"What You Say Is Who You Are" : Language and how it is used.

Language is generally seen as a means for an individual to directly express him or herself in a way that will be universally understood by everyone. After all, language is merely a set of symbols understood to be representative of specific actions, objects and descriptions. The truth of the matter is, however, that language is not simply an objective means of description used by a society; it is a complex representation of the person speaking …

…Family viewes Gregor as a burden, not an asset. Because his status gives him purpose only in actions (i.e. work) and not words, he is viewed as an insect, not a son. Works Cited: Kafka, Franz. "The Metamorphosis." Trans. Edwin Muir and Willa Muir. Bakhtin, Mikhail. "Verbal Interaction." Marxism and the Philosophy of Language. Trans. Majevka and Titunik. New York, 1973. Rpt. In The Rhetorical Tradition. Eds. Patricia Rizzell and Bruce Herzberg. Boston: Bedford, 1990. 928-994.