The definition of alienation is the state or experience of being isolated from a group or an activity to which one should belong or in which one should be involved. In other words, it means to feel as if one if rejected, or has no support/acceptance from others. The story of the Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka tells the elaborate and uncanny story of a man Gregor who wakes up one morning as a large human-size insect. The starting sentence was "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.” (Page 1156, column 1). After this sentence, the story only progressed in peculiarity. Gregor was an introvert in his life. Hence, this is why the theme will be known as alienation. …show more content…
His alienation was internally, and became externally. Traveling was a major priority in Gregor's life. It practically consisted of it. He had the lonely life of a traveling businessman. Because his work did require constant movement, he was unable to develop any real friendships Gregor did come off to possess a lypophrenia attitude, which means to have sadness without any real cause. He was very quiet, and secluded. His room was his sanctuary and his body was his carrier. "His room, a regular human room, only a little on the small side, lay quiet between the four familiar walls." (Page 1157, column 1). His personality was odd, therefore it might have contributed to the fact of him not socializing as much as others, but he was kind man. Due to the fact that Mr. Samsa's (Gregors Father) corporation went down, Gregor was the only primary source of money. Mr. Samsa did not work, and held Gregor responsible for paying off debts. Gregor was unhappy with his job, but knew it was the only way to support his family. Even saying, "...If I didn't hold back for my parents' sake, I would have quit long ago." (Page 1157, column 5). When Gregor's transformation occurred he
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 ...
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is the story of Gregor Samsa, his turning into a bug, and his ultimate death. In the beginning of the novel Gregor wakes up as a bug and struggles to become used to his new body. Gregor is locked in his room and late for work; he is the only one who works in his family, so it is important that he shows up and earns money to pay off his parents debts. His office manager shows up wondering where he has been and everyone is shocked to see Gregor’s transformation when he finally makes his way out of his room. Upon seeing him, his father shoves him forcefully back into the room, scraping Gregor’s back. Grete, Gregor’s sister, is his primary caretaker throughout the book and she makes certain he is receiving the food he wants and is the only one to clean his room for him. Gregor’s mother and father do not pay much attention to him at all throughout the book. The mother occasionally checks on him, but can barely stand the sight of him. Eventually, Grete starts working and stops taking care of him too, leaving Gregor all by himself. Betrayal is evident in The Metamorphosis and contributes to
In other words, Gregor is willing to stay working, not having a care in the world how long it will or would have taken him to pay off his family’s debt. Also, even how uncaring he is, he hates his job. This visually shows how much he supports and cares for his family. One of the main reasons why Gregor is willing to keep working is to help his family from the debt, after his father's business collapsed. Gregor became aware that his family had fallen financially: “Already during the first day his father laid out all the financial circumstances and prospects to his mother and to his sister as well” (Kafka 42).
Alienation throughout the metamorphosis is conveyed to the reader time and time again through instances and circumstances subjected upon Gregor. Right from the start we get a sense of this situation as we explore Gregor’s job stasis. He is a traveling salesman. The major problem with this occupation is the fact that he is constantly moving and seeing new faces, making it virtually impossible for him to form lasting relationships (Kafka, 4). Landsberg observes that “This little experience occurs over and over again in the unstable life of a commercial traveler. It is not by chance that Kafka gave his hero this vocation, which like no other tends to render impossible any continuity in life” (Landsberg 125). Gregor is not in one place long enough to make any lasting connections so he absorbed by a state of loneliness. Adding to this is the fact that he is the only one in his family who is working (Kafka 16).So even before his transformation we see our character was alienated in his job field.
The novel is set on Gregor being placed into the fatherly role. From there stems all the problems from the novel. One in particular comes up. Gregor does not go out at night. This is his recreational time, his time to relax and unwind. Instead Gregor stays working even when he is away from his job. Work without relaxation is dangerous. Even ancient texts talk about a day of rest.
The parents of Gregor ultimately failed to care for him in a time where he needed the emotional support. They also neglected Grete as well and handicapped her true potential as a musician. The biggest betrayal of all; however, took place after Grete quit believing in Gregor and left him to die. While Gregor changing into a bug did put new stress on the family, it was the betrayal of each other that lead to their demise. In conclusion the Samsa family proved to be unloyal amongst each other, and Gregor happened to lose his life because of
Gregor’s relationship with his father shows resemblance to the relationship between Kafka and his father. Kafka, as a child, suffered abuse from his father. Kafka viewed his father as a forceful monster, which resembles Gregor’s father. Gregor wanted nothing more than the love of his family, especially his father, just as Kafka had wanted. His reason for writing “The Metamorphosis” could also relate to the situation which he lived in. He was a Jew raised in Austro-Hungarian Empire, modern day Czech Republic. He was a Jew in an area of the world which Jews were not well accepted. Gregor was described as cockroach, something that Jew were often equated to during this time period. Jews were treated like vermin, they were thought of a creature that was to be rid of. Gregor experienced similar treatment from his family. They discussed leaving or getting rid of Gregor during the story. Experiences of Gregor are similar to those that Jews would have experienced during Kafka’s life. “The Metamorphosis” could also demonstrate the issues that normal people face every day. People face trials and tribulations every day that change their lives dramatically, nobody has ever been transformed into a bug, but it does represent the extreme circumstances that may
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.
As illustrated in Metamorphosis, Kafka demonstrates the isolation of Gregor, the protagonist through the medium of his room. The “room” symbolizes how Gregor lacks relationship with his surroundings, his family and others. Kafka describes it as being “A regular human room” with “the four familiar walls” (3). This is society’s standards. It is portrayed as being full of ones basic essentials; with the regular old furniture. However, like always as the novel continues Gregor’s life continues there is change. His room is transformed to his new life and essentials. He begins to lose all his furniture, which “he had been use to [for] so long” (33). As a result there is a sense of emptiness and hollowness which is reflective of his surroundings and himself. This abyss of isolation devels into grave and endlessly has him suffering from the lack of interaction with humanity.
In the novella “The Metamorphosis”, Franz Kafka focuses on the topic of alienation and considers its underlying effect on the human consciousness and self-identity. The alienation Kafka instigates is propagated towards the main character Gregor Samsa, who inevitably transforms into a giant cockroach. The alienation by family relations affects him to the extent that he prioritizes his extensive need to be the family’s provider before his own well-being. This overwhelming need to provide inevitably diminishes Gregor’s ability to be human-like. Kafka also enforces the idea of the ability to resurrect one’s self-identity following psychologically demanding events. In this essay, I utilize Gregor Samsa’s metamorphosis to address that alienation, in its various forms, is instrumental in the dehumanization process and can also oppositely induce a restoration of self-identity. The metamorphosis acts as a metaphor to express the inhumane change of state that occurs to a victim of alienation; it also formulates Gregor’s epiphany. He suffers through three forms of alienation: exploitation, violence, and neglect. The joint presence of these three external forces deprives him of a human distinctiveness, but in turn, influences a final realization that enforces the restoration of his self-identity, and therefore human identity.
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.
I believe Gregor is treated like an outsider by his family because he looks different for example he has a hard back with lots of little legs. Gregor's family neglects him because he is different. Because he looks different his family doesn't want to take the time to be with him. “His mother was not used to the sight of gregor; he could have made her ill, and so, frightened,” (Kafka, 161). And all this brings me to my conclusion.
The theme of alienation has been depicted by two different characters in a resembling series of events. The two protagonists were alienated by their peers, inflicting negative consequences they must undergo. Both characters are finally pushed to alienating themselves rather than being alienated. In conclusion, the struggles both characters undergo are practically identical to one another. They have experienced alienation in such similar ways that you must ask yourself: are all those who suffer from alienation alike in more ways than one?
From the beginning of The Metamorphosis Kafka offers a comical depiction of Gregor’s “squirming legs” (Kafka 13) and a body in which “he could not control” (7). Gregor’s initial reaction to this situation was the fact he was late to his dissatisfying job as a salesman, but Gregor knows that he has to continue his job in order to keep the expectation his family holds upon him to pay of the family’s everlasting debt. When Gregor’s family eventually realizes that Gregor is still lying in his bed, they are confused because they have expectations on Gregor that he will hold the family together by working. They know if Gregor was to quit his job there would be a great catastrophe since he is the glue to keeping their family out of debt. The communication between his family is quickly identified as meager and by talking to each other from the adjacent walls shows their disconnection with each other. Kafka introduces the family as lacking social skills in order to offer the reader to criticize and sympathize for Gregor’s family dynamics. Gregor’s manager makes an appearance quickly after experiencing the dysfunction within the fami...
In The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, Gregor’s evolution to an insect symbolizes the loss of thorough communication, representing the disconnection of the individual from his family and his surroundings. Through this metamorphosis, the once loving family begins to remove itself from any past interactions with Gregor. In addition, the setting and surroundings of Gregor completely overcome him and persuade him to lose hope. The family and surroundings, not the change to an insect, lead Gregor towards death. Not only do the uncontrollable surroundings change Gregor, but so does the family.