Have you ever experience a time when you just wanted to vent out your problems, your thought and opinion about your life but succumb to the fact that even the act of venting will not do you justice or help resolve the issues? Or have you ever felt a time when you wanted to express how you feel but instead, you bit your tongue to stop your comments from portraying you in a negative light, or that your truth will cause the people, the ones that matters, to be in a whole lot of hurt? This was the case of Franz Kafka; his inability to physically express his opinions to his family in reality, lead him to intellectually pursue his thoughts and relationship into the imaginary, his writings, as displayed in his short novella, “Metamorphosis.” Due to Kafka's life background and the nature of his society in the beginning of twentieth century in Prague, his only and main outlet in expressing his thoughts were to put them down onto paper. As a result, Kafka utilizes these two elements to satirize his internal thoughts into fiction. Although his stories are label as fiction, beyond its contextual interpretation, his stories are a reflection of his life. Needless to say, the most apparent factors that bleed through “Metamorphosis” are Kafka’s life relationship with his family and how he saw himself within that dynamic. Therefore, we can imply that the protagonist Gregor Samsa in “Metamorphosis” can well be the embodiment of Kafka himself. However, because the novella was written in fictional form, where taking the impossible of reality and making it possible, it can be hard to relate the interaction among characters to Kafka real life relation to his family. None the less, through the lens of biographical criticism in the analysis of “Metam... ... middle of paper ... ...e it heard. In addition, allowing us, the readers, to better comprehend the extraordinary element of Gregor’s transformation as the personification of his rejected creative mind by his family. Works Cited 1. Eikhenbaum, Boris. “The Theory of the Forma Method.” Literature:Craft and Voice. 2nd eds. Nicholas Delbanco and Alan Cheuse. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 1568-1569. Print 2. Friedländer, Saul. Franz Kafka: The Poet of Shame and Guilt. New Haven: Yale UP, 2013. Print. 3. Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle G. Labor, Lee Morgan, and John R. Willingham. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Harper & Row, 1966. 5-6. Print. 4. Kafka, Franz. Franz Kafka: The Writings and Diaries. London: Heinemann Octopus, 1976. Print. 5. Kafka, Franz. Metamorphosis. Trans. David Wyllie. Unknown publication, 2002.10 March 2014 < http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/5200. >
Heberle, Mark. "Contemporary Literary Criticism." O'Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried. Vol. 74. New York, 2001. 312.
Guerin, Wilfred L., et al., eds. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. Toronto: Oxford UP, 1992.
In the popular literary works of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Franz Kafka’s novella “The Metamorphosis,” we are given examples of the importance of a profound narrative point of view in creating an integral depth to the author’s story and enchanting its characters. Through key placement of well-rounded characters, both works of art succeed in creating a perfect narrative point of view which illuminates their stories in emotionally moving ways. The Great Gatsby’s Nick Carraway, plays the role of a secondary character in most of the novel. Enabled by his laidback, trustworthy nature, he manages to provide an extremely interesting first person point of view on all the events surrounding him throughout the story. He also functions as the author’s voice as he reflects on the human condition of man, the American dream, and the “modern” world’s moral values. In “The Metamorphosis,” we experience a third-person omniscient point of view which is mainly limited to Gregor Samsa’s thoughts, feelings, and assessment of his predicament. After Gregor dies, the point of view shifts to his remaining family members, but we don’t experience the same intimacy involving their innermost thoughts and feelings; instead we are given an impersonal third-person narration. Kafka intelligently uses this technique to further establish the Samsa’s sense of morals and final adjustments to the situation. We are left with an unmistakable impression of the opposing natures man can live at and accept. A strong, well-written narrative point of view is evident in both these literary works; it is the character’s undertaken, excellent role in their expression which ultimately shape and guide the author’s stories into a masterpiece.
Politzer, Heinz. Franz Kafka: Parable and Paradox. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1962, Pp. 37-41.
It is unusual to say the least to open a book and the first line is about the main character waking up as a large insect. Most authors’ use symbolism to relate the theme of their work, not Franz Kafka. He uses a writing method that voids all aspects and elements of the story that defy interpretation. In doing this, he leaves a simple story that stands only for an objective view for his own thoughts and dreams. Kafka focuses the readers’ attention on a single character that symbolizes himself and his life, not Everyman as some authors do. This method is displayed in most of his literary works. To understand how this method is recognized, readers must study the author’s background during the period of writing and basic history to understand this author’s motive. In his short story, “The Metamorphosis”, there are multiple similarities between Kafka’s true life and Gregor Samsa’s.
People want their family to love and support them during times of need, but if they are unable to develop this bond with their family members, they tend to feel alone and depressed. In the novel The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Kafka describes the theme of alienation and its negative effect on people and their relationships with the people around them. This theme can be shown through Gregor Samsa, the main character in The Metamorphosis. After Gregor’s metamorphosis, or transformation, he is turned from a human being into a giant bug which makes him more and more distant from the people in his life. The alienation that Gregor experiences results in his eventual downfall, which could and would happen to anyone else who becomes estranged from the people around them. Gregor’s alienation and its effect on his relationship with his family can be shown through his lack of willing interaction with his family members due to his inability to communicate to them, the huge burden he puts on the family after his metamorphosis, and his family’s hope to get rid of him because he is not who he was before.
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.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008. 2189.
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.
Guerin, Wilfred L., et.al. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992.
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 wants the readers to feel sympathy for Gregor because of the reactions of the parents and the chief clerk. He wants the readers to pity Gregor because no one else will. Gregor hears ‘the chief clerk em...
Douglas Angus conveys the similarities between Gregor to the story “The Beauty and the Beast” through his writing (Kafka's Metamorphosis and "The Beauty and the Beast" Tale). Gregor and the Beast were important at one point in time, especially to the people around them. Due to unfortunate circumstances which involve their transformations they disgust everyone. The Beast wasn’t always a beast, but in actuality a prince who refused to shelter an enchantress because she disguised herself as an ugly beggar with an unattractive appearance. This relieves his shallowness and evil heart which cursed and transformed him into a beast. As a result, the Beast hides in his castle and his curse can only be broken if his love for someone is return. The Beast hides successfully in his castle for many years until he is revealed to the town by Beauty. Beauty and the Beast fall in love with one another, but the townsfolk are terrified by the Beast and want to kill him. The importance of this event is a ...
Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reesman, and John R. Willingham. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 125-156.
Tucker, Martin. Moulton’s Library of Literary Criticism. Volume 4. Frederick Ungar Publishing Company. New York. 1967.