Killing Indifference in The Metamorphosis
Even before the beginning of the story, each member of the Samsa family in
Franz Kafka¹s Metamorphosis serves a specific purpose. Gregor Samsa, the
tragic protagonist of the story, performs his job with routine precision.
It is this role as a provider that sustains his relationship to his family.
But at the onset of the story, Gregor is inexplicably transformed into a
³gigantic insect.² (p.67) In addition to jeopardizing his role in both
society and work, this transformation severely effects his relationship with
his family. The consequent indifference, alienation, and finally hatred
that he elicits from his family is the source of his demise. For without
the emotional sustenance and the essential role within the family that
Gregor had occupied previous to his metamorphosis, he is not able to sustain
life.
Even after Gregor has become an insect, his initial reaction is not one of
alarm. Surprisingly, his first response is to devise some sort of plan to
secure his job and hence his role in the family. The only call to urgency
that interrupts his ³cool reflection² is the arrival of the chief clerk
(p.73). Accordingly, Gregor laments his fate of ³being condemned to work
for a firm where the smallest omission can give rise to the highest
suspicion² (p.74). It is as if he would most likely entirely overlook his
more immediate and pressing condition of being an insect if it did not
impede his ability to go to work. Gregor, in fact, finally risks bodily harm
only due to the ³agitation² he feels over the thought of his parents
becoming unsettled by their son¹s tardiness and the pres...
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...²
implores Grete to her father while she is persuading him to exterminate the
bug(p.125).
But the damage is already done. The Samsa family¹s exclusion of Gregor is
what causes his demise. Even though the description of his death does
involve physical characteristics, it is Gregor¹s memory of his family that
effects him the most. During his final moments, he describes the apple
which is embedded in his back as ²...hardly troubl[ing] him²(p.127). He
then proceeds to ³[think] of his family with tenderness and love² (p.127).
This thought process represents Gregor¹s need to be at peace with the family
of which he was such an integral part prior to his metamorphosis. For
without the love and affection and nurture that Gregor both provided and
received, he is forced to succumb to his physical demise.
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is so strikingly absurd that it has engendered countless essays dissecting every possible rational and irrational aspect of the book. One such essay is entitled "Kafka's Obscurity" by Ralph Freedman in which he delves down into the pages of The Metamorphosis and ferrets out the esoteric aspects of Kafka's writing. Freedman postulates that Gregor Samsa progresses through several transformations: a transformation of spatial relations, a transformation of time, and a transformation of self consciousness, with his conscious mutation having an antithetical effect on the family opposite to that of Gregor. His conjectures are, for the most part, fairly accurate; Gregor devolves in both his spatial awareness and his consciousness. However, Freedman also asserts that after Gregor's father throws the wounding apple, Gregor loses his sense of time. While his hypothesis certainly appears erudite and insightful, there really is no evidence within the book itself to determine whether if Gregor has a deteriorating sense of time. If Freedman had only written about Gregor's spatial and conscious degradation, then his entire thesis would be accurate.
Jewish emancipation in Germany dates from 1867 and became law in Prussia on July 3, 1869. Despite the fact the prominence which Jews had succeeded in gaining in trade, finance, politics, and literature during the earlier decades of the century, it is from the brief rise of liberalism that one can trace the rise of the Jews in German social life. For it is with the rise of liberalism which the Jews truly flourished. They contributed to its establishment, benefited from its institutions, and were under fire when it was attacked. Liberal society provides social mobility, which led to distaste among those who had acquired some place in a sort of a hierarchy. Although many were, not all anti-Semites were anti-liberal, but most anti-Semites opposed Liberalism’s whole concept of human existence, which provides much equality.
The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka's best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. In this novel Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically. The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many ways similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The Metamorphosis also shows resemblance to some of Kafka's diary entries that depict him imagining his own extinction by dozens of elaborated methods. This paper will look into the text to show how this is a story about the author's personal life portrayed through his dream-like fantasies.
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is a masterfully written short story about Gregor Samsa, a man who devotes his life to his family and work, for nothing in return. Only when he is transformed into a helpless beetle does he begin to develop a self-identity and understanding of the relationships around him. The underlying theme of The Metamorphosis is an existential view that says any given choice will govern the later course of a person's life, and that the person has ultimate will over making choices. In this case, Gregor?s lack of identity has caused him to be numb to everything around him.
The Enlightenment is a unique time in European history characterized by revolutions in science, philosophy, society, and politics. These revolutions put Europe in a transition from the medieval world-view to the modern western world. The traditional hierarchical political and social orders from the French monarchy and Catholic Church were destroyed and replaced by a political and social order from the Enlightenment ideals of freedom and equality(Bristow, 1). Many historians, such as Henry Steele Commager, Peter Gay, have studied the Enlightenment over the years and created their own views and opinions.
There is a theory that dream and myth are related which is conveyed through the writing of Douglas Angus’ Kafka's Metamorphosis and "The Beauty and the Beast" Tale and supported by Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. The stories are very symbolic when conveying the metamorphosis of a human being. Unlike Beauty and the Beast, in the Metamorphosis some suggest love is received through acts of cruelty yet in actuality it appears that cruelty results in heartache. Due to being a beast, the repulsiveness requires genuine love which can achieve the “magical transformation.” This “magical transformation” is not achieved and creates a twist in the plot derived from the concepts in the “Beauty and the Beast.”
The history of the Jewish people is one fraught with discrimination and persecution. No atrocity the Nazis did to the Jews in the Holocaust was original. In England in 1189, a bloody massacre of the Jews occurred for seemingly no reason. Later, the Fourth Lateran Council under Pope Innocent III required Jews to wear a badge so that all would know their race, and then had them put into walled, locked ghettos, where the Jewish community primarily remained until the middle of the eighteenth century. When the Black Death ravaged Europe in the medieval ages, many Europeans blamed the Jews (Taft 7). Yet, the one thing that could be more appalling than such brutal persecution could only be others’ failure and flat-out refusal to intervene. Such is the case with the non-Axis coutries of World War II; these nations failed miserably in their responsibility to grant basic human rights – even the right of life – to Jewish immigrants prior to World War II.
“Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted it must be changed. If it cannot be changed it must be accepted.”- Winston Churchill. Change is frightening, but without change you can never accomplish a greater goal. Gregor experienced a dramatic change in his life. He may or may not have experienced the physical change described, but he did experience a mental change. The mental change opened Gregor’s eyes to what really mattered in life. Once Gregor accepted his physical change he was able to begin his mental change. Gregor’s values in life had changed dramatically from beginning to end. Though Gregor was subjected to ridicule, he was given the greatest gift. The opportunity to change is the greatest gift anyone can
Jews were also barred from owning land or from holding jobs that they desired and for which they qualified. Even under these constraints, Jews prospered and gained significant values as merchants throughout Europe. During the Middle Age, with the increased spread of Christianity, Jews were looked upon as “allied with Muslims” and many were killed (Carr; Shyovitz). Long before the twentieth century Holocaust, Jews were forced to live in closed communities, known as ghettos, without interacting with the outside world, but under strict regulations from the German authorities (“Ghetto”). Jewish isolation led to a greater increase of their religious background and, therefore, even greater persecution. In the seventeenth century, rulers of the European kingdoms valued the Jews because of their economic status and granted them citizenships. During the eighteenth
The Jewish people's problems began long before the Common Era; they were persecuted long ago by King Nebuchadnezzer. Because of the treaty that was signed with King Nebuchadnezzer the Jews were uprooted from their home in Jerusalem and were forced into exile in the city of Babylon. The Jews were not treated poorly, though they were bitter because of being taken away form their beloved Jerusalem. Due to this bitterness they became more intensely Jewish than ever before. (1)
conviction that Gregor was set for life in his firm . . . they were so
In Franz Kafka’s short story, Metamorphosis, the idea of existentialism is brought out in a subtle, yet definite way. Existentialism is defined as a belief in which an individual is ultimately in charge of placing meaning into their life, and that life alone is meaningless. They do not believe in any sort of ultimate power and focus much of their attention on concepts such as dread, boredom, freedom and nothingness. This philosophical literary movement emerged in the twentieth-century, when Kafka was establishing his writing style in regards to alienation and distorted anxiety. A mirror to his own personal lifestyle, this story follows the short and sad life of a man unable to break out of the bonds society has placed on him. These bonds are not only evident in the work place, but at home too. Being constantly used and abused while in his human form, Gregor’s lifestyle becomes complicated once he becomes a giant insect and is deemed useless. Conflicts and confusion arise primarily between Gregor and his sister Grete, his parents, and his work. Each of these three relationships has different moral and ethical complications defining them. However, it is important for one to keep in mind that Gregor’s metamorphosis has placed him into a position of opposition, and that he has minimal control over the events to take place. Conflicts will also occur between family members as they struggle with the decision of what to do with Gregor. In the end they all come to the agreement that maintaining his uselessness is slowly draining them and they must get rid of him.
Galileo instigated one of the most important scientific changes in history. He developed many new ideas and ways of gathering information which he used to hypothesize new theories. He used his ability to persuade and changed the way science was thought of forever. He developed a new instrument called the telescope and discovered a wide variety of new information about the universe. This information would eventually influence scientists, theologians, and basically all people. He had discovered that the earth was not the center of the universe, and that the universe contained more numbers and mathematical formulas than ever thought. In fact, Galileo, pictured below, often thought of the universe as just one enormous math problem. The fact that the universe was becoming more mathematical and less abstract caused many problems within the church. People now how to deal with the fact that human beings were not the center of everything. They had to deal with the fact that human society was possibly less important than had been previously believed. Galileo developed the idea that the universe was a playground of numbers, and this idea changed lives, religions, and history forever.
...self from stress. After work, he should spend more time with his family than before, enjoying his spare time doing whatever he likes, being peaceful in mind, play with children who have beautiful energy and normally smiling with amusement.