To Live in a Vermin’s World: A Marxist View of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis

2063 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What does franz kafka want to say about metamorphosis

To Live in a Vermin’s World: A Marxist View of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis

One of the honors for ‘greatest theories’ in contemporary civilization has to be awarded to Marxism. Invented in late 19th century by Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, Marxism has had great influences on the development of modern society. Despite its eventual failure, Marxism once led to numerous revolutions that working classes raised against the ruling parties in different countries. Consequently, it paved the way for the erection of the Berlin Wall, the formation of the Warsaw Treaties—communist camp confronting NATO, and the establishment of a world super power, the Soviet Union at the dawn of this century. Even decades later, after all those Marxist milestones have collapsed, China, with one fifth of world’s population, still faithfully believes in this theory. It is certain, then, Marxism’s effect on people’s thoughts is deep and profound. It is natural for people living in the birthplace and at the birth time of Marxism, Franz Kafka for instance, to have been affected by this theory to a greater extent.

As an author, Kafka’s affiliation with Marxism was revealed in his novella, The Metamorphosis. It tells about a German travelling salesman Gregor Samsa, who awoke one morning only to find himself transformed into a bug. Thereafter, Gregor was soon deprived of his job and was no longer able to financially support his family as he had been. Confronted with this sudden change, the family members started to discard Gregor one after the other. Not only the father, who was eager to get rid of his bug-shaped ‘son’ right after Gregor’s disaster, his mother and sister finally retracted all their love and care as well. Ending with Gregor’s miserable death, ...

... middle of paper ...

...ncy of interest lies in the fact that Gregor’s family members have to sacrifice leisure and go on work after his transformation while Gregor himself switches from a provider to a consumer. Thus, it is easy to observe a match between Gregor’s outcome and that of proletarians.

Gregor is not a bug physically, but mentally he is. A story about his denial of a life in oppression, Gregor’s metamorphosis is as well a story about his pursuit of a life with fairness. Marked by Marxist characteristics, the transformation conforms to a proletarian struggle in that they have 1) like motives--unjust social and economic position; 2) like natures—both the target and the form; and 3) like outcomes--a wretched collapse. Though noticed and commented on by few critics, Marxist thoughts are clearly presented by Kafka in terms of Gregor’s decisive turning: to live in a vermin’s world.

Show More
Related

  • The Metamorphosis as a Depiction of Franz Kafka's Life

    1200 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Transformation Of Humanity In Gregor Kafka's The Metamorphosis

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    The world lies on a thick plate of morality, love, sympathy, opinion, and vitality – all of which are contributions to what shapes humanity. Humanity overtime has strengthened in fluctuating wavelengths through infinite trials and tribulations. In ‘The Metamorphosis,’ the protagonist of the novel, Gregor Samsa, transforms into a vile, repulsive insect: a cockroach. This occurrence strikes a test for the Samsa household, playing a role on their behaviors and the meaning of “humanity” itself.

    Read More

  • The Greatest Gift Of Mental Change In The Metamorphosis By Kafka

    1185 Words  | 3 Pages

    “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

    Read More

  • The Pros and Cons of Marxism

    1906 Words  | 4 Pages

    The ideology of Marxism, established by German philosopher Karl Marx, is a collectively known set of assumptions of a political ideology, which focuses especially on analysis of materialist interpretation of historical development, or on class struggle within the society. The primarily approach of Marxism, nonetheless, was the critique of capitalism. The strength of his inquiry lies in belief of inevitable shift from capitalism and he aims to advocate the new form of ideology and economy, the socialism. The title of this essay is provocative as in today´s world, there exist many proponents who claim, the core of Marx conception of ideology is still relevant in the 21st globalised world. However, Marxism is relevant to the extent to which is it important to examine every political and economic conception, moreover if we are able to perceive its outcomes after the concepts has been practically applied. This paper is intended to assess key ideas of Marxism with observations of positives and negatives it brought and the reasons why the concepts failed.

    Read More

  • Justice and Mercy in The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

    898 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the transformation of the character Gregor from a man to one of the most hated insects, a vermin, may seem exaggerated and ridiculous, becoming more so over the course of the story the action builds and the emotions and ideas of the characters in the story begin to change and become more prominent. Kafka’s intention, however, is to expose and explore the impoverishment of human psychology with respect to the ways in which changes in one’s circumstances and conditions reshape notions people have of the way they believe in justice and mercy which will be explore further in this analysis of Gregor Samsa.

    Read More

  • A Brief Description of Major Depressive Disorder

    1353 Words  | 3 Pages

    The word ‘depression’ has become a common everyday word. We hear the term ‘depression’ so frequently today, it’s even used in the contexts of jokes. For example you may hear someone say ‘My favorite show is over, now I have nothing to watch, I’m so depressed’. Obviously this person is not depressed, but we have come to overuse it in our expressions, to the point that is takes away from the seriousness of this disorder. Major depressive disorder is a mood disorder characterized by at least two weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest in nearly all activities, along with sleep or eating disturbances, loss of energy, and feelings of hopelessness (Kosslyn, Rosenberg, 2006). This mood disorder is characterized by a depressed mood, lack of interest in activities normally enjoyed, and feeling of worthlessness. Over the course of two weeks, someone who is suffering with major depressive disorder can experience symptoms such as significant weight loss, daily insomnia or hypersomnia, loss of energy, diminished ability to think or concentration, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide (Kosslyn, Rosenberg, 2006).

    Read More

  • Marxist Lens Analysis of Kafka's Metamorphosis

    1307 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Ambrose Bierce’s Experience During the Civil War and Its Influence on His Writing

    921 Words  | 2 Pages

    The next four years were spent traveling the states fighting in some of the most well known battles of the Civil War . Ambrose Bierce’s experience during the Civil War where he faced the dangers of nature and man influenced his writing.

    Read More

  • Depression Treatments

    1703 Words  | 4 Pages

    Depression is a psychological disease. It is one of the most common mental illnesses (Blais, et al., 2013). Depression was known since antiquity. Hippocrates diagnosed it in fourth century BC (McNamara and Horan, 1986). After World War II, depression was described as “aggression turned inward” (McNamara & Horan, 1986). Now there is Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, which is designed to evaluate how severe is depression (Gibbons et al., 2012).

    Read More

  • Examining The Metamorphosis From a Marxist Perspective

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the saddest aspects of Franz Kafka's novella, The Metamorphosis, concerns the fact that young Gregor Samsa genuinely cares about this family, working hard to support them, even though they do little for themselves. On the surface, Kafka's 1916 novella, seems to be just a tale of Gregor morphing into a cockroach, but a closer reading with Marx and Engels' economic theories , unveils an impressive metaphor that gives the improbable story a great deal of relevance to the structure of Marxist society. Gregor, the protagonist, denotes the proletariat, or the working class, and his unnamed manager represents the bourgeoisie. The conflict, that arises between the two after Gregor's metamorphosis, contributes to his inability to work. This expresses the impersonal and dehumanizing structure of class relations. Kafka's prose emphasizes the economic effects on human relationships, therefore, by analyzing the images of Gregor, we can gain insight into many of the ideas the writer is trying to convey.

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast the Work of Martin Luther King Jr & Malcolm X

    915 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King Jr. came from a middle class home with two loving and supportive parents. He was born in Georgia, January 15, 1929. Dr. King Jr. was one of three children. The impact he had on black and white audiences changed the way they viewed segregation and unity. He was such a revolutionary orator that he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Martin Luther King Jr. was the living definition of a prototypical nonconformist, which is a person who does not change their initial thoughts or actions based off of what others do. The reason prototypical nonconformist defines him so well is because his speeches were written to inspire all races, especially young African Americans to use non-violence to resolve any issues and to never lose sight of their dreams. His most famous “I Have a Dream” speech spoke about uplifting one another to help achieve each other’s goals with the absence of hatred and violence. He also brought forth the knowledge that God does not see any race more superior than an...

    Read More

  • Martin Luther King Compare And Contrast

    752 Words  | 2 Pages

    Martin Luther King was one of the front runners of one of the biggest movements in the history of America. He wanted America as a whole to change not just the whites but the blacks as well, so that we could learn to live together as one people. He wanted a place where people where not persecuted based on how they looked or what color they were. He wanted everyone judge only on how they acted and who they perceived themselves as. He and

    Read More

  • What is the importance of symbolism in Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka?

    980 Words  | 2 Pages

    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...

    Read More

  • Existentialism in Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis

    1489 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Franz Kafka’s short story, Metamorphosis, the idea of existentialism is brought out in a subtle, yet definite way. Existentialism is defined as a belief in which an individual is ultimately in charge of placing meaning into their life, and that life alone is meaningless. They do not believe in any sort of ultimate power and focus much of their attention on concepts such as dread, boredom, freedom and nothingness. This philosophical literary movement emerged in the twentieth-century, when Kafka was establishing his writing style in regards to alienation and distorted anxiety. A mirror to his own personal lifestyle, this story follows the short and sad life of a man unable to break out of the bonds society has placed on him. These bonds are not only evident in the work place, but at home too. Being constantly used and abused while in his human form, Gregor’s lifestyle becomes complicated once he becomes a giant insect and is deemed useless. Conflicts and confusion arise primarily between Gregor and his sister Grete, his parents, and his work. Each of these three relationships has different moral and ethical complications defining them. However, it is important for one to keep in mind that Gregor’s metamorphosis has placed him into a position of opposition, and that he has minimal control over the events to take place. Conflicts will also occur between family members as they struggle with the decision of what to do with Gregor. In the end they all come to the agreement that maintaining his uselessness is slowly draining them and they must get rid of him.

    Read More

  • Marxist Perspective on Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

    1813 Words  | 4 Pages

    On the surface, Franz Kafka's 1916 novella, The Metamorphosis, seems to be just a tale of a man who woke up one morning to find himself transformed into an insect. But, a closer reading with Marx and Engel's economic theories in mind reveals an overarching metaphor that gives the improbable story a great deal of relevance to the structure of society. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist, signifies the proletariat, or the working class, and his unnamed manager represents the bourgeoisie. The conflict that arises between the two after Gregor's metamorphosis renders him unable to work represents the impersonal and dehumanizing structure of class relations. The metaphor of the story can be divided into three main parts (although they overlap within the story.) First, Kafka establishes the characters and the economic classes which they represent. Then, he details Gregor's metamorphosis and the way in which it impedes his labor. Finally, he describes the final results of the worker's inability to work: abandonment by his family and death. Although a man cannot literally be transformed into an insect, he can, for one reason or another, become unable to work. Kafka's novella, therefore, is a fantastic portrayal of a realistic scenario and provides us with a valuable insight into the struggles between economic classes.

    Read More

More about To Live in a Vermin’s World: A Marxist View of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis

Open Document