Narrative Structures in Herman Melville's Bartlebyand Franz Kafka's the Metamorphosis

Many things are included in the development of a good story; from the various themes and storylines that the author introduces, to the structure and presentation of that story. One of the most important aspects in this structure is that of narrative. No matter how intuitive it may seem, the narrative structure of a piece of fiction is carefully chosen by the author and developed accordingly. In the case of both Bartleby and Metamorphosis this is case. In terms of sheer effect, both of these pieces are able to establish the exact series of reactions from the reader that the piece intends. However, each book accomplishes such ends in a different manner. While Melville approached Bartleby from a purely tertiary point of view, forcing us to view the world of Bartleby from a flat perspective, Kafka gets as close as he can to Gregor without actually using a first person perspective. In both cases, though a similar technique of narrative ignorance is used to establish a forced outer perspective by the reader and in doing so, the authors are able to present their messages to a more poignant effect, revealing the inner workings of their protagonists in the process.