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Use of symbolism in Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis
The use of symbolism in franz kafkas metamorphorsis
Use of symbolism in Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis
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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. Freedman states that Kafka "portrays shifts in spatial relations which suddenly circumscribe Gregor's movements and world." ( 131). Due to Gregor's transformation, he has immense difficulty because he has to "swing himself . . . with all his might" just to liberate himself from the bed (Kafka 9). Freedman recognizes that since getting out of bed is such a formidable task to Gregor, Gregor's spatial world has already shrunk immensely. Until he manages to fling himself out of bed, Gregor's habitable world consists only of the bed. Another limitation to the world that Gre... ... middle of paper ... ... to do this every day Gregor would have had to have some sense of time. His dwindling human aspects are prominently marked in two places: the first when Gregor is incapable of communicating with his family and the sales manager and the second when he takes pleasure in rutting about in dirt and filth. Lastly, Gregor's loss of consciousness causes a polar change within his family. As Gregor is no longer able to earn money to support the family, everyone else is forced to take action to bring in capital. The most obvious change is in the father who transformed from a dead weight into a zealous worker. Despite Freedman's employment of flawed logic to formulate some of his theories, the majority of his conclusions are quite valid and probe deeply into the meaning behind Kafka's writing. Works Cited Nabokov, Vladimir. "Vladimir Nabokov's Lecture on 'The Metamorphosis'".
Thirdly, he suffers isolation from the physical world, which he is no longer able to participate in due to his presence and lack of mobility. Lastly, he suffers isolation from other people around him, especially his family. By the end even his sister, Grete, the most compassionate member of the family, explanations that they should stop thoughtful of the creature as the person they knew. She says that “the fact that we’ve believed it so long is the root of our trouble” (Kafka 48), which can be taken to mean that at some point Gregor stopped being a person not only because of his entrance but since of his non-conformist actions. The beating he receives from his father shows the extent of the cruelty he endures, though his father knows that “family duty compulsory the conquest of disgust and the use of endurance, nothing but patience” (Kafka 36). The tragedy is that this alienation ends up killing Gregor, who “dies not as a vermin, but as a human being thinking of his family”. The transformation is an indication of the breakdown of Gregor’s psyche and alienation within his self. The reader is not told how the transformation
The novel is set on Gregor being placed into the fatherly role. From there stems all the problems from the novel. One in particular comes up. Gregor does not go out at night. This is his recreational time, his time to relax and unwind. Instead Gregor stays working even when he is away from his job. Work without relaxation is dangerous. Even ancient texts talk about a day of rest.
Gregor, prior to his metamorphosis, is stuck in a cycle of suffering. He is a slave to his obligations and is alienated emotionally from the outside world. His life, ruled by his families dependence on him, around a job he neither choose nor enjoys. Gregor’s work so engrosses his life that there is no time for rest. He has not “had a day’s illness in his five years at the firm.” and that “if it weren't for my parents I’d have handed in my notice long ago.” (Kafka 1967) Gregor lives alarm clock ...
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.
Kafka emphasizes that Gregor’s absurdly neglects his physical condition in order financially support his family. "That's all I'd have to try with my boss; I'd be fired on the spot. Anyway, who knows if that wouldn't be a very good thing for me. If I didn't hold back for my parents' sake, I would have quit long ago. (1.5)". Although Gregor's tardiness to work goes unmentioned until the next paragraph, Kafka establishes that Gregor strives to please his parents by keeping his job. "Gregor […] comp...
Gregor constantly made serious efforts to be a part of his family mentally, even when he could not be physically. Kafka describes the image of Gregor “press[ing] his whole body against [the door]” in hopes of “hear[ing] any news....
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 story Gregor’s mother is calling him to come down and eat with the family, meanwhile his father “turned his back to his breakfast” (Kafka, 8) showing that he has no interest on why his son is not at the dinner table. Franz makes note that the character playing Gergor’s father is a distant, taciturn man just like how Kafka’s father was to him. IT was known that Kafka was a popular employee within his field of work. Gergor was implied to be a great worker when his family was talking to his employer. Gregors mother says “Mr. Manager. Otherwise how would Gregor miss a train! The young man has nothing in his head except business. I’m almost angry that he never goes out at night. (Kafka, 15). Franz and Gregor both known as great employees and both not wanting the job they work at is clear evidence showing Franz implemented his own life into
Gregor’s entrapment inside of the bedroom forces the realization of the isolation and alienation from society into his mind. Gregor’s life as an insect takes place in an apartment in a city. The setting forces Gregor to contemplate the reality and meaning of life. The location of a hospital across the street from Gregor begins Gregor’s questioning. He wonders why his family does nothing and how he can live close to a hospital and not get any help. Kafka applies irony to the presence of the hospital and begins Gregor’s downfall and loss of hope in returning to a normal life. Also, the window itself portrays how close, yet how far he remains from safety. The bedroom contains his body and completely controls the rest of his life. Later on, hiding in the dark becomes a routine, “And he scuttled under the coach again” (Kafka 23). The bedroom becomes too much, and he can only feel comfortable and safe while hiding under furniture. His hiding prohibits any communication with anyone, and forces him into solitary confinement. The space of the room eventually leads Gregor to flee into safer areas, yet at the same time ends all contact and communication w...
Franz Kafka’s stories and novels contain such disturbing situations that the word Kafkaesque has been created to define the most unpleasant and bizarre aspects of everyday modern life. A master of dark humor and an artist of unique vision, Kafka captures perfectly the anxiety and absurdity of contemporary urban society (Norton Anthology 1866). In 1912, Kafka produced his longest, as well as his most famous novella written, The Metamorphosis. Metamorphosis means change, which is something readers see a lot of in this novella. It is about a young man, Gregor Samsa, who wakes up and sees that is has been transformed into a bug. He, as well as his families, lives are completely turned upside down. They had all depended so heavily on Gregor, and
Kafka’s shows the shifting in the structural dynamics when Gregor’s new formation changes the attitudes from supportive to neglect when his needs affect their wants, needs and lifestyle. Gregor’s sense of duty to family was his main propriety towards his family. Even though he loathed his job as a travelling salesman, his devotion to financially clear his parent’s debt and care for his sister Grete was more important. He dreamt of fleeing the tightly coiled grip from his parent’s hands, but his loyalty was a pertinent family duty. To Gregor, this was what family was all about.
Without doubts, before the metamorphosis, Gregor was alienated from many aspects of his life, including his own body; that’s why his transformation was almost no surprise to him. After the metamorphosis, Gregor was alienated from everything around him, even his room; Kafka symbolizes that by the hospital across from his window that he could not see after the metamorphosis. Kafka was brilliant in the sense that all the themes in the story led to the same outcome, which is the theme of alienation…
For the majority of the story, Gregor can only explore one room. This one room becomes the majority of Gregor’s reality. By designing Gregor’s reality this way, Kafka emphasizes that Gregor has become cut off from reality and is placed in his own enclosed world. This claustrophobic setting helps to add an element of unease to the story and helps to express Gregor’s loneliness. By cutting Gregor off from his former reality, Kafka is emphasizing that Gregor is no longer a part of humanity. By doing this, Kafka shows that Gregor’s transformation has erased Gregor the man and all that remains is Gregor the bug. This is further highlighted by the removal of the furniture of the room. This removal shows that even Gregor’s own family has stopped seeing him as a part of humanity highlighting his loneliness. This can be seen here, “I won't pronounce the name of my brother in front of this monster, and so all I say is: we have to try to get rid of it. We've done everything humanly possible to take care of it and to put up with it."(Kafka
After attaining his readers attention Kafka goes onto describing Gregor’s new physical state. It is thus established that Gregor is the main character of the story. Gregor’s new body ‘which was as hard as armour’ can be seen as a protecting net for him; possibly preparing him for his troublesome future.
Using symbols, Kafka illustrates the story which is not just about Gregor’s transformation but it is more than that. The entire Metamorphosis is an allegory about Gregor changing into a vermin, symbolize that he wanted to free himself from his family obligation. “As Gregor Samsa awoke from unsettling dreams one morning, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” (Kafka 7). He thought his transformation was a dream but he soon realizes that it was reality. Gregor was the source of the income for his family and was employed in a job he did not like. “What a grueling profession I picked! Traveling day in, day out” (Kafka 7). This is ironic because Gregor was forced by his father to choose the alienated career. Mr. Samsa was indebted to his boss; working as a traveling salesman he would have pay off his father debt. Working as traveling salesman made Gregor alienated socially and mentally. The word transformation does not only app...