A Comparative Study of Biological Metaphors in the Select Novellas of Nikolai Gogol Franz Kafka O V Vijayan and Philip Roth

Abstract

The present thesis aims at analyzing the large canvas of nineteenth century Russia, early twentieth century Germany, (Europe), last quarter of the twentieth century America and India. It is set against the huge socio-political, cultural, economic upheavals of the last two centuries. This thesis emphasises criticism, psychoanalysis, biology, change, universality and so on. The novelists analyse the issues to rebuild the social order of society in making a peaceful life for all human beings. All the four novellas project dystopian order of society against utopian order of Plato and Aristotle. newlineThe early part of the nineteenth century s Russia was witnessed a societal and cultural chaos under Czarist rule. Gogol has projected the realistic depiction of Russian society in his works. The early part of the twentieth century Europe was under the shadow of World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945). The religious and cultural values were shattered during this era, which led to the frustration and distress in the aftermath of World Wars. The second half of the twentieth century witnessed more individualism in American society. The existential angst, decentered human values, preference to fragmentation and short but intense living culture leading to the scattered human beings without any hope and belief. The second half of the twentieth century India witnessed as an era of crisis like wars with China (1962), Pakistan (1965), creation of Bangladesh (1971), the National Emergency (1975-1977) and National language issues (1960s). The consequences of these incidents can be evident at national as well as state levels. newlineThe sense of frustration leads to alienation and absurdity in human beings. In order to study the four novellas, these above-mentioned socio-political background taken into consideration. Nikolai Gogol (1809-1852), Franz Kafka (1883-1924), O. V. Vijayan (1930-2005) and Philip newlineRoth (1932-2018) witnessed the broad socio-cultural background of realism, modernism, post-modernism, existentialism, absurdity, po