Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis and Juan Rulfo's Pedro Páramo both have the main theme of humanity. The alarm clock, in The Metamorphosis, and the weather, in Pedro Páramo, can be considered coherent symbols of Gregor Samsa, Juan Precido and Pedro Páramo's awareness of time, a sign of humanity, but when Gregor, Juan and Pedro begin to forgive their humanity, the symbols disappear, leaving them trapped in their inhumanity. The authors, Kafka and Rulfo, show, through the motif of entrapment, that inhumanity truly illustrates their human characteristics and increases the verisimilitude of the characters through the mistakes the characters make that lead them to become inhuman. Awareness of time is a trait that represents humanity in both The Metamorphosis and Pedro Páramo. In The Metamorphosis, the alarm clock represents Gregor's humanity because every time the clock is present, Gregor is reminded of the time, his job, and his responsibilities to provide for his family. “Man needs to sleep… And he looked at the alarm clock ticking on the dresser” (Kafka, 4) examines Gregor's mind while he is still in his humanity. In “Human Beings Must Sleep” the “must” shows that sleep is part of humanity by showing that Gregor is aware of his humanity and actively tries to take part in it. The presence of the alarm clock in this quote reinforces the symbolism behind the alarm clock because Gregor is aware of the time by listening to the ticking of the alarm clock and remembering all the responsibilities he has. In Pedro Páramo, the weather represents the structure of time and whenever the weather, mainly rain, seems to symbolize humanity Juan and Pedro and the rest of Comala have a...... middle of paper ..... .and loses all the humanity he was trying to preserve, loving Susana. «And all this was the work of Don Pedro, because of the turmoil of his soil. Only because his wife, that Susanita, was dead. So tell me if he loved her. (Rulfo, 81) He loses his humanity with Susana's death. He keeps the city trapped in Comala because he sees it as the best way to keep Susana. Using time as a symbol for humanity, the alarm clock and time as symbols of time, Franz Kafka and Juan Rulfo demonstrate to readers that inhumanity is what makes everyone human through greed, love, interest and sometimes even transforming into an insect. Works Cited Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. 1915. Trans. Stanley Corngold. New York: Bantam Books, 1986. Print.Rulfo, Juan. Pedro Paramo. 1955. Trans. Margaret Sayers Peden. New York: Grove Press, 1994. Print.