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Literary theories in the metamorphosis
Literary theories in the metamorphosis
Literary theories in the metamorphosis
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In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa wakes up to find himself as a bug. As the novel manifests, Gregor’s world morphs away from his pre-existing human form, slowly dwindling away. As each element of Gregor’s previous life is stripped away, Franz Kafka uses symbols in order to develop Gregor’s progression, until his ultimate end.
Franz Kafka utilizes symbols in order to develop Gregor’s progressive states, beginning with Gregor’s life pre-transformation symbol: the photo of Gregor when he was a lieutenant. When Gregor is first transformed into a bug, he finds himself looking around his room as he scrambles to get ready for work. He finds his eyes fixated on a photograph from when he served in the military, and reminisces on his
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Whilst trying to impress the apathetic lodgers, Grete practiced her violin, which sparked Gregor’s interest, Gregor had long to hear the sound of his sister’s beautiful playing, and he wished to express this adoration, feeling “as if he were being shown the way to the unknown nourishment he longed for” (35). Gregor is made to feel as though he is an animal for the way that Grete’s music stirred him. Evidently, it is this animal-feeling that symbolizes Gregor’s true state of his metamorphosis, now entirely astray from his family and obligations. He is drawn from his lair of a bedroom to watch Grete perform, and because of this, is spotted by the lodgers who refuse to live in a house with such a creature. This resulting outcry led to the family’s decision to get rid of Gregor, led by Grete, who said "I won 't pronounce the name of my brother in front of this monster, and so all I say is: we have to try to get rid of it. We 've done everything humanly possible to take care of it and to put up with it [...] It will be the death of you two, I can see it coming" (????). This demonstrates Gregor’s alienation from his family, as he is blamed for the disintegration of his family, which leads him to his fate as he thinks back lovingly about his family as he takes his final breath. Grete’s violin playing …show more content…
They fire the maid that found his body, and choose to uproot their lives and take a train ride towards their new prospects. “Leaning back comfortably in their seats, they discussed their prospects for the time to come, and it seemed on closer examination that these weren 't bad at all […] Growing quieter and communicating almost unconsciously through glances, [Mr. and Mrs. Samsa] thought that it would soon be time, too, to find [Grete] a good husband. And it was like a confirmation of their new dreams and good intentions when at the end of the ride their daughter got up first and stretched her young body” (????). This scene perfectly portrays the train ride as Gregor’s final progression symbol, because it shows how the Samsa family were able to finally go back to a routine and normal family lifestyle. Mr. and Mrs. Samsa have adopted the idea that Grete is their only child now to fixate their attention on in order for her to marry and propel the family into a positive fate. The train ride symbolizes the hope of prosperity that their newly-formed family presents, projected the family into a optimistic ending with light of a beneficial change. Much like a caterpillar in its crystallization phase, it can be said that Gregor is entering his butterfly phase as an angel, and will continue to watch over his family, as he had done so before the transformation. Gregor once admitted
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.
Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to discover that he has been transformed into a repugnant vermin. One may never know what initiated this makeover, but the simple truth is that Gregor is now a bug, and everyone must learn to live and move on in this strenuous situation. In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the characters that interact with Gregor, including his mother, his father, and his sister Grete, must come to terms with his unfortunate metamorphosis, and each does so by reacting in a unique way. Gregor’s family members are constantly strained by this unusual event, and all three of them are pressed to their breaking point.
In fact, according to her, Gregor is contributing to the disintegration of the family and must be killed to help save the family. Grete was the concerned one and now she refuses to call him her brother, and insists that he has to be disposed of just like any old household pest. Franz Kafka had explored two conflicting ideas with the use of his protagonist Gregor: unity and isolation. Gregor’s transformation formed a whole life in which he could not escape. But on the other hand his family members were able to improve from his isolation.
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.
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is a masterfully written short story about Gregor Samsa, a man who devotes his life to his family and work, for nothing in return. Only when he is transformed into a helpless beetle does he begin to develop a self-identity and understanding of the relationships around him. The underlying theme of The Metamorphosis is an existential view that says any given choice will govern the later course of a person's life, and that the person has ultimate will over making choices. In this case, Gregor?s lack of identity has caused him to be numb to everything around him.
and Mrs. Samsa. Gregor describes throughout the novel his sister’s passion for music. He also points out the fact that their parents do not assist Grete in pursuit of this type of career, “Often during Gregor’s short days in the city the Conservatory would come up in his conversations, but always merely as a beautiful dream which was not supposed to come true, and his parents were not happy to hear these innocent allusions” (Kafka 26). The Samsa’s hindered Grete’s potential which forced her into a path she did not want to follow. Another example is how she was forced to become the primary caregiver for Gregor.
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.
The story, Metamorphosis, is an unusual story to say the least. The very first sentence one meets the main character, Gregor Samsa. This sentence really shows how different this story is when compared to other books in this class. Throughout the story the author, Franz Kafka, wants the reader to sympathize with Gregor. ‘When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself changed into a monstrous cockroach in his bed’ (87), is the first sentence, and already the author wants the reader to feel sympathy for Gregor. This is no dream either, he is really a bug, and Kafka makes sure there is no confusion. This is just one of many examples that I will discuss where Kafka wants the reader to sympathize with Gregor.
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.
“The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka is an interesting and extremely allegorical tale. The story starts out by introducing the main character, Gregor Samasa, who is a traveling salesman. One morning Gregor awakens to find that his body has been transformed into something unusually horrifying, a large insect with many tiny legs.
...within the story completely alienates Gregor from his family and the reality of life. The ironic setting, the family, specifically Grete, and the presence of the violin playing all contribute to Gregor’s downfall caused by the inability to communicate. Gregor’s struggle to converse both begins and ends his downfall, yet people, surroundings, and objects spark his depression. Kafka emphasizes the true importance of communicating and how society depends on it. The inability to properly communicate combined with uncontrollable factors often relates to the destruction of families in our modern society. Focus less on the world’s distractions and more on the people that need the most support, because many never know when others need to express themselves and require insight.
After attaining his readers attention Kafka goes onto describing Gregor’s new physical state. It is thus established that Gregor is the main character of the story. Gregor’s new body ‘which was as hard as armour’ can be seen as a protecting net for him; possibly preparing him for his troublesome future.
Using symbols, Kafka illustrates the story which is not just about Gregor’s transformation but it is more than that. The entire Metamorphosis is an allegory about Gregor changing into a vermin, symbolize that he wanted to free himself from his family obligation. “As Gregor Samsa awoke from unsettling dreams one morning, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” (Kafka 7). He thought his transformation was a dream but he soon realizes that it was reality. Gregor was the source of the income for his family and was employed in a job he did not like. “What a grueling profession I picked! Traveling day in, day out” (Kafka 7). This is ironic because Gregor was forced by his father to choose the alienated career. Mr. Samsa was indebted to his boss; working as a traveling salesman he would have pay off his father debt. Working as traveling salesman made Gregor alienated socially and mentally. The word transformation does not only app...
In 1915, Franz Kafka published the novella The Metamorphosis, a story that questioned the habits of humanity through the frame of a man transformed into an insect. Through this absurd premise, Kafka is metaphorically able to present hatred and prejudice in an insular display—where the reader’s own opinion of Gregor is not judged or shamed, where both Gregor and the family’s actions can be understood. However, the metaphor of Gregor’s metamorphosis is not rigid in its application. It is fluid and unique, and what gives The Metamorphosis its grim, haunting tone. Kafka’s special metaphor not only broadens the limits of literary analogies, but expands on the nature of alienation and antipathy.
When Grete comes to bring food to Gregor, Gregor notices how she can not bear the sight of him and is always scared by his appearance. This causes Gregor to carry “a sheet on his back on the sofa...and arrange it there in such a way as to hid[e] him completely” (Kafka 99). Even though this course of action is taken, there’s still the choice of Grete to uncover the sheet if she wished to. However, Grete never did, which further alienates Gregor in his house. With less thought on Gregor’s past human self, all they can remember is this unclean vermin who dwells in their house. Later on his family doesn’t even refer to him as a person, but rather a thing. According to Tonkin, it was especially prominent when “Grete...bursts out to their father that “we must get rid of it You just have to put from your mind any thought that it's Gregor”.”. Instead of saying Gregor or brother, she calls him a creature. This really dehumanizes Gregor as a character. Both Kafka and Tonkin suggest the gradual change in the family’s perspective towards Gregor and how they eventually don’t even see him as a human being anymore. It is rather inhumane to say “get rid of it”. By spending more time in isolation, Gregor is losing communication with his family, and, in turn, causes his family to view him as a creature and a pest to get rid of, rather than their child or brother. This signals