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Literary analysis essay on the metamorphosis by franz kafka
Literary analysis essay on the metamorphosis by franz kafka
Franz kafka's novella the metamorphosis
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Have you have wondered, why you care so much about you appearance or personality. Well, suppose you go to a party with no makeups and you has rashes all over your face; people will start treating you differently and disrespectfully from others. Not to mention, your identity is very important if you want to have a happy and successful living life. People all over the world want to look gorgeous and charming just because they are afraid of being contempt due to their identity. Therefore, our identity is what structures our life. As you know, in the book “The Metamorphosis”, Franz Kafka tells us how Gregor transformation into an insect changed his whole life. Even though, he was the same person from inside, he was being treated differently and
Gregor Samsa is the protagonist in the famous novella The Metamorphosis, written by the Czech author Franz Kafka. Gregor goes through a physical metamorphosis during his sleep, awaking to find himself entrapped in the body of a giant insect, not knowing how or why it happened. Yet, throughout the story you see that Gregor’s humility, as a human and as an insect, shows that he truly cares for his family in the 1915 classic. Through Gregor’s love for his now neglectful family, we can ask this question: is Gregor actually more human than his family? This question can be answered by looking at one of Gregor’s greatest attributes, his selflessness.
Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to discover that he has been transformed into a repugnant vermin. One may never know what initiated this makeover, but the simple truth is that Gregor is now a bug, and everyone must learn to live and move on in this strenuous situation. In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the characters that interact with Gregor, including his mother, his father, and his sister Grete, must come to terms with his unfortunate metamorphosis, and each does so by reacting in a unique way. Gregor’s family members are constantly strained by this unusual event, and all three of them are pressed to their breaking point.
In The Metamorphosis Kafka illustrates a grotesque story of a working salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking up one day to discover that his body resembles a bug. Through jarring, almost unrealistic narration, Kafka opens up the readers to a view of Gregor’s futile and disappointing life as a human bug. By captivating the reader with this imaginary world Kafka is able to introduce the idea that Gregor’s bug body resembles his human life. From the use of improbable symbolism Kafka provokes the reader to believe that Gregor turning into a bug is realistic and more authentic compared to his unauthentic life as a human.
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.
There is a theory that dream and myth are related which is conveyed through the writing of Douglas Angus’ Kafka's Metamorphosis and "The Beauty and the Beast" Tale and supported by Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis. The stories are very symbolic when conveying the metamorphosis of a human being. Unlike Beauty and the Beast, in the Metamorphosis some suggest love is received through acts of cruelty yet in actuality it appears that cruelty results in heartache. Due to being a beast, the repulsiveness requires genuine love which can achieve the “magical transformation.” This “magical transformation” is not achieved and creates a twist in the plot derived from the concepts in the “Beauty and the Beast.”
In The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, Gregor’s evolution to an insect symbolizes the loss of thorough communication, representing the disconnection of the individual from his family and his surroundings. Through this metamorphosis, the once loving family begins to remove itself from any past interactions with Gregor. In addition, the setting and surroundings of Gregor completely overcome him and persuade him to lose hope. The family and surroundings, not the change to an insect, lead Gregor towards death. Not only do the uncontrollable surroundings change Gregor, but so does the family.
In the short story “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, the protagonist of the story, Gregor Samsa, goes through a strange transition where he is transformed from a human being into an insect. Throughout the story Gregor’s physical appearance changes but it is apparent that his life as an insect is not that different from his life as a human being. To the reader it seems as though justice is served when Gregor, who has been transformed into an insect by some unexplainable force, can no longer work. Therefore his family, who have been living off him are forced to go get jobs. This would be considered justice if it weren’t for the fact that Gregor is living his life as an insect therefore the idea of justice seems to be undefinable.
In the novella The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, the main character Gregor undergoes a physical transformation from human to bug. Despite this change in appearance, he maintains his human brain as insect tendencies slowly take over his day to day behavior. He maintains his thoughtless state of mind, memories, and inner dialogue during his exterior transformation. Although he maintains his mental capacities, it is his change in appearance that causes his family to turn against him and eventually kill him. These events show how people can become dehumanized by society and the government only because of a difference in behavior or appearance.
In The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Gregor Samsa is dehumanized after and prior to turning into a giant insect. Before his transformation, Gregor had a lonely and tiring life of being a commercial traveler, paying off his parents debt. He always worried about the train connections in his constant traveling, and was not able to become intimate friends with his casual acquaintances. Before his transformation, Gregor feels dehumanized because of the constant pressure from his boss and family to do his job.
When comparing Franz Kafka and his personal life to The Metamorphosis it is obvious in more ways than one that he was writing a twisted story of his life. The emotional and physical abuse Gregor goes through are similar to what Kafka went through in real life. They were both abused and neglected by their fathers when they were disappointed with them. Kafka uses Gregor transforming into a bug as a way of exaggerating himself, trying to express his feelings and point of view. When writing, Kafka felt as if he was trapped in his room which he referred to as "the noise headquarters of the apartment". Gregor was an exaggeration of this because he could not leave the house to escape the noises and abuse.
Helmut Richter analyzed the plot of The Metamorphosis in his essay. He depicts the main plot of the story to be Gregor’s failure at his work, which leads to his death. The climax of the story starts off early in the book. When Gregor wakes up one morning, he realizes that he has turned into a giant insect. Gregor was a salesman and his job required that he was very determined in his work. Kafka proves to us that Gregor did not do a good job as a salesman by transforming into a bug: a strong work force. Kafka’s use of this metaphor stresses the poor work that Gregor does as a salesman.
However, Gregor does escape from his life of indentured servancy- by becoming a giant insect. Walter H. Sokel explains the effect of the metamorphosis on his occupat...
Because of the large amount of time adults spend working, it is very easy for them to equate who they are with what they do. Franz Kafka explores this theme of work and identity in his book The Metamorphosis with the characters of Gregor, Gregor’s father, and Grete. Each character’s self-worth changes as their abilities to work or not work changes.
In each of Kafka’s writings, there are prominent metaphors relating to anti-Semitic culture and sentiments before, during, and after World War I. Through absurd and irrational predicaments, the characters in Kafka’s stories illustrate the of Jewish people as “alien” and their various identity crises.
An analysis of Kafka’s novel from a Marxist perspective reveals that Gregor’s transformation into an insect is a metaphor for the dehumanizing aspects of the class struggle that is breeded by a capitalism, which favors the ideology of a classless society. The characters...