Gregor as Symbol of the Jewish Race in Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis
For thousands of years, the Jewish People have endured negative stereotypes such as the "insects of humanity." As Sander Gilman pointed out, the Nazi Party labeled Jews as "insects like lice and cockroaches, that generate general disgust among all humanity" (Gilman 80).1 These derogative stereotypes, although championed by the Nazis, have their origins many centuries earlier and have appeared throughout Western culture for thousands of years. This fierce anti-Semitism specifically surfaced in Europe’s large cities in the early twentieth century, partially in conjunction with the growing tide of nationalism, patriotism, and xenophobia that sparked the First World War in 1914. Today, one often learns the history of this critical, pre-WWI era from the perspective of Europe’s anti-Semitic population, while the opposite perspective—that of the Jews in early twentieth-century European society—is largely ignored. Questions like: "How did the Jews view and respond to their mistreatment?" and "How were the Jews affected mentally and psychologically by the prejudices against them?" remain largely unanswered. Insight into these perplexing social questions, while not found in most history books, may be discovered in a complex and highly symbolic story of this era: "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka. Through the use of an extended metaphor, "The Metamorphosis" provides both a basic summary of the common views held against Jews and offers an insight as to what may be the ultimate result of Europe’s anti-Semitism. This work serves as a social commentary and criticism of early twentieth-century Europe. It fulfills two main functions: first, it provides an outline of the s...
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...be destroyed so easily, why cannot another?" and "Who, when, and where will be the next victim?" Thus, by establishing Gregor Samsa as a symbol of the Jewish Race, Kafka uses "The Metamorphosis" as a social critique of the treatment of the Jews in early twentieth-century Europe and raises timeless, complex, and haunting questions about the horrible atrocities of which the human race is capable.
Works Cited
1. Sander L. Gilman, Franz Kafka: The Jewish Patient (London: Routledge, 1995).
2. Franz Kafka, "The Metamorphosis," The Metamorphosis, The Penal Colony, and Other Stories, Trans. Willa and Edwin Muir (New York: Schocken Books, 1975), 67—132.
3. Ritchie Robertson, Kafka: Judaism, Politics, and Literature (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985).
4. Stanley Corngold, Franz Kafka: The Necessity of Form (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1988).
The story The Metamorphosis revolves around Gregor Samsa, a devoted son and brother who works tirelessly to provide for his family, waking up finding out that he has been transformed into a larger than life insect. Franz Kafka enlightens the readers to how being dependent on one person can lead a family to being weak when that support system is ripped away from them. The situations that Gregor is put into knocks him down from the head of the family into nothingness while at the same time boosts his family from that nothingness into being a strong support system for each other. Gregor 's transformation, his dependency on his sister for food, his injury, the family choosing strangers over him, and ultimately his death are all things that lead to this downfall, or metamorphosis.
There are some people who call themselves a vegetarian, but no one is born to be a vegetarian. They become a vegetarian afterwards with a notion of it. Wild carnivores such as lions and cheetahs hunt and eat other animals only when they are hungry or have to feed the meat to their children. In other words, they know exactly what to eat by instinct. On the other hand, human can eat not only meat but also non-meat. According to Katharine Milton, an anthropologist at the Univ...
Angus, Douglas. Kafka's Metamorphosis and "The Beauty and the Beast" Tale. The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. 53, No. 1. Jan., 1954, pp. 69-71. Print.
Metamorphosis, and the theme of change. Kafka's main character, Gregor. Samsa, undergoes many changes and his transformation evokes change in his family. I am a Several metamorphoses take place involving Gregor. First, a physical change occurs when Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous. vermin.
The Metamorphosis lends itself more to the psychology student instructed to profile an author based on his work than to the literature student instructed to cite and expand on different literary elements. It is obviously the work of a very disturbed man, although the disturbance would probably be more of the chronic type that slowly eats a man away than the type which causes, say, one to hallucinate. To sum up The Metamorphosis, I would call it a very deceiving book. On the surface, the simplistic plot, apparent lack of imagination with regard to the syntax, and the largely flat characters tend to drive the reader away. However, when one looks just a little deeper, Kafka's whole world of fear and isolation opens up before his eyes.
Though vegetarianism was never a taboo subject as are some other controversial topics, The question of whether or not human beings should live off meat still is highly discussed amongst all types of people. Spiritual leaders, activists, scientists, and doctors have spoken up on behalf of their group’s opinion. Amongst the arguments of what is right when it comes to the food chain, resonating on many a mind is where the concept of vegetarian came from. Was it started as a religious virtue or a moral decision? Perhaps it was a forced lifestyle or a diet trend gone wrong (or right depending). Health wise, which is better for us? Educating ourselves by answering these questions helps us answer the, perhaps, most important question of all. Which lifestyle will we, as individuals, choose?
Bruce, Iris. "Elements of Jewish Folklore in Kafka's Metamorphosis." The Metamorphosis: Translation, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996. 107-25. Print.
Vegetarians don’t cut out animal products all together therefore their diet, although not containing meat or flesh of any kind is still more diverse and a better, healthier choice than that of a vegan while still holding on so some of their ethical concerns. Vegans do miss out on many nutrients that are ob...
The vegetarian diet has become very popular in the United States. How does not eating meat affect a person's health? It is important for people to eat a nutritious diet that will fuel their body. Some people think the vegetarian diet is bad for a person because there are so many nutrients that we can only get from meat.The vegetarian diet has a stigma that it is not very healthy, however the vegetarian diet can be very beneficial to a person's health.
Appropriately planned vegetarian diets can be essential to any one, in any stage of their life. Vegetarian diets are associated with lower risks of cancer, death from ischemic heart disease or any cardiovascular disease. Also lower body mass index (BMI), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, low blood pressure and lower rates of hypertension than those of which are non-vegetarians.
Society has recently become increasingly obsessed with health and nutrition, as more and more individuals realize that they can dramatically change their quality of life by adjusting their diet and lifestyle. One way that people have tried to pursue a healthier lifestyle, is by removing meat and other animal products from their diets, whether they become a strict vegetarian who eats no animal byproducts, or a lacto-ovo vegetarian who still eats eggs and dairy. As with any other lifestyle, research is always being done to see if the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, and so far, the results of vegetarian diets have been encouraging. Vegetarian diets have proven to decrease the risk of heart disease, cancer, obesity, and many other health problems. With a little planning and dedication, a vegetarian diet will be healthier and more beneficial than a traditional diet
Updike, John. Kafka and the Metamorphosis. Literature and Its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 2nd ed. Ed. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston: Bedford, 2001 545-548.
This paper will present a novel, The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. My purpose of this paper is to analyze the story and the author Franz Kafka's life. The Metamorphosis is an autobiographical piece of writing, and I can find that parts of the story reflects Kafka's own life, also I would like to analyze the symbolism of the story, the protagonist in the novel The Metamorphosis. The analysis of the story is addressed to all people in general. The research of this paper will be supported by scholarly journals, academic websites, and books.
Kafka, Franz. "The Metamorphosis". The Metamorphosis. Trans. Donna Freed and Ed. George Stade. New York: Barnes and Nobles, 2003.
Many Americans are eating unhealthy diets in the typical American style characterized by lack of moderation. This average diet is defined by high contents of red meat and other fatty foods. Eating these types of food, and the following factor of being overweight, can lead to heart disease and other health problems. A vegetarian lifestyle, on the other hand, limits the intake of meat and other fatty animal products and is known to confer a wide range of health benefits. However, there are many different types of vegetarianism. First, there is the semi vegetarian, who is someone who simply limits meat intake to some degree, the lacto-ovovegetarian, who cuts out all meat, but not animal products such as cheese and eggs, and then the vegan, who chooses not to eat any animal products or byproducts such as honey or gelatin. Each type of vegetarianism has specific benefits, all of which outweigh the benefits of the average American’s diet. I am going to look primarily at the benefits of the lacto-ovovegetarian lifestyle. By eating this type of diet, Americans can balance out their food intake with more fruits, vegetables, and grains and create a diet that is healthier overall. A typical vegetarian diet closely matches expert dietary recommendations for healthy eating, being low in saturated fat and high in fiber, complex carbohydrates, and fresh fruit and vegetables (VSUK). A more balanced diet leads to a healthier lifestyle and a longer, happier life. Therefore, more Americans should be eating a vegetarian diet, specifically a lacto-ovovegetarian style.