Humor in Kafka and Marquez Essay

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In the beginning of the story, Erendira must "bathe and overdress her grandmother, scrub the floors, cook lunch, and polish the crystal ware" (Marquez) every day. Erendira endures a difficult life for a fourteen-year-old girl, considering she was "too meek for her age" (Marquez). The life her grandmother makes her live is inhumane as she attempts to make Erendira pay for her mistake with prostitution. Erendira's prince does not arrive quickly and when he does, she leaves him. Here is where we see the story move from a fairy tale story to one that seeks to explain human behavior. Erendira takes care of herself with the money she feels she deserves. She decides to do so without a man and this makes the story modern while at the same time, very timeless, in that people are as unpredictable as they are predictable. Erendira is an independent woman in need to a way to survive in the world. We also see humor when the grandmother appears to be immune from death. She survives a poison-laced cake and an explosion and when she finally dies, he blood is "oily, shiny and green, just like mint honey" (Marquez). She bleeds like a monster from the cartoons and while she was indeed a real monster, we do not forget her negative nature.

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Her death is no doubt welcome by the readers but how it comes about is surprising and humorous. With young girl and her Cinderella-like existence, her grandmothers ogre-like existence and the unexpected surprise ending, we see how Marquez uses the nonsensical aspects of these characters to bring wit to the tale.

"The Metamorphosis" and "The Incredible and Sad Tale of Erendira" are tales that make social commentaries through subtle uses of humor. Kafka and Marquez look at humanity through similar lenses in that they do not take things too seriously. They possess the ability to examine serious issues with nonsensical attitudes. Kafka looks at the decaying nature of the modern family with his tale about Gregor turning into a bug and his family caring very little for him. Erendira suffers a terrible childhood and when she finds love and someone to spend her life with, she decides to escape into the darkness of the night with nothing but money. These are funny situations but they say something about the nature of man and that is that he is, above all, unpredictable in the best and worst situations.

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