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The concept of metamorphosis
Metamorphosis critical analysis
Metamorphosis critical analysis
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I chose to explore the novel, “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka in more depth because I found this novel to be unusually appealing to me. Since we have read a good variety of pieces from a variety of talented authors, it was a hard choice deciding which novel I wanted to write about. The reason why I settled with Metamorphosis is because it is nothing like you’d expect after reading it judging by the title. I also respect the amount of creativity Franz Kafka put into it. Another reason why I chose this novel is because I feel I have faced a time where I’ve gone through a transition in my life which caused a big transformation. In other words, I feel as though I’ve gone through my own metamorphoses as a student so this novel hits close to home for me. …show more content…
Now knowing the definition, a huge question comes to mind when reading this novel; “How does this piece of modern literature complicate our understanding of identity?” In the novel “Metamorphosis” which is based around the exploration of identity and self-tolerance, readers are left with many questions that confuse us regarding the means of identity. Since there is usually a supporting factor behind a transformation when it happens, we are brought to the main question of why the author Franz Kafka doesn’t give us the explanation of why Gregory’s transformation took place or why it happened to Gregory of all people. After all, he was a good worker who was already in a mature form so in our mind he would be past a “Metamorphosis stage” at that point in his life. He also provided for his family, so why of all people did the transformation happen to him knowing that after the transformation he wouldn’t be able to provide for them? He didn’t deserve to be transformed therefore many questions
The story of the Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka and the graphic novel of the “Metamorphosis” by Peter Kuper both portray a struggling salesman who is suddenly transformed into a human-sized roach. However, these two works are distinctly parallel from each other in their themes. Kafka’s Metamorphosis is about family while Kuper’s theme is about freedom and escapism. Though Kafka and Kuper are very similar to each other, on the contrary the themes are different.
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.
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.”
In the stories of the Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami, there are events of magical realism and marxism that occur. In the Metamorphosis, Gregor had to adapt to his new environment and also deal with the financial crisis from his family. In the Elephant Vanishes, the people in the city, had to deal with the disappearance of the town’s symbol, the elephant.
The metamorphosis very possibly was written by Kafka as an outlet for his feelings of isolation and helplessness. In it, the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, awakens one morning to find himself spontaneously "transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin." The story continues from there in a most realistic fashion: his family rejects him, and he stays cooped up in his room until he dies. Although interpretations of the story differ, my opinion is that Kafka wrote this story as a protestation, whether consciously or unconsciously, of his own inner needs not being met. Franz Kafka suffered from severe mental disorientation. This man suffered severe tragedies as a child: as the first child of Hermann and Julie Kafka, he lived to see two brothers born and die before he was six years old. Although they were eventually replaced by three new sisters, Kafka began his life with tragedies which most people do not experience until they are much older. Kafka lacked parental guidance, as he and his sisters were brought up mostly by governess. He was a Jew, and lived in Czechoslovakia, but he went to German schools. Therefore Kafka masked himself twice, at the bidding of his father. His father had made himself into a successful businessman, and expected Kafka to do the same. Most of Kafka's stories contain or center around an over-domineering, almost frightening father figure. Kafka obeyed his father. He remembered his high school education as being meaningless and dull, but, out of obedience to his father, he completed it, and passed with flying colors. This switching to a less offending option in order to offend no one characterizes Kafka very well. He possessed a wonderful mind but rarely, ...
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.
Stephens, J. “Franz Kafka’s personal life reflected in the Metamorphosis” The Kafka Project. 1999-2002. 13 November 2002. .
Bruce, Iris. "Elements of Jewish Folklore in Kafka's Metamorphosis." The Metamorphosis: Translation, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996. 107-25. Print.
In the novella “The Metamorphosis”, Franz Kafka focuses on the topic of alienation and considers its underlying effect on the human consciousness and self-identity. The alienation Kafka instigates is propagated towards the main character Gregor Samsa, who inevitably transforms into a giant cockroach. The alienation by family relations affects him to the extent that he prioritizes his extensive need to be the family’s provider before his own well-being. This overwhelming need to provide inevitably diminishes Gregor’s ability to be human-like. Kafka also enforces the idea of the ability to resurrect one’s self-identity following psychologically demanding events. In this essay, I utilize Gregor Samsa’s metamorphosis to address that alienation, in its various forms, is instrumental in the dehumanization process and can also oppositely induce a restoration of self-identity. The metamorphosis acts as a metaphor to express the inhumane change of state that occurs to a victim of alienation; it also formulates Gregor’s epiphany. He suffers through three forms of alienation: exploitation, violence, and neglect. The joint presence of these three external forces deprives him of a human distinctiveness, but in turn, influences a final realization that enforces the restoration of his self-identity, and therefore human identity.
The time period in which “Metamorphosis” was written in (1912) is very significant, because of its historical impact on the novel and the particular views of the time. America was becoming increasingly prosperous with its capitalist views, and was seen by the world as ‘the land of opportunity’, where anyone could be wealthy. Between 1880 and 1930, approximately 2,800,000 Germans and Czechs immigrated to America, in search of a better life, possibly causing resentment and bitterness from those left behind for the capitalist way of life.
Hibberd, John. “The Metamorphosis: Overview.” Reference Guide to World Literature. Ed. Lesley Henderson. 2nd ed. New York: St. James Press, 1995.
We as readers will never know the true reason behind Kafka’s Metamorphosis, but it is a masterpiece. It relates surprisingly well to today’s society, even though it was written between 1912 and 1915. The topic of metamorphosis is really universal, we as humans are constantly changing, growing and evolving. Works Cited Aldiss, Brian W. “Franz Kafka: Overview.” St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers.
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.