The Metamorphosis Theme Essay

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Caitlin Young
11-17-13 H English Pd. Mr. Kim

Theme Analysis Essay

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka has a reoccurring theme showing the drive for freedom and the need for breaking free. Gregor Samsa experiences the drive for freedom every day that he goes to work to provide for his family. Gregor is a typical struggling salesman, under the burden of his job, attempting to pay off his family’s debts. Gregor Samsa undergoes a metamorphosis that changes his physical appearance from a human into a “monstrous vermin.” When Gregor starts to wake up, he feels strange and out of place in his bed, “lying on his back as hard as armor plate...vaulted brown belly, arch- shaped ribs, and many legs.” (3) Gregor, unsure of what has happened to him, feels helpless in this situation and tries desperately to get out of bed to open his door and explain to his family and business partner what horrible travesty had just taken place. The author shows this struggle by explaining that Gregor had “…rocked onto his back…” (3) trying to leave his bed, including that “ He must have tried it one hundred times.” (3) Gregor is trapped in this new body unable to take action on his human desires. Gregor is incapable of completing most human tasks as a bug that will grant his freedom, creating this new sense of “useless (ness)” in Gregor to his family and workplace. This fall of Gregors freedom results in the rise of power from another family member. In chapter one this theme is portrayed throughout the first stages of his metamorphosis. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” While this metamorphosis is not Gregors fault, as he woke up not having a clue wh...

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... her family from their futures. It seems the best way for Gregor to achieve his long pined freedom is through death. It is in death that Gregor shall be set free from the expectations, judgments, and disapproval he has received from his family ever since the metamorphosis had taken place. As the singer Merrick said, “ The secret to success [is that] in order to rise, first one must fall.” Grete achieves her success through Gregors failure. Gregor undergoes a metamorphosis that in the end kills him, and sets him free. While Grete’s metamorphosis causes her to rise to her future, in search of a suitable husband. This short story is one that at first may not have much meaning to its audience, but when analyzed in depth, can open up a completely different and complex story that teaches the lesson that the accomplishment of freedom is backed by the power to receive it.

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