Franza Kafka wrote one of his most popular books, The Metamorphosis, during the literary period and movement of existentialism. His novella stresses many existential ideals. The most predominant ideal that is seen through Gregor Samsa and his father in The Metamorphosis is that choice is the opportune of the individual. One’s ultimate goal in life is to successfully find a homeostasis between work and leisure. It is through the character development of the father of Gregor Samsa that we see the acquisition of the homeostasis between work and leisure and in turn this exemplifies that the father is an existential ideal.
Franza Kafka was born on July 3, 1883 in Prague, Austria-Hungary (now known as the Czech Republic). He was a German speaking child in a Jewish society. From a very young age he suffered with many instances of isolationism, tragedy ran rampant in his home with the death of his two younger brothers during birth, and he had a profound relationship with his parents. Franza Kafka referred to his father as a “true Kafka” and his father’s relationship paved the way for many of his writings and ideals. He wrote his novella The Metamorphosis at the peak of the existential movement. Kafka and his father had a very stern relationship. The father was a successful business man while Kafka went from job to job and never found a stable and viable job. Kafka constantly was brought down and condescended by his father, which gave the support for many of his writings including The Metamorphosis. The relationship between Kafka and his father is almost exactly identical to the relationship between Gregor Samsa and his father. In almost all of Kafka’s literature the central character always has to overcome an overbearing and overwhelming...
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...inding a balance between work and leisure and never exemplifying an existential ideal. Mr. Samsa unlike Gregor does not only partake in work, he partakes in leisure like spending time with the family and traveling on the train to the country side. Gregor has failed as a working and successful individual in society. An existential theme that choice is the opportune of the individual is thoroughly exemplified through The Metamorphosis. Everyone’s job, as an individual of society, is to keep and maintain a balance between work and leisure. In the end through the character development of Gregor’s father we can see how he was able to find a homeostasis between work and leisure and this finalizes how the father of Gregor is an existential ideal.
Works Cited
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Ed. Stanley Corngold. Trans. Stanley Corngold. New York: Bantam, 2004. Print.
“The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, not only tells the troubling story of Gregor Samsa but of the underlying autobiographical influences of Kafka himself. The first similarity is the unhappiness in both men’s careers, both induced by their strong-willed fathers. In the short story, when Gregor awakes he realizes the problem is not that “he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” but that he will be unable to do his job, that pays for his parent’s debt (1156). Franz spent his life, unhappy but successful just like Gregor. Franz majored in law to please his father. Both men strived for similar family duties, Gregor to pay off his father’s debt and Franz for a false sense of hope that one day his father would love him (1157; Sulkes).
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.
Many views of existentialism are exposed in Kafka's Metamorphosis. One of these main views is alienation or estrangement which is demonstrated by Gregor's relationship with his family, his social life, and the way he lives his life after the metamorphosis. Namely, it suggests that man is reduced to an insect by the modern world and his family; human nature is completely self absorbed. Kafka reflects a belief that the more generous and selfless one is, the worse one is treated. This view is in direct conflict with the way things should be; man, specifically Gregor should be treated in accordance to his actions. Gregor should be greatly beloved by his family regardless of his state. This idea is displayed in three separate themes. First, Gregor's family is only concerned with the effect Gregor's change will have on them, specifically the effect it will have on their finances and reputation. They are more than willing to take completely gratuitous advantage of Gregor; he works to pay their debt and they are happy to indulge themselves with luxury. Gregor is the soul employed member of his family and this is their primary interest when Gregor is transformed. Secondly, Gregor is penalized for his efforts to be a good son, and a good worker; his toils are completely taken for granted by his family. The Samsa family is not interested in Gregor beyond their own needs, outsiders are reverentially treated. Thirdly, it is displayed by the positive changes that occur in the Samsa family as Gregor descends into tragedy and insignificance. As Gregor's life becomes more painful, isolated, and worthless the Samsa family becomes more functional and self-reliant.
Franz Kafka illustrates in his book the struggle that most humans have throughout their life: ‘Who am I?’ He demonstrates this through his radical and exaggerated formation of The Metamorphosis, a man becoming a bug; or a bug always thinking he was a man, then realizing that he is and always has been a bug. This bug, Gregor Samsa, goes through an immense psychological realization at the beginning of the book; he had been deceived by his own mind from the beginning of his life. Throughout Gregor’s Metamorphosis, Gregor experiences the loss of his self actualization, recognition, belonging, security, and physiological needs. His situation had taken away all the basic psychological needs of any human as illustrated by Maslow’s Hierarchy of
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th Compact Ed. New York: Longman, 2013. 268-98. Print.
Stephens, J. “Franz Kafka’s personal life reflected in the Metamorphosis” The Kafka Project. 1999-2002. 13 November 2002. .
Aldiss, Brian W. “Franz Kafka: Overview.” St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers. Ed. Jay P. Pederson. 4th ed. New York: St. James Press, 1996.
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.
It seems to be very rare to stumble upon a honest, crystal-clear self reflection and criticism, a true necroscopy of one’s self, because it is much easier to “beholdest [..] the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye” [Matthew 7:3]. Perhaps it is only through the eyes of a vermin that Franz Kafka was finally able to open up completely to his father but, most importantly, to himself, reaching a level of frankness that could not even be attained in “Letter to His Father”. In “The Metamorphosis”, the theme of humanness and identity is revealed through the eyes of Gregor Samsa, who, in his claustrophobic, anxiety-ridden state of being trapped in the body of a vermin, experiences having his whole conception of identity being changed while watching his life slip away in front of his eyes, as his family contributes to his final act of giving up.
Kafka, Franz. “The Metamorphosis.” The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. Trans. Michael Hofmann. Toronto: Penguin Books, 2007. 85-146. Print.
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.
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.
The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka's best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. In this novel Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically. The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many ways similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The Metamorphosis also shows resemblance to some of Kafka's diary entries that depict him imagining his own extinction by dozens of elaborated methods. This paper will look into the text to show how this is a story about the author's personal life portrayed through his dream-like fantasies.
The meaning of life and existence is a question that has been thoroughly explored in literature. As time, people, and philosophies have evolved, interpretations of life and existence have evolved along with them. Among the literary pioneers who have explored the meaning and purpose of existence, Franz Kafka is one to be noted and studied. A follower of the existentialism movement, he made it a point explore existential philosophy in his literary works. In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the main character Gregor Samsa is the parallel to Franz Kafka which is evident through the portrayal of their similar paternal relationships, ties to existentialism, and their inability to exist without the interference of others.
Kafka, Franz. "The Metamorphosis". The Metamorphosis. Trans. Donna Freed and Ed. George Stade. New York: Barnes and Nobles, 2003.