Marxist Perspective on Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
On the surface, Franz Kafka's 1916 novella, The Metamorphosis, seems to be just a tale of a man who woke up one morning to find himself transformed into an insect. But, a closer reading with Marx and Engel's economic theories in mind reveals an overarching metaphor that gives the improbable story a great deal of relevance to the structure of society. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist, signifies the proletariat, or the working class, and his unnamed manager represents the bourgeoisie. The conflict that arises between the two after Gregor's metamorphosis renders him unable to work represents the impersonal and dehumanizing structure of class relations. The metaphor of the story can be divided into three main parts (although they overlap within the story.) First, Kafka establishes the characters and the economic classes which they represent. Then, he details Gregor's metamorphosis and the way in which it impedes his labor. Finally, he describes the final results of the worker's inability to work: abandonment by his family and death. Although a man cannot literally be transformed into an insect, he can, for one reason or another, become unable to work. Kafka's novella, therefore, is a fantastic portrayal of a realistic scenario and provides us with a valuable insight into the struggles between economic classes.
Within the first few pages of the novella, we as readers quickly discover Gregor's role as the proletariat in the story. He is forced to labor as a traveling salesman, trying to support his family and pay off his father's debt from a failed business venture. While lying in bed, he comments on his life as a traveling salesman, "Day in, day out--on the road... I've got t...
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Although the exact story told in Kafka's The Metamorphosis could not occur outside the realm of fantasy, it represents the very real scenario of a worker being abandoned by his employer and family after becoming unable to work and support them financially. By looking at the novella from a Marxist perspective, we see that the underlying theme of the story is a conflict between proletariat and bourgeoisie. Because economics supercede everything else in capitalistic society, a citizen who is unable to labor and earn wages is quickly abandoned. And, the result of this abandonment is often (as it was in Gregor Samsa's case) death.
Works Cited
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. New York: Bantam, 1986.
Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. "The Communist Manifesto." The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch. New York: Norton, 2001. 769-773.
... 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.
In his book Confessions, Saint Augustine writes about his conversion from a Manichee to a Christian. He confesses to God and asserts that God is “incorruptible and inviolable and unchangeable” (Augustine 111). Based on his deep faith in God, Augustine abandons the concept of Manichee dualism and believes in God as “not only [the] good but the supreme good” (114). At first he has no idea what the nature of evil is, but finally he starts to understand that the nature of evil is not a substance at all, but rather “a perversity of will twisted away from the highest substance [– God]” (Augustine 124-126). He contends that the totality, rather than the evil or goodness of individual things should be considered (125). In this essay, I am going to argue that Augustine’s reflection and understanding are better described as knowledge, rather than correct opinion.
Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian philosopher who was born in what is now modern day Algeria and his writings have been a great influence on the development of Western Christianity. He was a bishop in the Hippo Regius of Roman Africa during the Patristic Era and is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the West (Mendelson). In his famous writing “Confessions”, Augustine recounts the first 35 years of his life and tracks his spiritual development and acceptance of Christianity. Books 1-9 are autobiographical, while Books 10-13 are analytical and interpretational of his faith. Book 10 of his confessions explores memory while 11 through 13 are his detailed interpretations of Genesis, in which the creation of the world is explained.
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.
One morning, Gregor awakens to find himself with the body of a beetle. Although it never explains how Gregor morphed into a beetle, or shows that Gregor gives much thought to having the body of an insect, Kafka gives the strong impression that Gregor is extremely devoted to his work and is the sole support for his family, none of whom work themselves. Gregor devoted himself to a life of work and self sacrifice, following ...
A biography on Saint Augustine is not our primary concern on this writing but, since he was the most important Christian theoretician in the late Roman Empire in the elaboration as stated Marvin Perry in his book, Western Civilization: “A Brief History” (117). It is relevant to stress out that his explanation of the origin of the unity of the human race has evoked the most pertinent questions. Augustine of Hippo or Saint Augustine was born on November 13th, 354 in Tagaste, Algeria then died on August 28th, 430 in Hippo Regius. Saint Augustine, bishop of Hippo in North Africa and author of The City of God, was an early Christian theologian and philosopher who developed the view of life and of the individual about the Christianity.
are completely unaware of it. 30,000 children and young adults in the united states are living with this
In Franz Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis, the travelling salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning, in his family’s home, to find “himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” (Kafka 3). While this immediate physical change, supported by ensuing physical imagery, suggests that the “metamorphosis” introduced in the title is purely physical, other interpretations are also possible. When the reader relies upon the extended and embedded metaphors present in this text, he or she may construe Gregor Samsa’s transformation as an emotional, mental, or internal change. It is a combination of both physical and nonphysical interpretations of Gregor Samsa’s metamorphosis, however, which produces a multifaceted, enriched perspective on Gregor Samsa as a character, both realistic and allegorical. When one accepts antithetical interpretations of the metamorphosis in this text, one not only gains a clearer perspective of both physical and nonphysical readings, one also becomes aware of the concept of metamorphosis on every level of this novella, from the stylistic to the thematic.
St. Augustine was a fourth century philosopher of the late Roman and early Medieval time. Today, he is still considered one of the most significant figures in the development of Western Christianity and played a huge role in bringing Christianity to dominance during the time when the Roman Empire was in a dark place. He is considered to be one of the most important Church Fathers in Western Christianity. At that time, many people saw Aristotle as one of the main influences to Christian thought. However, after St. Augustine’s own spiritual struggles and trials in his life, he combined his own wisdom with ideas from both Plato and Neo-Platonism into a unique philosophical system that supported the Christian belief.
Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. "The Communist Manifesto." The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism. Ed. Vincent B. Leitch. New York: Norton, 2001. 769-773.
As previously stated Saint Augustine wasn’t always a Saint. Before he fully converted to Christianity, Saint Augustine encountered numerous acts, in which his decisions were not always that of a righteous Saint. The first noticeable co...
The phrase “Kafkaesque” has got into the English language to describe and explain situations like those in Kafka’s writing. He has left a lasting legacy. And few literary talents can assert the kind of influence that the inspiration behind the adjective "Kafkaesque" has had. He is considered to be one of the innovative writers ever. Metamorphosis is a story of Gregor Samsa young, traveling salesman who has overnight been transformed, incredibly into ugly bug, a dung beetle. He was the sole bread
Bender, Frederic L. Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ed. 1988.
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.
The metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, is a book that caught the world’s interest. The strange context of the novel caught the attention of many people, but is there a secret message in between the lines? The author, Franz Kafka, is also very well known. There have been speculations made by the public that have suggested that Kafka and the fictional character in his book, Gregor Samsa, share more similarities than just being originated by the author’s mind. When comparing Kafka's life to the life of the main character, Gregor Samsa, it is obvious that Kafka wrote the Metamorphosis to display himself through Gregor.