Analysis Of The Metamorphosis By Kafka

According to Arp and Johnson, “Literary fiction plunges us, through the author’s imaginative vision and artistic ability, more deeply into the real world, enabling us to understand life’s difficulties and to empathize with others.” In the story The Metamorphosis by Kafka he uses his genius imaginative vision and artistic ability, making us understand and feel empathy toward his main character, Gregor. Kafka uses a tremendous amount of symbolism and metaphors to get us to feel the mood in the story and in general life’s difficulties. In the story, Gregor wakes up on a rainy day to go to work and when he tries to get up he notices he has been transformed into a bug. Although, the story isn’t about real world aspects and social views you can get a taste of peoples true colors and the real world from reading this story by the way that he wrote it. Kafka uses such an imaginative way for us to feel empathy towards Gregor, who would have thought you could feel empathy towards a cockroach? But you do, from the moment you start the story until the end you empathize with this bug. From the very opening of The Metamorphosis, Gregor is portrayed as a pathetic main character. He works so hard for his family, paying for everything in a job that he hates and receives absolutely nothing in return, not even a thank you. He always puts everyone before himself, and wants the best for his family and wants their love and encouragement. Even after he’s transformed into a cockroach, Gregor still thinks of way that he can go to work and pay for the bills. When his family sees him as a cockroach and throws him in his room alone, in the dark he is unable to live with the pain that they don’t see him as family anymore. He realizes their true colors and d... ... middle of paper ... ...d depth of Magda’s saliva; and Rosa drank Magda’s shawl until it dried” (699). Only a good story can have you at the tip of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. Literature is a great way to feel empathy and both of these stories play it very well. Arp and Johnson are correct, “Literary fiction plunges us, through the author’s imaginative vision and artistic ability, more deeply into the real world, enabling us to understand life’s difficulties and to empathize with others.” To have that ability to understand and share the feelings of another through words on a paper is powerful. You see the truth through many authors’ eyes and make the scenario in your mind only wanting to understand every aspect of what’s going on and what’s going to happen and after you come out in the oddest way with this new visionary on things after just reading something so small.