underlying fact is that the character underwent a transformation that made him feel different about all the aspects of life. Such an occurrence made him reflect on his own life, wondering how he has transformed within a short period.

The Genre of Metaphor

In the three selected stories, the use of imagery, especially metaphors, is evident in all cases. All the authors used metaphor not only to represent the ordeals of the characters in the story but also to make the individual readers relate with the undertakings in the events unfolding in the story. In Kafka’s Before the Law, all the man, the gatekeeper, and the refusal of the entry to the man is metaphorically represented to highlight various aspects of the experiences of people. Though the story could be subject to multiple interpretations based on how it suits one’s context or experiences, one binding factor is that it mirrors the day to day ordeals in the struggle in people’s lives. Kafka (1971) supposedly used the man metaphorically to represent the lives of ordinary people who go through a lot of hardship and frustrations to achieve their goals and meet their demands. On the way, they meet the hurdles that slow them down or discourages them from their quests. Again, the gatekeeper metaphorically represents the people and the hurdles that stand on the way of an individual on their journey to achieve the goals and aspirations of life. The house that houses the law could metaphorically represent the twists and turns that characterize one’s experiences and ordeals to attain the best life. Just like the gate notes that inside the house stand more prominent keepers and massive challenges, life also has enormous challenges as one moves from one step to the other.

Further, in Borges’ the Wall and the Books, the construction of the wall and the wall itself could metaphorically represent the fears of death, especially among the influential people on the society. In the story, mysticism plays a vital role in bringing out the genre of metaphor. The emperor fears death builds a wall and a fortress to shield him from death, and the many chambers in the room are meant to hide him from death and confuse end from reaching him (Borges, 1971). Such developments show that emperor Shi, though powerful, was scared of death and lived in denial concerning the fact that death is inevitable to mortal beings. Therefore, the wall metaphorically represents the fear of the mighty in the society and how the fear of death could render a leader so ambitious in doing things that go beyond the comprehension of many. Emperor Shi’s actions of coercing people to build a wall to protect him from death could also metaphorically point out the naivety and ignorance of people who are drunk in power and remain over ambitious on their quest to hold onto power through supposed immortality.

Similarly, Zhuang’s Dream of the Butterfly immensely derives its assertions form the use of metaphor. The transformation to a butterfly in a dream could metaphorically represent the sudden changes that an individual undergoes in their quest to attain spiritual reawakening. The custodian of the vision notes that when he goes through the transformation, he felt well as he could do anything he wishes (Zhuang, 2000). The same phenomenon is also evident when one attains self-discovery. When one identifies their potential, they can effectively do various things that not only encourages their participation in new things but also gives them pleasure owing to their new-found establishment. Just like Zhuang transforms the dream, an individual could also experience a massive change if they discover their potentials and achieve things they could not believe could be achievable.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the above-selected texts have multiple shared aspects concerning the themes of transformation and the use of metaphor in highlighting the events in every case. The opaqueness of the story and the mysticism surrounding them leaves room for speculation and interpretation to the audiences in a considerable manner. The readers can effectively relate to the transformation of the characters, read into the turn and twists in the texts, and effectively relate such ordeals to the undertakings in their lives. The application of metaphors in the story is a vital aspect of letting the readers align such experiences with their own lives and the contemporary world.