The Metamorphosis: A transformation that relates to real life health issues. In the story, The Metamorphosis, Gregors transformation into a vermin can be connected to overall health in today’s society because Gregors “disorder” altered his “Complete state of physical, mental, and social well-being” (Kaiser Permanente). Based on the definition of health, Gregor’s state and the experiences he went through in the story, would be more similar to someone who was in overall, poor health. Gregors transformation could have been caused by his strenuous career as a traveling salesman’s (Wyllie). “Fifteen years of service Gregor had never once yet been ill” (qtd. in Wyllie). Overworking can have a negative effect on your body and lead to poor health. Gregors condition caused him to have symptoms physically, mentally, & socially. Physically, Gregors condition caused him to look like a sick individual and lose a lot of his mobility. His bodily appearance changed from looking like a healthy man into a sick vermin. His skin changed colors which are symptoms of poor circulation and malnutrition. Gregor had “No proper teeth” (qtd. in Wyllie) which is a sign of poor dental care that can lead to gum disease and other serious health illness’s. Gregors mobility became limited after the transformation which is a big sign of a serious health issue. His legs continuously moved in different directions, which he was no longer able to control (Wyllie). His movement became so difficult that he could not concentrate on anything else (Wyllie). It caused him to become very weak where he would need to rest so he can recover from the effort involved in moving his body around (Wyllie). These symptoms caused Gregor to feel trapped in an unfamiliar body which... ... middle of paper ... ... neglected it can cause problems in another and ultimately lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. They are all connected and each one plays a key part to a complete quality of life. Many people think health is only about the physical state of your body. You can medically be in the best shape possible but if you are under a lot of stress, your mental health is compromised, which can lead to isolation from others, and now your social health is being neglected. It’s just one big cycle. Focusing on all components of good health such as eating a balanced diet for your physical, finding stress relievers for your mental and spending time with friends and family for social, is taking positive preventive measures to staying healthy. It is not only our responsibility, but a community effort to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to achieve and maintain overall good health.
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.
The story The Metamorphosis revolves around Gregor Samsa, a devoted son and brother who works tirelessly to provide for his family, waking up finding out that he has been transformed into a larger than life insect. Franz Kafka enlightens the readers to how being dependent on one person can lead a family to being weak when that support system is ripped away from them. The situations that Gregor is put into knocks him down from the head of the family into nothingness while at the same time boosts his family from that nothingness into being a strong support system for each other. Gregor 's transformation, his dependency on his sister for food, his injury, the family choosing strangers over him, and ultimately his death are all things that lead to this downfall, or metamorphosis.
Before the transformation, Gregor was a human form of nonchalant reclusiveness. It’s almost as if it was crucial for him to go through the conversion so he could become more emotionally aware despite the irony of him not even being human but a bug. For someone who has been human for about 20 years with absolutely no experience of being an insect, then suddenly become more humane as a creature is odd and outlandish. Gregor’s care for his family increases and begins to worry about their loss of financial and emotional security. He fears that what “if all the peace, the comfort, the contentment were to come to a horrible end?” Gregor’s attitude towards his transformation is hopelessly mundane: he does not question why he has been transformed into a cockroach. Significantly, he fails to find the horror and the absurdity in the situation. Right before his death, Gregor feels all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings about his family members. Despite his pathetic condition, he seems more humane than the rest of the characters. In a way, Gregor’s transformation and all of the events after that day illustrates both the rewards and sacrifices of defying social convention and living the extraordinary
First and foremost Gregor was betrayed by his own parents who failed to care for him after his transformation. The initial reaction of the parents, especially his father, set the tone for the whole novel. Instead of trying to resolve the issue with a reasonable solution, his father physically abuses him, “when from behind, his father gave him a hard
“Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted it must be changed. If it cannot be changed it must be accepted.”- Winston Churchill. Change is frightening, but without change you can never accomplish a greater goal. Gregor experienced a dramatic change in his life. He may or may not have experienced the physical change described, but he did experience a mental change. The mental change opened Gregor’s eyes to what really mattered in life. Once Gregor accepted his physical change he was able to begin his mental change. Gregor’s values in life had changed dramatically from beginning to end. Though Gregor was subjected to ridicule, he was given the greatest gift. The opportunity to change is the greatest gift anyone can
The Metamorphosis is a among Franz Kafka’s famous stories. The story is about a haunted man who changed into an insect. The author has written the story based on various theories such as Marxism, existentialist and religious views. It is also a reflection of a hostile world with major themes being abandonment, self-alienation, and troubles relationship. It reveals people’s struggles while in the modern society where one is neglected in the time of need (Franz 8). The cultural and social setting of the story helps in supporting the major themes of the story. In as much as the story is a dramatic fiction, it is necessary to explore the interior monologue style in order to inform the audience what the protagonist is thinking.
Gregor is obviously trapped by his external appearance. His physical limitations deepen his feeling of futility. His external appearance mimics his internal feelings, as he now feels helpless by not being able to physically carry out his responsibilities.
Health is described as physical and mental well-being and freedom from disease, pain or defect. However, such descriptions only superficially define the actual meaning of health. There may be many occasions when individuals are not necessarily ill or in pain but may be overweight, stressed or emotionally unstable. Health is a quality of life involving dynamic interaction and interdependence among the individual’s physical state, their mental and emotional reactions, and the social context in which the individual exists. There are many factors that influence your health, but three major components contribute to general well-being: Self-awareness, a balanced diet and, regular physical activity.
This model believes that an individual may be free from disease or physical injury however social factors that surrounds a person will determine their wellbeing. In the social dimension of health a person has to be able to interact with people, such as friends and family. According to Antonia C. Lyons and Kerry Chamberlain (2006) Health Psychology a Critical introduction ‘studies have demonstrated an association between what is called social integration and physical health, including mortality rates’. The skill to be able to build healthy relationships may give an individual a positive self-image. Poor social skills may mean that an individual may become isolated or stressed. If an individual becomes stressed and isolated they will be free of disease as they will be physically and mentally fit, however the stress will contribute to the health status of the individual. According to Charles L. Sheridan and Sally A. Radmacher (1992) Health psychology challenging the biomedical model ‘attributes like strength, health and attractiveness can be helpful in coping with
As Gregor struggles to get up and prepare himself for work he realizes that he is already late. As he looks around his bed room he thinks that’s he is just dreaming and attempts to go back to sleep. After many failed attempts Gregor realized that he could not turn over on his side, which was the only position he could sleep in. Moments later, each of his family members knock on his door in an effort to see what is taking him so long. Unable to control his numerous legs, Gregor next tries to move his lower body, but finds out that it is almost impossible to move due to the unbearable pain.
In final consideration the character Gregor was not a narcissistic man as we mostly assumed from his attitude in The Metamorphosis. He accepted his fate of becoming one of the misted hated and annoying insects known to man. As supported by scholarly journals, academic websites, and books I have verified my belief that the story The Metamorphosis was a true autobiographical piece of writing, and parts of the story reflected Kafka's own life. The protagonist of the story The Metamorphosis is a mirrored reflection of the author Franz Kafka's life experiences and encounters. Secondly the analysis of the story is addressed to all general population.
This title holds more weight than what meets the eye. It is more than his actual metamorphosis from human to bug. There are many transformations that take place in this novel, even more than the obvious physical change. With the physical change of Gregors body, he also goes through a psychological change with it. When he was a human, his family depended on him. He quickly ended up depending on his family as he could not do anything on his own. His morale also diminishes throughout the novel. We were introduced to him as a very hopeful man who wanted to pay off his family’s debts. In the end, he loses hope and gives up on himself for the wellbeing of his family. Along with Gregors change in the novel, the title represents the change of other characters as well. From beginning to end, Grete transforms from a girl to a young lady. She also becomes more independent on herself by taking on more responsibility and getting a job. The family also must make some changes because they do not have Gregor to support them financially. This finally forces them to all get jobs and give up some luxury things they had
Helmut Richter analyzed the plot of The Metamorphosis in his essay. He depicts the main plot of the story to be Gregor’s failure at his work, which leads to his death. The climax of the story starts off early in the book. When Gregor wakes up one morning, he realizes that he has turned into a giant insect. Gregor was a salesman and his job required that he was very determined in his work. Kafka proves to us that Gregor did not do a good job as a salesman by transforming into a bug: a strong work force. Kafka’s use of this metaphor stresses the poor work that Gregor does as a salesman.
...uses symbolism to convey his message about humanity. The underlying message of the Metamorphosis is that it unfolds the truth about human nature; the story tells us that humans have lost their humanity. He uses the vermin, food, Mr. Samsa’s uniform, apple, his autobiography, and violin as symbols in the Metamorphosis. The word transformation does not apply to Gregor but also to all the family members of Samsa family. Grete was one of the members of the family, who transformed. For the first few weeks, she took care of Gregor and leaves food for him but then she transforms and she starts to hate Gregor because the family members thought Gregor was a burden to them and was worthless. The family lost the sympathy for Gregor.
healthy is a major component in ones’ overall wellbeing, more so mentally, but being healthy