During the 20th century, life in Europe changed dramatically, due to the multitude of events and changes that crowded this century. From wars to the effects of the Industrial Revolution, the lives of Europeans were constantly changing, with the priorities and opinions of society as a whole changing with the events of the time. However, eras such as World War I, World War II, and the Roaring Twenties all led to increased demand for manufacturing, and therefore for assembly lines and factories. This results in increased worker disengagement as there is no longer a sense of completeness and competence associated with the job. Instead, workers work exclusively on one aspect for hours a day. Adding to this sense of alienation is the mistreatment of workers as at the time the abuse and exploitation of the lower classes was rampant in the world, especially in the Western world. Alienation is also profound in this era due to the effect war has on soldiers and countries in general. People's experiences and decisions in times of war often result in alienation that has been widespread in this century. Literature in some areas usually reflects the opinions of people, and this is shown in works such as Metamorphosis, The Stranger, and A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. 20th century literature uses methods of alienation to demonstrate the state of life of people in this century's society. Although there are notable differences between books of different years, the use of alienation is present in most of the books, demonstrating that Europe as a whole was experiencing the tragedy of alienation. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, Kafka initially alienates the reader by creating an unusual environment that the reader is unable to relate to. The first line of the book states that the character turns into some kind of parasite. In this way, Kafka manages to make Gregor Samsa alien and completely untrustworthy, especially after his response to his peculiar situation. Instead of a rational response of panic or even questioning what has happened, Samsa instead ignores the problem, dismissing it as an illness so he can focus on work. However, when he begins to understand why the work is constantly on his mind, the reader is able to sympathize with the character more. After failing to get to the office on time and also missing the second train, it turns out that Samsa has to work, even though he fears and hates his job, because he has to pay off the family debt. It is also later revealed that the entire family's well-being depended on Samsa because no other family member worked. We also learn that her sister's dream is to attend a violin music school and that Samsa planned to work enough to pay for her to attend. Even though the reader may think that Samsa is completely incomprehensible and unrealistic, Kafka is able to open up the reader and allow empathy by explaining the protagonist's background. The life of Gregor Samsa refers to the period in which Kafka wrote the Metamorphosis, which occurred during the First World War. During this period, the Allies still needed fighting forces and soldiers were still deployed in their thousands. War comes with a cost, a cost that soldiers usually have to bear. Throughout 1915 there would be a multitude of wounded veterans and innocent soldiers. Society would change dramatically since able-bodied men and those who were deployedthey returned they were no longer “able”. Being kicked off the battlefield would mean an injury so severe that the soldier would no longer be able to fight, which would often also mean an inability to work. This would make them feel alienated from society as overnight their lives, bodies and minds have changed drastically. Even those who were not physically injured still had to live with the memories of the war and the remorse of their actions. They would have seen their comrades die and could have participated in the killing of themselves. All of this accumulates into a problem that veterans still have today, which is the feeling of alienation. Kafka is able to demonstrate both the external alienation that veterans can feel by portraying the main character, Gregor, as an insect. The book The Stranger by Albert Camus is another work from 20th century Europe that follows the trend of alienation of the protagonist. The protagonist, Meursault, seems completely unlikable at first even though he is introduced in the midst of a tragedy. The story begins at the funeral of Meursault's mother, which generally attracts sympathy from readers. However, our introduction to this character does the opposite. Instead of feeling bad for the character, we think he's rude and disrespectful. That's because instead of paying his respects inside the funeral and seeing his mother's body one last time, he stands outside smoking and drinking coffee. A possible explanation for this would be that he is so overwhelmed with grief that he cannot go to see his mother, but this is not supported. However, the opposite is demonstrated since no emotion is described. Instead, it just describes the people at the funeral coming in and out. This not only makes Meursault seem disrespectful, but also paints him as a cold and ruthless character. This makes it impossible for readers to sympathize with him. Although the time period in which The Stranger was written was different than The Metamorphosis, the circumstances of the time were similar as we were in the midst of World War II. However, the alienation that the Stranger focuses on is different from that of Metamorphosis as the emphasis is not on the relationship between the soldiers and their surroundings but within the soldiers themselves. The constantly recurring conflict is Meursault's inability to feel and react to the different events in his life. This not only makes it harder to sympathize with him, but also highlights the problems of complete belief in reality and bad faith. Throughout the book, Meursault accepts everything as fact and does not believe he can influence and bring about change in any way. This is similar to how many of the Axis powers viewed France when the country surrendered to Hitler in the year 1940. Although the outlook for the Allied powers was not positive at the time, many people believed that France should have fought instead to give up. to avoid further bloodshed. French leaders, including Prime Minister Daladier, believed that if they failed to fight Nazism, it could be seen as bad faith. Camus captures the conviction of reality and internal alienation that plagued France at the time in The Stranger. A European work of the third twentieth century that has a similar effect on readers is Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. This book describes the daily routine of Ivan Denisovich, who is in a prison camp in Siberia. A short description like the one above can make the book seem like something that is extremely easy to empathize with. A prisoner in Siberia is someone who should tug at the heartstrings since what most people know about Siberia is only that it is cold and it was where Russia sent its.