Symbolism in Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
Kafka uses symbolism in his short story, Metamorphosis. He uses this technique to make the reader try and figure out what was going on in his head. He brought out in this story many things about his life, including his father/family, love life, and his future. He used metaphors to show his love for people in his life. This story is autobiographical about the forces that control Franz Kafka's life. In this paper I will explain how Kafka relates his life to the readers through the story in Metamorphosis.
Franz Kafka had trouble at home with his father. His father wanted him to become a lawyer, but Franz did not want to be a lawyer, he wanted to be a writer. He went to law school against his will, because his father wanted him to go there. He then took a high paying position with the government of Czechoslovakia in an insurance post. In the story, Gregor?s father had very little respect for him, and Gregor had to work to pay off the family debts. That is an example of Gregor?s father?s control over his life and Kafka?s situation was similar. He eventually was forced to become a lawyer, whereas what Kafka wanted was a literary degree.
Franz Kafka made his character, Gregor, transform into an insect in the story. Nobody wants to associate themselves with an insect, which is a lowly creature, a pest, or nuisance. This symbolizes Kafka?s depression and his poor self image. Since his family treats the insect like an outcast, that must be how Franz felt about the treatment that his own family gave him. It showed the control that his father put on him. He was not allowed to leave his room. Gregor?s parents were so afraid to take...
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... After Gregor dies, at the end of the story, his parents notice that his sister has grown up into a beautiful woman and they feel that it is time for her to get married. This means that they used Gregor as the pawn who went out and supported them. Now that his sister is grown up they can force her into marrying a rich man. Then they would be well off for a long time to come. They can now control the daughter like they did Gregor. Grete?s new husband can support the whole family. Once she is married, she too will then become a pawn, a victim of her parents control.
The main theme of the story is the effect of other?s control on a person such as his relationship with his father, and how his father for controlled his life. He realized that he was his own person when he could escape from his father?s control, even if the only escape was death.
... 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.
When comparing Franz Kafka and his personal life to The Metamorphosis it is obvious in more ways than one that he was writing a twisted story of his life. The emotional and physical abuse Gregor goes through are similar to what Kafka went through in real life. They were both abused and neglected by their fathers when they were disappointed with them. Kafka uses Gregor transforming into a bug as a way of exaggerating himself, trying to express his feelings and point of view. When writing, Kafka felt as if he was trapped in his room which he referred to as "the noise headquarters of the apartment". Gregor was an exaggeration of this because he could not leave the house to escape the noises and abuse.
Throughout the entirety of the writing he is met with different challenges and obstacles. Grete, his sister and his parents have a unique bond that is not always the strongest. Gregor has not been close with his parents for awhile, but Grete especially at the beginning was the only person who truly cared about his predicament. This conflict results in the desertion of Gregor and the downfall
In 1971 of January, he married Tabitha Spruce. They met in the Fogler Library at University of Maine at Orono. They were both students at the university. Since he could not be a teacher automatically, him and his wife, Tabitha, worked at an industrial laundry. He started his short story writing with Men’s Magazine. He sold his stories really well through this. In 1967, He sold many books including ‘The Glass Floor’. He finally became an English teacher at Hampden High School. After his mother’s death, he and Tabitha decided to go to Colorado. After 4 years of staying in Colorado, they went back to Maine.
Gregor’s family and how they treat him reflects the way that Kafka interacted with his family. The similarities between Kafka’s family and Gregor’s family can be seen in their name. Kafka’s friend remarks, “The hero of the story is called Samsa, it sounds like a cryptogram for Kafka” (Kennedy and Gioia 299). Kafka’s family was middle-class, and his father was a businessman. They had servants and maids just like Gregor’s family. Kafka was the eldest out of six children, and was very close to his sisters. This is seen ...
First of all it is important to examine how many African slaves were brought to the New World. The Middle Passage is infamous route of the ships that carried slaves to the Americas. After the arrival to the New World, the slaves were sold or exchanged for the valuable goods. The term Middle Passage might sound somewhat romantic, but in reality it stands as a one of the most terrible events in history. The Middle Passage is the passage of bonded slaves from West Africa to the Americas. In the beginning, there was a trade between Europeans and African leaders who sold their enemies and disabled people in exchange for unique gifts such as guns, tobacco, iron bars and etc. But at the later stages of slavery, Europeans often kidnapped Africans at the costal area of Western Africa and then sent to ships that sailed them to the New World where this new free work force was needed to help stabilize the new nation.
His family used to care about him but after the transformation, they were no longer concerned for him. Every time the family talks about money, Gregor feels guilty and embarrassed because he can no longer provide for them. When he was able to work before, he had brought money home and “They had simply got used to it, both the family and Gregor; the money was gratefully accepted and gladly given, but there was no special uprush of warm feeling” (Kafka Ch 2 pg 6). Now that he can no longer provide, the family had to come up with ways to keep up with finances. Gregor is dehumanized each time his sister Grete walks into the room to look after him because she cannot bear the sight of him so he hides each time. Each day following Gregor’s transformation, the family’s behavior towards him became more cynical and resentful towards him. They do not allow him to leave his room and worry about how they can go on living with him. They think of him as being a creature, losing their view of him as a human being and no longer important. When Grete decided to take his furniture out of his room, Gregor feels he is dehumanized because they are taking away the link to his humanity. When it came to Gregor’s father, Gregor would “run before his father, stopping when he stopped and scuttling forward again when his father made any kind of move.” His father then threw at apple at him which ‘landed right on his back and sank in; Gregor wanted to drag himself forward, as if this startling, incredible pain could be left behind him” (Kafka Ch 2 pg
Omega-3 fatty acids are often associated with many health benefits, including lowering triglyceride (a type of fat) levels in the blood, protection from heart disease, dementia, depression, and many more. In addition, recent research suggests that omega-3 fatty acids may play a role in preventing chronic liver disease.
There is some debate over whether emotional or physical abuse is worse for the development of a child. In this discussion, emotional abuse is as harmful, if not worse than physical abuse for a child’s development. One might not agree with this statement if they have never experience such abuse. To the people that have encountered abuse in their lifetime, they most likely understand how emotional abuse is worse. There are present factors that contribute to the level of abuse and awareness of this can help stop the abuse in its tracks to becoming worse.
...haracter, Gregor, transforms into a cockroach in the beginning. Throughout the story, Gregor is portrayed as a “helpless bug” and is treated unfairly and poorly by his own family. His parents are more astonished than pitiful when they first see Gregor. Later on, his mother faints at the sight of him. His father throws apples at him because his mother fainted from the way he looks. Grete, in the beginning of the transformation, is nice and takes care of him. Later, she changes her mind about Gregor, quits taking care of him, and comes up with the idea to get rid of it. ‘If it was Gregor, he would have long ago seen that it’s impossible for human beings to live together with an animal like that,’ (139). Kafka, throughout the story, tries to get the reader to feel sympathy towards Gregor in many scenes, and it works because his family doesn’t show sympathy towards him.
Behind the scenes, Joseph (Their father) pushed them and especially Michael really hard to succeed. He was also reportedly known to become violent with them. Mich...
By Mr. Samsa’s stowing his pain in his proverbial soul effects his actions in life and the people surrounding him including his children. His childhood equally lacked a health structure. When family coexists under the same household, especially children, they begin to take on certain roles in the family. Grete’s role in the family structure was the one as the initiator. She’s the one who suggested killing Gregor or disposing of him and the father followed pursuit in agreement.
Kafka, Franz. "The Metamorphosis". The Metamorphosis. Trans. Donna Freed and Ed. George Stade. New York: Barnes and Nobles, 2003.
One of Franz Kafka's most well-known and most often criticized works is the short story, "Die Verwandlung," or "The Metamorphosis." "The Metamorphosis" is most unusual in that the first sentence is the climax; the rest of the story is mainly falling action (Greenburg 273). The reader learns that Gregor Samsa, the story's main character, has been turned into an enormous insect. Despite this fact, Gregor continues to act and think like any normal human would, which makes the beginning of the story both tragic and comical at the same time. However, one cannot help but wonder why Gregor has undergone this hideous transformation, and what purpose it could possibly serve in the story. Upon examination, it seems that Gregor's metamorphosis represents both his freedom from maintaining his entire financial stability and his family's freedom from their dependence upon Gregor.
One aspect of human personhood addressed in both the Bible and developmental psychology is drives. In this paper I will succinctly state three claims the Bible makes about drives and then evaluate three developmental theories on the basis of these criteria. The three developmental theories that will be evaluated are the psychoanalytic, learning, and the epigenetic systems theory.