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The metamorphosis relates to kafka's life
The metamorphosis main idea of change
The metamorphosis relates to kafka's life
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Dealing with Transformation in The Metamorphosis In The Metamorphosis Gregor Samsa is forced to deal with his transformation from a human being into an insect. After his transformation Gregor is no longer able to do everyday ordinary things. He now has to depend on someone to do these things for him. His younger sister, Grete, makes herself responsible for Gregor. She takes it upon herself to make sure that Gregor is fed and his room is cleaned. This leads to the question; why does she place such a huge responsibility on herself? An optimist like Gregor who only sees the good side of people would say it is because she is a loving and caring person. That her brother’s current condition makes her feel sorry for him and she wants to help him in any way possible. However a pessimist would see an ulterior motive to his sisters’ actions. Since the narrator of the story is Gregor the reader is introduced to Grete through the optimist’s point of view. Gregor portrays Grete as a nurturing and caring person whose actions are solely based on what is best for Gregor. However, what if the narrator was not Gregor but a neutral person who had no prior relationship to Grete? Would Grete’s motives for helping Gregor appear to be purely unselfish? There are many points in the story that the reader is left with the feeling that Grete might have ulterior motives. If the narrator were an impartial character Grete’s intentions would not appear to be so pure. Grete’s motives from the beginning of the story are questionable. Why does she make herself responsible for Gregor? Gregor believes that she “had perhaps taken on so difficult a task merely out of childish thoughtlessness” (100). However there is another ... ... middle of paper ... ...ghout the novel. Gregor throughout the book constantly misreads his sister’s actions and misinterprets her motives. Since the story is told through Gregor’s point of view we perceive Grete through most of the novel as someone who is unselfish and helpful. However at the end we find ourselves wondering if Grete’s intentions are really as pure as Gregor thinks. Did Grete plan from the beginning to get rid of Gregor? The truth is once Gregor was out of the picture Grete became the needed and helpful child. Grete had a lot to gain and nothing to lose by getting rid of Gregor. Gregor is not impartial when it comes to his sister and he is unable to perceive her bad intentions because he thinks so highly of her. Therefore it can be said that if the narrator of the story was a detached character Grete would not appear to be so harmless and innocent.
One of the major symbols in the story is the window in Gregor’s room. Gregor always seems to be looking out the window admiring the external domain. The window represents freedom in a way he feels a strong connection with the outside world despite the fact he is grounded indoors. He realizes is no longer associated with the real world. Grete, Gregor’s younger sister supports Gregor at the beginning. Grete helps out with Gregor’s complication by taking care of him. She gives him his food, cleans up after him, and she even came up with an idea to make it easier for him to move around in his room. She wanted to make Gregor feel like he is appreciated and link to the world so she moved the chair by the window so he could see more clearly.
It is notable that Grete is a very good violin player. We see that Grete seems to take care of Gregor in a way, but that leads to her starting to act like his owner, and that he is a piece of property. “She had grown accustomed, certainly not without justification, so far as a discussion of matters concerning Gregor was concerned.” (Kafka, 161) Though, near the end of the story, Grete begins to care less and less for her older brother, and eventually decides to let him go. ““He must go,” cried Gregor’s sister” (Kafka, 176) It's just another example of Gregor never fitting in. He is stereotypically, just a bug. A quote, more than less an example that really hits it
The feelings of loneliness and betrayal are feelings that we all feel one too many. Some have these feelings for a few simple days, and then those feelings soon pass. For others, however, this is a feeling that is felt for most of their lives. Our loneliness may make us feel alone, when our loneliness is actually common. In The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, the topic of alienation is an ongoing theme from beginning to end. I have interest in this passage because it reveals the writers understanding of a feeling that we all get from time to time. This novella helps us relive these emotions with an understanding that we are not alone in our loneliness.
Gregor’s life slowly ends due to the betrayal of his his loved ones. He feels bad once his parents betray him and he feels he is an inconvenience. Then his sister is too busy and exhausted for him and he has nobody to help him or bring him food. Lastly, with nobody left Gregor betrays himself by simply allowing himself to die. Betrayal contributes a lot to this book as it is evident in every part of Gregor’s downfall. If Gregor’s family did not betray him, maybe they could have found him help to get better and back to normal. He also could have learned how to cope with his metamorphosis and lived with it everyday, however; Gregor’s family did betray him, and it slowly led him to end his life by starving
She renounced the idea that Gregor could actually still be there. Despite hesitation from her father Grete demanded his removal, “It has to go… that’s the only answer father” (Kafka 49). This illustrates that he went from a person to a thing in Grete’s eyes. The lack of remorse she displays after his death further solidifies her feelings. Gregor was betrayed by the person he least expected and it was one of the main influences in his
Grete’s isolation from society stems from her passion and interest for her loved ones. Grete spends all her time at home caring for her family members. Kafka describes her as “perceptive; she had already begun to cry when Gregor was still lying calmly on his back” (Kafka 16). Throughout the text she becomes the sole reason Gregor stays alive. Grete spends her days worrying about the various foods Gregor likes and dislikes, how to make his room more comfortable, and trying to make him feel more comfortable. Gregor is not the only family member whose health is cared for by Grete. “Now his sister, working with her mother, had to do the cooking too; of course that did not cause her much trouble, since they hardly ate anything” (Kafka 25). Kafka incorporates household chores and her mother’s illness, escalating Grete’s isolation. During her mother’s many asthma attacks, Grete arrives first
...increase her figure in the eyes of her parents. It was basically Grete who looked up to Gregor, but now it is flipped around. Lastly Grete states "It will be the death of you two, I can see it coming." Grete continues to insist that Gregor is no longer part of the family. In fact, according to her, Gregor is contributing to the disintegration of the family and must be killed to help save the family. Grete was the concerned one and now she refuses to call him her brother, and insists that he has to be disposed of just like any old household pest.
Gregor Samsa’s mother, whose name is never revealed, is a physically and constitutionally weak woman. She cares dearly for Gregor which is first shown by her distress as Gregor does not wake up at his usual time. It is evident that Gregor’s mother has the hardest time coping with his transformation. She can not bear to lay eyes upon Gregor. Though she has trouble adjusting, she doesn’t stop loving her only son. As Gregor’s mother and sister begin to move furniture out of his room, his mother stops to contemplate whether this is the right course of action. As Sheldon Goldfarb states in his critical essay, “When his mother and sister start removing his furniture, his mother's second thoughts provoke him to resist: he does not want to give up his human past and the possibility of returning to it” (Goldfarb). On the outside, Gregor’s mother reacts with repulsion at the sight of the bug, but on the inside still cares deeply about her son underneath. Gregor is able to see this and it gives him new hope.
Relying on Gregor to support their lifestyle for years, Gregor’s mother, father and sister, Grete, no longer have any use for him once he is transformed into a bug. The transformation is more of an inconvenience to them than a tragedy. Now, the must go out and get jobs, and instead of Gregor taking care of them, they now are responsible for taking care of Gregor. Grete uses her brothers new outer casing as a way to gain respect and power in the family by becoming his caregiver (1093).Grete continues to gain power in the family, as Gregor begins to descend to the bottom of the family hierarchy. His entire family is disgusted by his new form and terrified of his next move. They resent Gregor and consider him to be a burden, taking care of him slowly begins to ruin their lives. Gregor’s family only seem to care about themselves and ignore the blatant issues that Gregor must be going through
The relationship between Gregor and his sister Grete is perhaps the most unique. It is Grete, after all, with whom the metamorphosed Gregor has any rapport, suggesting the Kafka intended to lend at least some significance to their relationship. Grete's significance is found in her changing relationship with her brother. It is Grete's changing actions, feelings, and speech toward her brother, coupled with her accession to womanhood that seems to parallel Gregor's own metamorphosis. This change represents her metamorphosis from adolescence into adulthood but at the same time it marks the final demise of Gregor. Thus, certain symmetry is to be found in "The Metamorphosis." While Gregor falls in the midst of despair, Grete ascends to a self-sufficient, sexual
Grete, Gregor 's sister, is the only character to feel sorry for Gregor. She actually becomes Gregor’s caretaker. She brings him food, cleans his room, places his chair by the window so he can see out to the street, and comes up with the idea of removing his furniture so he has more room to move around. As caretaker she is Gregor’s only real friend for most of the story, and she acts as Gregor’s only strong emotional tie to his family. Her pity for Gregor slowly falls to a end. While at first Grete takes care of her brother out of kindness, eventually she comes to regard the job as a duty and finds it difficult to care for him. The father, Mr. Samso on the other hand had a different response to Gregor 's predicament. He appears as
This particular introduction, unlike most other works contains the climax to the story. This paper will show the importance of these introductory lines. “When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed into a monstrous vermin.” This line greatly moves the plot, more so than any other line. It is the climax of the novel, and everything following it helps build the conclusion of the story. The juxtaposition of “unsettling” and “dreams” is ironic, as dreams are peaceful and never unsettling, only nightmares are unsettling. Gregor has transformed into a “monstrous vermin.” The remainder of the first paragraph gives details of exactly what the monstrous vermin is.
Frank Kafka is considered one of the most influential writers of all time. Helmut Richter would agree with this statement. Richter agreed that Kafka was a very prominent figure in world literature and was amazed by his mechanics and word usage. I feel that his essay is supportive of Kafka’s writing, but also leaves out many important details in its brevity. Richter did not include Kafka’s flaws and tendencies in his essay.
Grete is a character who appears to have the most tolerance for Gregor shortly after his metamorphosis. Gregor was apparently rather fond of his sister and had hoped to finance her education in a conservatory. He was also rather mesmerized with her violin playing. His inability to follow through with these planned acts of kindness may have led to a faster deterioration of Grete’s maintenance of Gregor’s room. Although she could never get used to Gregor’s new freakish appearance, she was his sole provider throughout his life after the metamorphosis:
Even though this course of action is taken, there’s still the choice of Grete to uncover the sheet if she wishes to. However, Grete never did, which further alienates Gregor in his house. With less thought on Gregor’s past human self, all they can remember is this unclean vermin who dwells in their house. Later on, his family doesn’t even refer to him as a person, but rather a thing. According to Tonkin, it was especially prominent when “Grete.bursts out to their father that “we must get rid of it You just have to put from your mind any thought that it's Gregor”.”.