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the life of franz kafka relating to metamorphosis
literary analysis essay on the metamorphosis by franz kafka
literary analysis essay on the metamorphosis by franz kafka
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Recommended: the life of franz kafka relating to metamorphosis
Franz Kafka was always on the fence. His indecisiveness regarding his nationality, religion, and stance on war, culminated in a protracted yet futile identity struggle. World War I found him surrounded by civilians who fell neatly into the categories of pacifism and militarism. Kafka was neither, but the decision was made for him when he developed tuberculosis. Consequently, he could neither enjoy the long, happy life he desired nor sacrifice it for his nation. Likewise, Gregor Samsa is in a state of Purgatory in The Metamorphosis. He is neither ambitious, independent human nor lowly, slaving bug, because he never fully dedicated himself to being either. Gregor missed more than his train; he missed his chance to decide the direction of his life. His troubled dreams allude to his internal struggle with indecision, the consequences of which will be explored in this essay. They include: loss of control regarding his own fate, the unattainability his goals, watching others torn between the same goals learn from his indecision, dying without realizing which option he should have pursued, and replacement by a more decisive individual.
Gregor’s new life is now controlled by others. His room serves as a microcosm for his life, which he could once control but missed his chance to do. He cannot not decide between an empty room, which would
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The Metamorphosis was for him an extrapolation of his life ‘on the fence,’ to explore the consequences of his failure to decide. Was he Jewish or gentile? German or Czech? Militarist or pacifist? His enemy was neither the Axis, not the Allies; it was himself. He could not figure out which label to adopt, which belief to subscribe to, who to be. Kafka’s development of tuberculosis 2 years later was his fulfillment of his own prophecy. He incurred the same fate he bestowed upon Gregor for failing to decide. Kafka became a
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Ed. Stanley Corngold. Trans. Stanley Corngold. New York: Bantam, 2004. Print.
Franz Kafka’s beginning of his novel, “The Metamorphosis,” begins with what would seem a climactic moment: “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” From this point on, the reader is determined to make sense of this transformation. However, the reader later comes to realize that Gregor is actually not an insect, but this metamorphosis into a vermin was purely symbolic. It symbolizes the degrading lifestyle that Gregor leads to support his family. This leads the reader to understand Gregor’s absurd dilemma.
The Metamorphosis is one of seventeen works Kafka had published. The rest of his manuscripts he ordered to be destroyed when he died. The Metamorphosis published in 1915 is a popular work that is interesting to say the least and everything readers have come to expect from Franz Kafka. The story takes a look at humanity and the lack there of. Isolation also plays a role in the overall theme of the story. Analysis of Gregor’s character reveals an inner version of Kafka, his emotions and vulnerabilities in this twisted tale.
Franz Kafka illustrates in his book the struggle that most humans have throughout their life: ‘Who am I?’ He demonstrates this through his radical and exaggerated formation of The Metamorphosis, a man becoming a bug; or a bug always thinking he was a man, then realizing that he is and always has been a bug. This bug, Gregor Samsa, goes through an immense psychological realization at the beginning of the book; he had been deceived by his own mind from the beginning of his life. Throughout Gregor’s Metamorphosis, Gregor experiences the loss of his self actualization, recognition, belonging, security, and physiological needs. His situation had taken away all the basic psychological needs of any human as illustrated by Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Stephens, J. “Franz Kafka’s personal life reflected in the Metamorphosis” The Kafka Project. 1999-2002. 13 November 2002. .
Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” portrays Gregor Samza as the bread winner, someone that is depended on to keep the whole family out of poverty. However, Gregor later finds that his hard work was the leading catalyst to his demise. A biography of Kafka’s life exposes his awkward relationship with is father, “Kafka's father had a profound impact on both Kafka's life and writing. He was a tyrant of sorts, with a wicked temper and little appreciation for his son's creative side”(Franz). Gregor Samza and Franz Kafka’s life seem strikingly congruent at times, an uncanny and troublesome relationship with his family, while not completely feeling recognized for his hard work. Working hard to get ahead truism is not a reality; In Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” Gregor works hard, but his hard work leads to his alienation.
It seems to be very rare to stumble upon a honest, crystal-clear self reflection and criticism, a true necroscopy of one’s self, because it is much easier to “beholdest [..] the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye” [Matthew 7:3]. Perhaps it is only through the eyes of a vermin that Franz Kafka was finally able to open up completely to his father but, most importantly, to himself, reaching a level of frankness that could not even be attained in “Letter to His Father”. In “The Metamorphosis”, the theme of humanness and identity is revealed through the eyes of Gregor Samsa, who, in his claustrophobic, anxiety-ridden state of being trapped in the body of a vermin, experiences having his whole conception of identity being changed while watching his life slip away in front of his eyes, as his family contributes to his final act of giving up.
Kafka, Franz. “The Metamorphosis.” The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. Trans. Michael Hofmann. Toronto: Penguin Books, 2007. 85-146. Print.
In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka manifests naïveté of Gregor Samsa by prolonging his realization of societal banishment due to underexposure. Revelations made by Samsa later prove his ignorance of his purpose in the eyes of his family. In addition to the many instances in which Gregor is trialed, Kafka’s continuous stream of distractions mimic Gregor’s persona.
Sadly, Gregor's family treats him like the beast that he truly has become. Seeing the damages as irreparable, they strip him of his worldly possessions and leave him in a "naked den fit for a beast." The struggle that he puts forth when his furniture is taken is symbolic of his struggle to return to human form.
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...
In a similar manner The Metamorphosis, Kafka's pneumatic Gregor Samsa finds himself as a material expression, but after his form is altered, he begins embrace the freedom alienation can provide. Through the character of Gregor Samsa, Kafka suggests that, although one may be continually defined by others as an outside form is altered, if any independence is achieved it can be crushed by society. Kafka believed soc...
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.
‘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’.
Gregor’s own decisions, along with others, ultimately cause his isolation and lead to the dehumanization