Lastly, Gregor’s gradual displacement from the family can be read as a metaphor of an existing abjection at the time when Kafka lived towards the Jewish nation. A few words concerning Franz Kafka’s background should be mentioned, in order to understand the link between Jewishness and abjection in the novella. The author of The Metamorphosis grows up in a German-speaking family in Prague, simultaneously surrounded by the East European culture, and thus also being able to speak Czech. Subsequently, Kafka takes a special interest in the Jewish heritage, exploring the history, learning Hebrew and Yiddish, along with propagating Zionism (Sokel 840). In such a manner, East European, West European, as well as native Jewish traditions intertwine and …show more content…
Kochuk explains that “late nineteenth century to early twentieth century Europe is recognized to be a time of conflicts and violence, especially for Jews” (3), as the political turmoil augments the grow of both German and Czech nationalism and consequently, xenophobic attitudes, most notably anti-Semitism. Furthermore, Valk stresses that “Jews were seen as radically different others […] Jews were abject, inassimilable strangers whose exclusion seemed conditional for the formation of a truly nationalist German/Czech identity” (67). Therefore, Gregor’s attempts to do his best, provide maximum for his family and, in general, special diligence in fitting the framework of the perfect son, brother and employee, correlate with the frantic efforts of Jewish population to assimilate within the society. These attempts, however, seem insufficient both for Gregor’s family, and, at a global scale, for the community …show more content…
Abjection belongs to subjectivity because it is a journey into what is not organized – or regulated – by society” (Beardsworth 243). Therefore, just as Gregor threatens the boundaries of the Samsa family, Jews challenge the boundaries of a society and on this account, are marked as the abject. Moreover, Gilman argues that there is a well-established humbling preconception which associates Jews with insects (80). As it is mentioned previously, the opening sentence of the novella designates Gregor as a ‘monstrous vermin’, which originally sounds as ‘ungeheures Ungeziefer’ in German. Corngold explains that ‘ungeheuer’ is “a being that cannot be accommodated in a family” and ‘Ungeziefer’ is “the unclean animal unsuited for sacrifice, the creature without a place in God’s order” (221-222). Thus, by taking into consideration these statements, and linking them with Julia Kristeva’s suggestion that a creature “without God […] is the utmost abjection” (Power of Horror, 4), one can say that Jews, in such a way, represent the pure abject, because they are not able to find place in the world and assimilate to the local
“The War Against The Jews” by Lucy Dawidowicz explores a very dark time in history and interprets it from her view. Through the use of other novels, she concurs and agrees to form her opinion. This essay will explore who Dawidowicz is, why she wrote the book, what the book is about, what other authors have explored with the same topic, and how I feel about the topic she wrote about. All in all, much research will be presented throughout the essay. In the end you will see how strongly I feel about the topic I chose. I believe that although Hitler terrorized the Jews, they continued to be stronger than ever, and tried to keep up their society.
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.
Thesis: The similarities between Gregor Samsa's physical transformation and my chronically ill uncle, how both experienced the inability to communicate with family members, all of the changes that occur in their lives, with their family, jobs and physical appearance after the transformation. Gregor Samsa and my uncle Carlos, went to bed and woke up different physically and mentally without a clear explanation of why this happened.
The story The Metamorphosis revolves around Gregor Samsa, a devoted son and brother who works tirelessly to provide for his family, waking up finding out that he has been transformed into a larger than life insect. Franz Kafka enlightens the readers to how being dependent on one person can lead a family to being weak when that support system is ripped away from them. The situations that Gregor is put into knocks him down from the head of the family into nothingness while at the same time boosts his family from that nothingness into being a strong support system for each other. Gregor 's transformation, his dependency on his sister for food, his injury, the family choosing strangers over him, and ultimately his death are all things that lead to this downfall, or metamorphosis.
Franz Kafka, in his novel The Metamorphosis, explores two conflicting ideas through his protagonist Gregor: unity and isolation. Gregor’s transformation created a whole life of distress for him, but on the other hand also formed a deeper and better relationship for the rest of the family.
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.
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.”
Gregor’s relationship with his father shows resemblance to the relationship between Kafka and his father. Kafka, as a child, suffered abuse from his father. Kafka viewed his father as a forceful monster, which resembles Gregor’s father. Gregor wanted nothing more than the love of his family, especially his father, just as Kafka had wanted. His reason for writing “The Metamorphosis” could also relate to the situation which he lived in. He was a Jew raised in Austro-Hungarian Empire, modern day Czech Republic. He was a Jew in an area of the world which Jews were not well accepted. Gregor was described as cockroach, something that Jew were often equated to during this time period. Jews were treated like vermin, they were thought of a creature that was to be rid of. Gregor experienced similar treatment from his family. They discussed leaving or getting rid of Gregor during the story. Experiences of Gregor are similar to those that Jews would have experienced during Kafka’s life. “The Metamorphosis” could also demonstrate the issues that normal people face every day. People face trials and tribulations every day that change their lives dramatically, nobody has ever been transformed into a bug, but it does represent the extreme circumstances that may
...be destroyed so easily, why cannot another?" and "Who, when, and where will be the next victim?" Thus, by establishing Gregor Samsa as a symbol of the Jewish Race, Kafka uses "The Metamorphosis" as a social critique of the treatment of the Jews in early twentieth-century Europe and raises timeless, complex, and haunting questions about the horrible atrocities of which the human race is capable.
In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the transformation of the character Gregor from a man to one of the most hated insects, a vermin, may seem exaggerated and ridiculous, becoming more so over the course of the story the action builds and the emotions and ideas of the characters in the story begin to change and become more prominent. Kafka’s intention, however, is to expose and explore the impoverishment of human psychology with respect to the ways in which changes in one’s circumstances and conditions reshape notions people have of the way they believe in justice and mercy which will be explore further in this analysis of Gregor Samsa.
Gregor Samsa’s outcast status sent him into a short lived life as a “monstrous vermin” (Kafka,7). While his predicament may have appeared avoidable, a life of constant selflessness to the point of severe adult naïveté remains inevitable in Gregor’s case. Kafka’s portrayal of a pitiful young man’s support of his family can produce none other than the childlike thinking of Gregor Samsa.
conviction that Gregor was set for life in his firm . . . they were so
In 1915, Franz Kafka published the novella The Metamorphosis, a story that questioned the habits of humanity through the frame of a man transformed into an insect. Through this absurd premise, Kafka is metaphorically able to present hatred and prejudice in an insular display—where the reader’s own opinion of Gregor is not judged or shamed, where both Gregor and the family’s actions can be understood. However, the metaphor of Gregor’s metamorphosis is not rigid in its application. It is fluid and unique, and what gives The Metamorphosis its grim, haunting tone. Kafka’s special metaphor not only broadens the limits of literary analogies, but expands on the nature of alienation and antipathy.
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.
In Kafka’s original novel in German, he “makes Gregor an … ungeziefer… ungeziefer meant not merely vermin but an unclean animal unfit for sacrifice” (Tonkin 35). The word ungeziefer, is a very degrading term to use on a human being. It relates to how his family can not even bare to see him, but rather only portray him as a burden and a dirty insect. To be an ungeziefer, is to be called lower than human, something so dirty and unclean that it is even unfit for sacrifice. Gregor is not a human anymore in the eyes of his family and society, but rather a dirty vermin below the status of a human. This in turn causes Gregor’s character to become less of a