Metamorphosis Essay

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 in a time of need. From this story, one is able to infer that suffering is a necessary component of life. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist, was plagued with the metamorphosis that occurred one morning while he was awaking to prepare himself for work, as a traveling salesman. It is his metamorphosis that’ll set the ball rolling for post events that take place throughout the novel. In modern societies, one who usually feels an obligation to an unpleasant task and one who has others dependant on them often translate into the concept of them being those who have a sense of purpose. Hard work and self-sacrifice are two examples of what often enable us to have reverence and respect for people. It is almost as if it is a human need that makes one feel venerable. Part of Gregor’s reason for this need was because he needed to pay off his parent's debt; Kafka lets the readers understand this very quickly from the starting of the book. It is this need which was Gregor's motivation for pulling through a job which he despised so much. The metamorphosis has disabled him from fulfilling this particular need, and when he later hears of his family's decision that he is in no way a human being and must be gotten rid of, he realizes that this need will be unattainable forever, he then completely gives up on hope and dies. Kafka was able to portray these societal constructs of normality and venerability through his usages of motifs and centralized themes in order to dehumanize Gregor and force the rest of his family to undergo metamorphoses as well.

Using motifs in a piece of l...

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...ggish Mr. Samsa who had not worked for over the past five years and who in any case could not be expected to undertake too much, eventually transformed into a hard working, occupied man capable of working. Because Gregor was not able to any longer fulfill his duties and take care of his family. Grete experiences her own transformation in the story as she develops from a child into an adult; it was a coming of age moment for her. At the beginning of the novel, she is essentially still a girl, but as she begins to take on adult duties, such as caring for Gregor and then getting a job to help support the family, the readers witness how much she steadily matures. Of course, Kafka was only able to display this through his literary devices; it is his literary implementations that made this book what it is today, an extraordinary influential work of the twentieth century.