Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is a novella that takes place in the 1900s. The Metamorphosis is a story about a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa ,that finds himself transformed into a vermin. It is a commentary on the fragile nature of human life and the stained relationships we have with family and friends. Kafka’s novella deals with Gregor’s attempts to get used to his new condition and body as he deals with trouble with his family that are very angry with the bug/ insect Gregor has become. An analysis of Gregor Samsa in The Metamorphosis will show his quest for his search of identity through his death. Gregor’s metamorphosis happened as a result of all the pressure that his family puts on him. Since his father’s business had failed, Gregor was “assigned” the role to be the provider of the family and that meant taking on a job that he disliked. He hates the traveling ,the worrying and stress that are involved .His chief is overly dictatorial and he would of quit a very long time ago if he didn’t have to pay off his family’s debt off to the chief. In the course of a man’s roles in the 19th century , Gregor is obligated to be the provider and “money maker” for his family. Men have always been the providers and made sure that their family has everything they need. Gregor works very hard for his family and receives no acknowledgment for his efforts. All he really wants is to be appreciated and to be loved by his family, but he is seen as just a commodity for the family. Gregors perception of himself and the world starts to change. He is dealing with tuberculosis1 and is getting sicker by the day. 1. Tuberculosis : an infectious disease that causes small rounded swellings to form on mucus membranes- it mainly affects the lun... ... middle of paper ... ...n them. Being unable to provide for his family or even find comfort/love in them, Gregor dies alone, secluded from humanity. Franz Kafka’s, The Metamorphosis is a novella that questions humanity’s humanity.(He questioned the things that make us human.) He believes that all the traditional values like reason, order, religion, obedience were being questioned. 2. Dehumanization : to take away somebody’s individuality, the interesting/ creative aspects of his/her compassion or sensitivity towards others; to take away qualities of something or features to make it meet human needs and desires. His life experiences influenced the novella. Kafka himself had a strained relationship with his father and had trouble relating to other. He relives his life by telling the story of Gregor Samsa and his hardships while dealing with his physical transformation.
Gregor’s father demotes societal views of himself by his actions. Gregor’s father depends on Gregor for the income for the family. When Gregor morphs into a bug, Mr. Samsa reluctantly becomes the sole provider for his family. Getting a ...
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Ed. Stanley Corngold. Trans. Stanley Corngold. New York: Bantam, 2004. Print.
One morning, Gregor wakes up from his dream to realize he has completely mutated into a bug. Due to this physical change in his life, he phases out different experiences with each of his family members. In which he alienates himself and his family because of his new appearance. In fact, he has a lot of care towards his family. He actually works hard to support them, pay off their debt, and tries to keep them as comfortable as possible.
Humans feel obligated to do certain things. It makes them feel good, or worthwhile. If these responsibilities are not met or to the obligator's own standards then guilt comes upon them. In The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, Gregor's self-condemnation keeps him trapped. Gregor is enslaved to his family. Therefore Gregor's guilt emerges from the families' burden.
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.
Many scholarly writers such as Robbie Batson believe that Gregor is an extension of Kafka himself, both having been traveling salesmen, similar family life with an abusive father, a dependent mother, and although Kafka had three sisters he had a close relationship with Ottilla like that of Grete and Samsa. Kafka even is similar to Samsa in spelling, almost like a cryptogram(Barfi, Azizmohammadi, and Kohzadi). As the breadwinner in his house, both Kafka and Gregor had the responsibility of taking care of their family through
His sister, who took a job as a salesgirl to help the family. also learns French in the evening so she might get a better position in the future of the world. Mr. Samsa, Gregor's father, takes a job as a messenger for banking institutions and the public. Turning into a bug, Gregor causes a lack of harmony. among the family members.
One may argue that Gregor undergoes the most drastic change throughout the novella. Over night, he is transformed from ...
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, ...
“Love is whatever you can still betray. Betrayal can only happen if you love.” John le Carr. The novel Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka is a story about the transformation of a man named Gregor who turned into a bug. The story takes place inside an apartment and describes the struggles Gregor goes through with his life and family. 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 of the family. These negatives compound, causing the his suicide. The Metamorphosis portrays how the betrayal of Gregor and Grete by their parents, and Gregor by his sister, leads to the demise of the family.
Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is a novella that follows the story of Gregor Samsa who, one day, wakes up as an insect. On the surface, it’s just a story about a man who’s transformed into a bug; but, when deeper analyzed, you come to understand that it’s a about a man who was always a bug conflicted by his identity in a class struggle between what is known as the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Kafka’s work was written in a time in history when the struggles between the classes were becoming more defined due to the rise of industrialization and other changing social structures. This story can best be interpreted though a Marxist lens. In Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, his Marxist ideology comes through in the way the characters represent the struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoisie classes during the turn of the century.
After Gregor wakes up and realizes that he has been transformed into a bug, he starts to worry about how he will go to work in order to provide for his family. He debates about calling in sick as he thinks ”The chief himself would be sure
...in. For the past five years, he provided for his family, and when he needed them, they did not care. After his metamorphosis, they all got jobs, something Gregor thought they were incapable of. After his death, they moved out of the flat, which was too expensive for them, leaving all of their memories, starting anew without him.
In The Metamorphosis Kafka illustrates a grotesque story of a working salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking up one day to discover that his body resembles a bug. Through jarring, almost unrealistic narration, Kafka opens up the readers to a view of Gregor’s futile and disappointing life as a human bug. By captivating the reader with this imaginary world Kafka is able to introduce the idea that Gregor’s bug body resembles his human life. From the use of improbable symbolism Kafka provokes the reader to believe that Gregor turning into a bug is realistic and more authentic compared to his unauthentic life as a human.
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.