Global warming causes an environmental metamorphosis.
Metamorphosis is a term that comes from the Latin metamorphosis , in turn derived from a Greek word meaning transformation . The most precise sense of the word, therefore, refers to the mutation , evolution or change of one thing that becomes something different.
Metamorphosis can be physical (concrete, real) or symbolic (abstract). The change from one state to another, such as from poverty to wealth or from singleness to marriage, can also be called a metamorphosis. For example: "Susana won the lottery and experienced a metamorphosis: she now lives in a mansion on the beach and has a luxury car."
Types of metamorphosis
For zoology , metamorphosis is the modification that certain animals experience within the framework of their growth and development of their life cycle. In this transition process, the animal can change shape and even gender .
It is possible to distinguish between simple, simple or incomplete metamorphosis (where the animal goes through different molts until it becomes an adult, without periods of inactivity, as is the case of grasshoppers) and complicated or complete metamorphosis (the larva is very different from the adult). and goes through stages where it does not move and may even stop eating, as happens to butterflies).
In geology , meanwhile, metamorphism is the change (without producing a change of state) in the mineral or chemical formation of a rock, which occurs when it is under the influence of a pressure or temperature different from those at which it is exposed. they gave rise to it.
Globalization encourages a cultural metamorphosis on a global scale.
Kafka's masterpiece
"The Metamorphosis" is a story by the Czech Franz Kafka , published in 1915 , with the original title "Die Verwandlung" .
The play begins when Gregorio Samsa , a man who works as a salesman, wakes up and discovers that his body has changed , that he no longer has a human form but rather carries a carcass and the limbs of a huge insect, as if it were a giant cockroach.
From that event begins a life in which Gregorio secludes himself in his bedroom and stops communicating normally with the outside world. At first his sister takes care of him, brings him food, cleans and tidies his room and makes sure he doesn't lack anything; However, as time goes by everyone forgets about him and the maid is the one who has to be in charge of feeding him. Forgotten by his loved ones, Samsa feels sadder and more alone every day. He listens to their conversations and is able to understand them, but when he opens his mouth to communicate, monstrous sounds come out of his mouth. He finally dies in his bedroom, completely alone.
Analysis of "The Metamorphosis"
"The Metamorphosis" is one of Kafka 's fundamental works, a novel of which there are absolutely opposite opinions: some claim that it is one of the best stories ever written, while others express that it is a crazy story . However, beyond the readers' tastes, it is important to point out the issues that stand out in this novel, its meaning and Kafka 's reasons for writing it.
This work can refer to loneliness, frustration and guilt that become protagonists in a person's life when certain forces act on them that they are not able to control . The character undergoes a change that he cannot explain and the others, instead of trying to get closer to him and learn to communicate from another plane, remain in their place, being exactly the same people; This leads to a circle of frustration and loneliness that the protagonist is not able to face and whose only solution is death, the breakup of those relationships, the journey to a different dimension where only beings capable of understanding him exist.
The idea of metamorphosis can be associated with a rebirth or a reconfiguration.
The supernatural and the absurd vs. the realistic
All of Kafka 's novels are characterized by presenting different supernatural or absurd mechanisms with a realistic and true look, achieving a logical explanation for those issues that seem incomprehensible; His characters do not fully understand if what is happening is the product of a dream or part of reality and, nevertheless, they continue forward. Gregorio Samsa does not believe that it is a cockroach, but that it is all a bad dream that will end when he wakes up and can go to work.
On the other hand, when you discover that there is nothing you can do to reverse that, you try to accept it. Despite his efforts, the incomprehension and coldness with which his people treat him force him to take refuge in solitude. It is a work where fundamental themes of life can be analyzed, such as tolerance and the meaning of existence beyond appearances.
Examples of metamorphosis
Beyond the biological metamorphosis , geological metamorphosis and literary metamorphosis already mentioned, we can name other examples of conversion, adaptation or renewal.
An economic metamorphosis occurs when there is a change in the dynamics of the economy. Suppose that oil is discovered in a region: this discovery results in a million-dollar investment in the area, the creation of jobs and other developments. This structural change also generates a social metamorphosis since the new reality modifies living conditions, occupations and even the ties between people.
Let us now take the case of a country where, over three decades, left-wing and center-left governments succeeded one another. However, various factors cause an alteration in the hitherto usual preferences of voters, who begin to vote for center-right and right-wing options. Analysts, in this framework, highlight the political metamorphosis of the nation.
If a city promotes the construction of modern skyscrapers in a previously unpopulated area, an urban metamorphosis develops. On the other hand, an engineer who abandons his profession to settle in the countryside and dedicate himself to the cultivation of edible mushrooms carries out a process of personal metamorphosis .