The Metamorphosis a novella written by Franz Kafkas has many symbolic aspects. It is the story of a travelling salesman who is tired of his job and suffers a major transformation into a vermin, it being the main symbol. There are many meanings behind his metamorphosis which symbolize: exploitation, wishful thinking and escapism.
Firstly, Gregor’s transformation into a bug symbolizes exploitation. He transforms into an insect which are usually known to be walked all over and mistreated. They are at the bottom of the food chain and no one tends to care about them; this depicts Gregor’s life perfectly. Gregor’s role in the family is being the provider; he works everyday to pay off his parents’ debt. “Well, there's still hope; once I've saved enough money to pay back my parents' debts to him” (Kafkas 5) He is mistreated at home by his family members even though he is the only one supporting the family. At work he is always pushed to work more, he works long hours and barely has and free time. “Oh God, he thought, what an exhausting job I've picked out for… always new and never become intimate friends.” (Kafkas 6) These are very similar characteristics to an insect, that’s why Kafkas chose an insect; he turned into a vermin version of his human self. He was always treated lesser than humans, unappreciated for all the hard work he was doing and kept receiving additional pressure. A vermin was the perfect transformation for Gregor; a socially non acceptable version of himself.
Secondly, his transformation symbolizes wishful thinking. At the beginning of the novella, Gregor goes on about how stressful his life is with all the work load he has, he is fed up with everything “To the devil with it all!” (Kafkas 4) He wants something different, change, a less stressful job or even a new life itself; oddly enough his wish comes true. This “new life” of his wasn’t what he pictured at all, this is where wishful thinking comes into play. “Be careful what you wish for.” is the best way to describe what happened to Gregor. He wished for something very vague and got it. Everyone has heard the line before, it happens, we need to think before we act. Unfortunately Gregor didn’t, he got an alteration of what he wished for and it affected not only himself but his family members as well.
Before the transformation, Gregor was a human form of nonchalant reclusiveness. It’s almost as if it was crucial for him to go through the conversion so he could become more emotionally aware despite the irony of him not even being human but a bug. For someone who has been human for about 20 years with absolutely no experience of being an insect, then suddenly become more humane as a creature is odd and outlandish. Gregor’s care for his family increases and begins to worry about their loss of financial and emotional security. He fears that what “if all the peace, the comfort, the contentment were to come to a horrible end?” Gregor’s attitude towards his transformation is hopelessly mundane: he does not question why he has been transformed into a cockroach. Significantly, he fails to find the horror and the absurdity in the situation. Right before his death, Gregor feels all kinds of warm and fuzzy feelings about his family members. Despite his pathetic condition, he seems more humane than the rest of the characters. In a way, Gregor’s transformation and all of the events after that day illustrates both the rewards and sacrifices of defying social convention and living the extraordinary
Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is so strikingly absurd that it has engendered countless essays dissecting every possible rational and irrational aspect of the book. One such essay is entitled "Kafka's Obscurity" by Ralph Freedman in which he delves down into the pages of The Metamorphosis and ferrets out the esoteric aspects of Kafka's writing. Freedman postulates that Gregor Samsa progresses through several transformations: a transformation of spatial relations, a transformation of time, and a transformation of self consciousness, with his conscious mutation having an antithetical effect on the family opposite to that of Gregor. His conjectures are, for the most part, fairly accurate; Gregor devolves in both his spatial awareness and his consciousness. However, Freedman also asserts that after Gregor's father throws the wounding apple, Gregor loses his sense of time. While his hypothesis certainly appears erudite and insightful, there really is no evidence within the book itself to determine whether if Gregor has a deteriorating sense of time. If Freedman had only written about Gregor's spatial and conscious degradation, then his entire thesis would be accurate.
This title holds more weight than what meets the eye. It is more than his actual metamorphosis from human to bug. There are many transformations that take place in this novel, even more than the obvious physical change. With the physical change of Gregors body, he also goes through a psychological change with it. When he was a human, his family depended on him. He quickly ended up depending on his family as he could not do anything on his own. His morale also diminishes throughout the novel. We were introduced to him as a very hopeful man who wanted to pay off his family’s debts. In the end, he loses hope and gives up on himself for the wellbeing of his family. Along with Gregors change in the novel, the title represents the change of other characters as well. From beginning to end, Grete transforms from a girl to a young lady. She also becomes more independent on herself by taking on more responsibility and getting a job. The family also must make some changes because they do not have Gregor to support them financially. This finally forces them to all get jobs and give up some luxury things they had
‘’Kafka gives no explanation for Gregor's change, nor is any sought. His change is accepted for what it is. This lack of a scientific explanation, or even any attempt to provide one, highlights the fact that the transformation is meant to be seen as allegorical and literal’’(Ker). Which adds to the melancholy mood Kafka establishes. This quote gives insight on Kafka’s reason for no explanation behind Gregor transformation.
First and foremost Gregor was betrayed by his own parents who failed to care for him after his transformation. The initial reaction of the parents, especially his father, set the tone for the whole novel. Instead of trying to resolve the issue with a reasonable solution, his father physically abuses him, “when from behind, his father gave him a hard
Franz Kafka had explored two conflicting ideas with the use of his protagonist Gregor: unity and isolation. Gregor’s transformation formed a whole life in which he could not escape. But on the other hand his family members were able to improve from his isolation. Especially Grete who went through a metamorphosis of her own
“Life can either be accepted or changed. If it is not accepted it must be changed. If it cannot be changed it must be accepted.”- Winston Churchill. Change is frightening, but without change you can never accomplish a greater goal. Gregor experienced a dramatic change in his life. He may or may not have experienced the physical change described, but he did experience a mental change. The mental change opened Gregor’s eyes to what really mattered in life. Once Gregor accepted his physical change he was able to begin his mental change. Gregor’s values in life had changed dramatically from beginning to end. Though Gregor was subjected to ridicule, he was given the greatest gift. The opportunity to change is the greatest gift anyone can
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 ...
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.”
There are many different meanings related to this story but I think the most significant is the careless critique of how we run our lives meaninglessly. Gregor’s transformation into a giant bug symbolizes how he felt as a human, alienated and separated from society. He has a job he doesn’t like, a boss he doesn’t care for, and family who he doesn’t bond with at all. In Gregors case, being a bug was an outward manifestation and transformation of a situation that had already existed. Throughout the story we are introduced to many different forms of symbolism. I think the transformation into an insect was a symbol of the relationship Gregor and his father had. Before his transformation Gregor had already felt small and trapped, just as he did after he was locked in his room.
house. This way of narrating it is very opened to us, and makes us feel like we
Prior to his metamorphosis, Gregor already resembles a working cockroach, living an automated life under the conditions of exploitation, discouraging his own life for his family’s basic and materialistic needs. This is shown when Gregor’s mother makes her claim: “You know that boy has nothing but work in his head! It almost worries me that he never goes out on his evenings off” (Kafka 95). This establishes the idea of G...
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.
In 1915, Franz Kafka published the novella The Metamorphosis, a story that questioned the habits of humanity through the frame of a man transformed into an insect. Through this absurd premise, Kafka is metaphorically able to present hatred and prejudice in an insular display—where the reader’s own opinion of Gregor is not judged or shamed, where both Gregor and the family’s actions can be understood. However, the metaphor of Gregor’s metamorphosis is not rigid in its application. It is fluid and unique, and what gives The Metamorphosis its grim, haunting tone. Kafka’s special metaphor not only broadens the limits of literary analogies, but expands on the nature of alienation and antipathy.
Using symbols, Kafka illustrates the story which is not just about Gregor’s transformation but it is more than that. The entire Metamorphosis is an allegory about Gregor changing into a vermin, symbolize that he wanted to free himself from his family obligation. “As Gregor Samsa awoke from unsettling dreams one morning, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” (Kafka 7). He thought his transformation was a dream but he soon realizes that it was reality. Gregor was the source of the income for his family and was employed in a job he did not like. “What a grueling profession I picked! Traveling day in, day out” (Kafka 7). This is ironic because Gregor was forced by his father to choose the alienated career. Mr. Samsa was indebted to his boss; working as a traveling salesman he would have pay off his father debt. Working as traveling salesman made Gregor alienated socially and mentally. The word transformation does not only app...