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Discuss the symbolism in metamorphosis by Franz kafka
Discuss the symbolism in metamorphosis by Franz kafka
Discuss the symbolism in metamorphosis by Franz kafka
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Franz Kafka’s work of fiction, The Metamorphosis, is one of the most striking pieces of literature due to his unique writing style, going so far as to coin the term Kafkaesque. This vivid story is so magnifying because it depicts the realities which Kafka experienced in his personal life. The author uses his fictional work as a tool to express themes such as the father-son relationship, isolation, and physical and mental illness.
The first theme that Kafka’s fictional story touches upon is that of the Father-son relationship. Ever since Franz Kafka’s childhood, his father cast a vast shadow on the canvas of his life. The recurring scenes of the strained exchanges between Gregor and Mr. Samsa portray the experience Kafka had with his father-figure.
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Kafka used his work, The Metamorphosis, as a tool to express the theme of physical and mental illness present throughout his own life. The most disturbing thing about Gregor’s transformation into a giant insect is that this is an auto portrait that Kafka means to paint of himself. The main reason for the creation of Gregor’s transformation is because Franz Kafka thought of himself as a vile vermin in his later days. Kafka was afflicted with many illnesses throughout his lifetime including: insomnia, recurring coughs, night sweats, and similar difficulties, all of which are symptoms of tuberculosis. This later caused him to spend much of his time in a sanitarium with only his journals to keep him company. With his illness and isolation, Kafka felt like the very vermin he describes Gregor to be, going to the length of referring to himself as “Ungeziefer,” (vermin) in his unpublished “Letter to His …show more content…
Becoming an insect, Gregor crosses over an imaginary line to a point where there is no turning back, much like that of any person with a chronic illness. Kafka was afflicted with various illnesses throughout his life that contributed to his health conscious vegetarian diet. He suffered from insomnia, recurring coughs, night sweats, and similar difficulties, all of which are symptoms of tuberculosis. In 1914, there was no proper technique for diagnosing tuberculosis and the doctor identified Kafka’s sickness as bronchitis. He spent much of his time during these bouts with the symptoms in a sanitarium with only the company of his journals. With his illness and isolation, Kafka felt like vermin, unwanted, reviled. Kafka demonstrates this in his unpublished “Letter to His Father,” where he refers to himself as “Ungeziefer,”˚ that is translated specifically as vermin. This shows that Kafka used Gregor as a puppet to express the burden he felt himself to be in his work, The Metamorphosis.
Clearly, Franz Kafka used The Metamorphosis as a tool to express dominant themes which were present in his own life. These themes include that of the father son relationship shared between Gregor and Mr. Samsa/ Franz and Hermann Kafka, the theme of isolation, and the theme of illness.These themes expressed circumstances in vivid detail in order to communicate the personal pain that Franz felt like he could not share with anybody
In the novella, The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, the protagonist, Gregor, goes through a change from human to vermin, which affects his situations and makes them more surreal but relatable. Gregor’s problems, challenges, and obstacles he faces become more nightmarish, because he is a grotesque creature; however, Gregor’s feelings, instincts, and decisions are still relatable to a human being. When Gregor notices he has become an insect “he lies on his armour-like back,” he does not contemplate the change in his physical appearance. Instead, Gregor has the intention of catching the train and making it to work on time like a normal human being. However, for Gregor his armour-like back and domed-belly make his situation more Kafkaesque, because
Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to discover that he has been transformed into a repugnant vermin. One may never know what initiated this makeover, but the simple truth is that Gregor is now a bug, and everyone must learn to live and move on in this strenuous situation. In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the characters that interact with Gregor, including his mother, his father, and his sister Grete, must come to terms with his unfortunate metamorphosis, and each does so by reacting in a unique way. Gregor’s family members are constantly strained by this unusual event, and all three of them are pressed to their breaking point.
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.
The Metamorphosis lends itself more to the psychology student instructed to profile an author based on his work than to the literature student instructed to cite and expand on different literary elements. It is obviously the work of a very disturbed man, although the disturbance would probably be more of the chronic type that slowly eats a man away than the type which causes, say, one to hallucinate. To sum up The Metamorphosis, I would call it a very deceiving book. On the surface, the simplistic plot, apparent lack of imagination with regard to the syntax, and the largely flat characters tend to drive the reader away. However, when one looks just a little deeper, Kafka's whole world of fear and isolation opens up before his eyes.
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th Compact Ed. New York: Longman, 2013. 268-98. Print.
Coulehan, Jack. Kafka, Franz: The Metamorphosis. 29 Jan. 1997. Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database. 26 Nov. 2002.
The story, Metamorphosis, is an unusual story to say the least. The very first sentence one meets the main character, Gregor Samsa. This sentence really shows how different this story is when compared to other books in this class. Throughout the story the author, Franz Kafka, wants the reader to sympathize with Gregor. ‘When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself changed into a monstrous cockroach in his bed’ (87), is the first sentence, and already the author wants the reader to feel sympathy for Gregor. This is no dream either, he is really a bug, and Kafka makes sure there is no confusion. This is just one of many examples that I will discuss where Kafka wants the reader to sympathize with Gregor.
In The Metamorphosis Kafka illustrates a grotesque story of a working salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking up one day to discover that his body resembles a bug. Through jarring, almost unrealistic narration, Kafka opens up the readers to a view of Gregor’s futile and disappointing life as a human bug. By captivating the reader with this imaginary world Kafka is able to introduce the idea that Gregor’s bug body resembles his human life. From the use of improbable symbolism Kafka provokes the reader to believe that Gregor turning into a bug is realistic and more authentic compared to his unauthentic life as a human.
In The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, Gregor’s evolution to an insect symbolizes the loss of thorough communication, representing the disconnection of the individual from his family and his surroundings. Through this metamorphosis, the once loving family begins to remove itself from any past interactions with Gregor. In addition, the setting and surroundings of Gregor completely overcome him and persuade him to lose hope. The family and surroundings, not the change to an insect, lead Gregor towards death. Not only do the uncontrollable surroundings change Gregor, but so does the family.
This was the case of Franz Kafka; his inability to physically express his opinions to his family in reality, lead him to intellectually pursue his thoughts and relationship into the imaginary, his writings, as displayed in his short novella, “Metamorphosis.” Due to Kafka's life background and the nature of his society in the beginning of twentieth century in Prague, his only and main outlet in expressing his thoughts were to put them down onto paper. As a result, Kafka utilizes these two elements to satirize his internal thoughts into fiction. Although his stories are label as fiction, beyond its contextual interpretation, his stories are a reflection of his life. Needless to say, the most apparent factors that bleed through “Metamorphosis” are Kafka’s life relationship with his family and how he saw himself within that dynamic. Therefore, we can imply that the protagonist Gregor Samsa in “Metamorphosis” can well be the embodiment of Kafka himself. However, because the novella was written in fictional form, where taking the impossible of reality and making it possible, it can be hard to relate the interaction among characters to Kafka real life relation to his family. None the less, through the lens of biographical criticism in the analysis of “Metam...
Author’s Work Based on His Life Franz Kafka is known for many of his famous stories, but the “Metamorphosis” is written by him through his personal relationship and experience. Published in year of 1915, the short story seems to be twisted life of Kafka. There are many ideas and elements in the story that seem to be influenced from his life. As stated in his biography, the relationship with his dad is one of the force that influences Kafka to write many of his stories including the “Metamorphosis.” Kafka’s dad, Hermann, wanted him to become a businessman.
‘When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin’. Kafka begins his most famous work of literature with a peculiar yet effective first sentence. The statement is simple in nature but its meaning is much bolder and as a result Kafka is able to grab his readers’ attention. The reader has to contemplate what this could mean and consequently ask ‘why’ such an incident took place. Kafka is very effective in engaging his audience into his text and therefore readers go on to find out more about the peculiar man who turned into a ‘monstrous vermin’.
Kafka, Franz. "The Metamorphosis". The Metamorphosis. Trans. Donna Freed and Ed. George Stade. New York: Barnes and Nobles, 2003.
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. 1st ed. Translated by Stanley Appelbaum. New York: Dover Publications, 1996.
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.