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Symbolism in Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka
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Recommended: Symbolism in Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka
The Metamorphosis, a novella by Franz Kafka, is about a man who has been
transformed into a giant beetle overnight. This transformation is a form of rebellion that
turns out to be a punishment for that rebellion. The Metamorphosis is a story of
subconscious rebellion and isolation to avoid one's responsibilities.
The story begins, "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling
dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin." (Kafka, 3) This
is quite surprising. Most people would be extremely shocked and frightened to wake up
as a giant beetle, but this matter-of-fact tone Kafka uses makes it seem as if Gregor is
not shocked at all. It sounds like this is completely normal. In fact, Gregor ponders
more over his job than his strange transformation. He seems to immediately forget
what has happened to him, and begins to rant "what an awful job I've picked! Day in,
day out--on the road. The upset of doing business is much worse than the actual
business in the home office...the torture of traveling, worrying about changing trains,
eating miserable food at all hours, constantly seeing new faces, no relationships that
last or get more intimate." (Kafka, 4) It's obvious that Gregor is more than tired of his
job. "To the devil with it all!" (Kafka, 4) he says.
As Gregor continues to procrastinate getting out of bed he thinks rebellious
thoughts against his boss. He wishes to tell him off, surprise him so much that falls off
his desk, and walk out with his freedom. However, because of the so-called debt that
his father incurred, Gregor has had to suppress his rebellious wish. Kafka alludes to the
fact that Gregor's rebellious wishes began far before the me...
... middle of paper ...
...umans he is thrown into
isolation. This isolation truly completes the metamorphosis, because if he can be
understood by humans than he can't be a full insect.
In the end, Gregor is basically punished to a life of solitary confinement in his
empty, useless room. The metamorphosis acts as his subconscious rebellion and his
punishment for rebellion. His health declines and he eventually stops eating until he
dies. His family doesn't even care enough about him to do a proper burial. He was
simply "swept away."
Works Cited
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. New York City, New York: Bantam Books, 1972. Print.
Sokel, Walter H. "Kafka's 'Metamorphosis': Rebellion and Punishment." Monatshefte, XLVIII (April-May 1956), pp. 203-14.
Politzer, Heinz. Franz Kafka: Parable and Paradox. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1962, Pp. 37-41.
... to do this every day Gregor would have had to have some sense of time. His dwindling human aspects are prominently marked in two places: the first when Gregor is incapable of communicating with his family and the sales manager and the second when he takes pleasure in rutting about in dirt and filth. Lastly, Gregor's loss of consciousness causes a polar change within his family. As Gregor is no longer able to earn money to support the family, everyone else is forced to take action to bring in capital. The most obvious change is in the father who transformed from a dead weight into a zealous worker. Despite Freedman's employment of flawed logic to formulate some of his theories, the majority of his conclusions are quite valid and probe deeply into the meaning behind Kafka's writing.
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.
States who see it as a “dream experience”(qtd, in Chenoweth, The Threats of Sleep). This dream experience is shown by a dreamer believing wholeheartedly that what they are dreaming is completely real. Because Gregor is continuously in a dream-like state, he is unable to truly sleep and “he [loses] grip on life and humanity”(Chenoweth). When Gregor awakens to find he is a bug, he believes that he has been transformed and punished because of his sleep, making Gregor fear sleep just as Kafka did in his life. In both of their struggles with escaping sleep there was a need for it, Kafka felt that it was vital for his writing, but also that “perhaps insomnia itself is a sin. Perhaps it is a rejection of the natural”(Fraiberg 32). For Gregor he could not find comfort in
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
Kafka, Franz."The Metamorphosis." The Longman Anthology of World Literature. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. 253-284. Print.Works Cited
In the novel, The Metamorphosis, Kafka writes about a man who one day transformed into a bug. Kafka’s own feelings of nothingness caused this story to shape into this unique story. Kafka writes, “The dream reveals the reality, which conception lags behind. That is the horror of life – the terror of art” (qtd. In Kennedy and Gioia 299). Kafka said this as a rebuttal to a friend trying to pry information out of him about The Metamorphosis. Kafka meant that the true burden of art is that a person’s experiences will always heavily influence their creations, and that is horrifying. It is clearly shown in his writings that his personal experiences helped shape the story The Metamorphosis. Every little detail about Gregor’s life is a reflection of Kafka’s own life. Gregor’s family, job, and dreams all were influenced by Kafka’s personal experiences. His father was domineering just as Gregor’s father controlled him after he turned into an insect. He had a horrid job just as Gregor did, and he lived at his parent’s house for most of his life. Gregor’s dreams of being free from his job and parents were also Kafka’s dreams. Kafka’s reality is shown in his story, The Metamorphosis, through Gregor’s family and dreams of freedom.
Bernstein, Richard. “A VOYAGE THROUGH KAFKA'S AMBIGUITIES”. New York Times 02 May 1983. : n. pag. ProQuest Platinum.
The story of The Metamorphosis starts out simply, with a human waking up no longer human, but rather like a giant bug. This existential novella is filled with absurdity, as well as betrayal. When Gregor Samsa, the main character, wakes up one day as a bug, his first priority is getting to his job, in order to make money to support his family. But as the story goes on, he is betrayed by the family he loves so much, but worse, he betrays who he is as a person. Betrayal in the novella The Metamorphosis contributes to the overall message of the story that anyone will betray you, regardless of whether they are family, enemies, or even yourself, through showing the actions of Gregor’s father towards Gregor, Grete’s actions against Gregor, and Gregor’s own actions against himself and his family.
The monstrosity continues to grow as Gregor’s voice starts to change. On page 14, the Chief Clerk states, “that was the voice of an animal”. By this statement, Gregor has already been categorized an animal and not a human. Kafka has already made the other characters perceive Gregor as an animal/monster before they even see him. Even Gregor was shocked and taken aback in this sudden change of voice.
Gregor’s denial takes place when he prepares for work, ignoring his transformation, “First of all he wanted to get up quietly, […] get dressed, […] have breakfast, and only then think about what to do next” (Kafka 6). By characterizing Gregor as determined, Kafka shows his protagonist’s resolve to remain firm in ignoring his transformation for his family’s sake. Typically, such a metamorphosis would warrant panic, but Gregor is so selfless that he denies his own emotions to be useful for his family. Through the sequential syntax employed in this quoate, Kafka shows that Gregor does not want to stray from his usual routine. This attribute, along with his physical transformation, separates Gregor from humanity.
Kafka wants us to sympathize with Gregor because he has a very difficult profession which takes a lot out of him.
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...
Conrad changes the environment to cause his protagonist struggles, and Kafka does the same but through internal contrasts. Kafka’s transformation of Gregor into a disgusting vermin causes doubt within him. These doubts place his family in a position where they lose any love and care they ever had in their son. On what should have been a normal morning, Gregor awoke and “found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” (Kafka 3). Gregor's surreal transformation forces him to doubt and deny anything happening around him.
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.
Pawel, Ernst. A Nightmare of Reason: A Life of Franz Kafka. 2nd ed. New York: Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, 1984.