The Relationship Between Mother And Father In Kafka's Metamorphosis

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Gregor’s father began stamping his feet and waving the cane and newspaper in order to drive Gregor back into his room. “Nothing Gregor said made any difference; indeed, nothing he said was even understood” (Kafka 327). In this story the author displays many of the negative areas of his life, both mentally and physically. The author did not have much of a relationship with both his mother and father. Franz's mother, Julie, was a dedicated housewife who constantly sided with Kafka's father and could not understand her son's dreams of becoming writer. In The Metamorphosis our first impression of Gregor’s father is that of a strong spoken man with a short temper. Gregor’s father cannot understand nor does he seem to care about his sons’ new condition. In the story Gregor is pressured into working at a job that he cannot stand in order to support the family and pay off his fathers’ debt. The interaction between the main character Gregor and his father are comparable to the author and his father. Being that Kafka was the only son in the family he was constantly being pressured to take over the family business, his father did not approve of his writings and wanted Franz to become a business man like himself. In The Metamorphosis when Gregor first leaves the room his father’s first reaction is to force Gregor back into the room. This could be a metaphor for how Kafka’s father was constantly forcing him to do what he wanted instead of allowing Kafka to write. Whenever Franz Kafka attempted to explain to his father that he longed to be a writer not a shop owner, his father got very upset. Franz was exposed to abuse and frequent yelling by his father because of his disapproval of Kafka’s love of writing. In The Metamorphosis Mr.Samsa d...

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...ause of Gregor’s relationship with his father and his abusive nature towards Gregor. When the Metamorphosis was first written Kafka live in a discriminatory society where people were forced to work due to economic demands. The author felt forced to work for an insurance company he despised because it took away time from his writings. At that time discrimination was a reality for Kafka, he felt alienated much like the main character in The Metamorphosis. In the book Gregor is seen as different, and his family and manager look at him as if he is lower than a human being. Just like the main character in the story Kafka had trouble getting himself up to a higher social status .This relates to the way society viewed Kafka at the time. The metamorphosis describes a human being who is suffering and dying a slow painful death much like the way Kafka depicted his own life.

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