Narrator’s Role in The Metamorphosis
The point of view that is used in Franz Kafka 's short story The Metamorphosis is that of a third person narrator. The narrator of the story is not a character who appears in the story, but is a witness to all of the events. At the beginning of the story, the narrator is a subjective and limited narrator. The narrator is able to display to the reader all of the thoughts and feelings of Gregor but is not able to depict to the reader the feelings of the other members of the Gregor’s family. The narrator is only able to share with the reader of the story the knowledge that Gregor possesses. This viewpoint, while it does not allow the reader full access to all of the details of the characters, plot and setting.
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“One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin.” Has become one of the most famous opening lines in literature (Bruce 1). These facts are presented to the reader as fact and the reader is left to accept them as such. These lines being told by the narrator this way makes the reader ask themselves; “What if I woke up like this?”, Gregor’s first thoughts were about the weather and then work, giving very little thought about his transformation. Speaking for Gregor, the narrator has expressed that he is an unexcitable character and accepts his change quite rapidly, almost expecting it. “The vermin metaphor is unique in its complexity and ambiguity.” (Bruce 2) The first time in the story that Gregor seems to be excited is when he stops and thinks about his career: “Oh, God, he thought, what a strenuous career it is that I’ve chosen!” (Kafka 2). The events that happen in beginning of the story are so incredible readers are pulled into the story at a climax and are presented with facts of these particular events leading them to believe this has just …show more content…
His furniture was removed from his room and his daily interactions with his family became less and less. This seclusion and alienation begins to wane on Gregor and his health starts to fail, no longer eating or moving about his life is deteriorating. “The progressive deterioration of Gregor’s body suggests ongoing metamorphosis.” (Corngold 239). As Gregor is weakening in life and spirit his father decides to attack him one afternoon, eventually throwing apples at him and lodging one in his back. After this his family still alienates him and does not remove the apple from his back showing they want very little to do with him at this time. Even Grete, Gregor’s sister who had been feeding and caring for him will not help him. These events lead to Gregor eventually not eating at all and eventually passing away in his room
The feelings of loneliness and betrayal are feelings that we all feel one too many. Some have these feelings for a few simple days, and then those feelings soon pass. For others, however, this is a feeling that is felt for most of their lives. Our loneliness may make us feel alone, when our loneliness is actually common. In The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, the topic of alienation is an ongoing theme from beginning to end. I have interest in this passage because it reveals the writers understanding of a feeling that we all get from time to time. This novella helps us relive these emotions with an understanding that we are not alone in our loneliness.
Gregor’s life slowly ends due to the betrayal of his his loved ones. He feels bad once his parents betray him and he feels he is an inconvenience. Then his sister is too busy and exhausted for him and he has nobody to help him or bring him food. Lastly, with nobody left Gregor betrays himself by simply allowing himself to die. Betrayal contributes a lot to this book as it is evident in every part of Gregor’s downfall. If Gregor’s family did not betray him, maybe they could have found him help to get better and back to normal. He also could have learned how to cope with his metamorphosis and lived with it everyday, however; Gregor’s family did betray him, and it slowly led him to end his life by starving
Also, the short sentence structure shows their curtness and distaste for Gregor when he is the subject of the conversation. Additionally, dialogue helps show the reader that change causes rejection. Grete’s dialogue towards Gregor changes throughout his metamorphosis. Eventually in the book Gete “In front of this monstrous creature, refuses to pronounce [her] brother’s name…” (Kafka 47). She used to have a very good relationship with her brother, Gregor, but now her dialogue indicates otherwise. She can not even bare to say his name, showing that she is rejecting him as a friend and brother. His change also leads to Grete calling him a monstrous creature which is a rejection of his physical self. The Caretaker is in a similar situation as she used to talk to Gregor by name and after he changed she rejected him and did the same as Grete. Moreover, symbolism is used with the apple to emphasize the point that Gregor has become rejected by his family. It is mentioned that “no one dared to remove the apple, it remained in his flesh as a visible reminder.” (Kafka 38). No one was willing to even touch or help him overcome an injury they
Throughout the entirety of the writing he is met with different challenges and obstacles. Grete, his sister and his parents have a unique bond that is not always the strongest. Gregor has not been close with his parents for awhile, but Grete especially at the beginning was the only person who truly cared about his predicament. This conflict results in the desertion of Gregor and the downfall
The story, Metamorphosis, is an unusual story to say the least. The very first sentence one meets the main character, Gregor Samsa. This sentence really shows how different this story is when compared to other books in this class. Throughout the story the author, Franz Kafka, wants the reader to sympathize with Gregor. ‘When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself changed into a monstrous cockroach in his bed’ (87), is the first sentence, and already the author wants the reader to feel sympathy for Gregor. This is no dream either, he is really a bug, and Kafka makes sure there is no confusion. This is just one of many examples that I will discuss where Kafka wants the reader to sympathize with Gregor.
Gregor started feeling more isolated due to his transformation to a bug. One of the things that bothered him was his appearance. Sheldon Goldfarb agrees alongside with this by stating “Even Gregor realizes this, and tries to hide his repulsiveness from his mother and sister when they enter his room. He spends hours arranging a sheet to cover himself so they will not have to see them.” Gregor is afraid of what he has become and believes the... ...
Mr. Samsa, Gregor’s father, whose failed business has cast him into a lifestyle of weakness and despair, reacts very distinctively to the metamorphosis. At first, Mr. Samsa, after his initial shock, seems to be the least affected by Gregor’s nauseating state. It seems that Mr. Samsa feels that he must protect the rest of his family from this abomination living in his flat. Unlike his mother and sister, Gregor’s father no longer recognizes Gregor as his son. This is made clear when Mr. Samsa attacks Gregor by pelting him with apples; the catalyst that ultimately led to the death of Gregor.
This particular introduction, unlike most other works contains the climax to the story. This paper will show the importance of these introductory lines. “When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed into a monstrous vermin.” This line greatly moves the plot, more so than any other line. It is the climax of the novel, and everything following it helps build the conclusion of the story. The juxtaposition of “unsettling” and “dreams” is ironic, as dreams are peaceful and never unsettling, only nightmares are unsettling. Gregor has transformed into a “monstrous vermin.” The remainder of the first paragraph gives details of exactly what the monstrous vermin is.
‘When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin’. Kafka begins his most famous work of literature with a peculiar yet effective first sentence. The statement is simple in nature but its meaning is much bolder and as a result Kafka is able to grab his readers’ attention. The reader has to contemplate what this could mean and consequently ask ‘why’ such an incident took place. Kafka is very effective in engaging his audience into his text and therefore readers go on to find out more about the peculiar man who turned into a ‘monstrous vermin’.
... The complete lack of help from his parents, and the mild disgust with which his sister took care of Gregor’s even the most basic needs might also point to emotional neglect, and could have been the main reason for his issues with identity in the first place. In conclusion, because Gregor’s identity in his insect form was entirely based on his memory of having once been a human, and because of a lack of any physical proof of his past, he struggled with accepting his own humanness. During this stage of doubt and self-questioning, he went through a mental and physical metamorphosis, turning insane and drowning in depression and anxiety. However, the last straw for him was his family’s refusal to accept him as a human, contributing to him finally breaking up and giving up.
His family used to care about him but after the transformation, they were no longer concerned for him. Every time the family talks about money, Gregor feels guilty and embarrassed because he can no longer provide for them. When he was able to work before, he had brought money home and “They had simply got used to it, both the family and Gregor; the money was gratefully accepted and gladly given, but there was no special uprush of warm feeling” (Kafka Ch 2 pg 6). Now that he can no longer provide, the family had to come up with ways to keep up with finances. Gregor is dehumanized each time his sister Grete walks into the room to look after him because she cannot bear the sight of him so he hides each time. Each day following Gregor’s transformation, the family’s behavior towards him became more cynical and resentful towards him. They do not allow him to leave his room and worry about how they can go on living with him. They think of him as being a creature, losing their view of him as a human being and no longer important. When Grete decided to take his furniture out of his room, Gregor feels he is dehumanized because they are taking away the link to his humanity. When it came to Gregor’s father, Gregor would “run before his father, stopping when he stopped and scuttling forward again when his father made any kind of move.” His father then threw at apple at him which ‘landed right on his back and sank in; Gregor wanted to drag himself forward, as if this startling, incredible pain could be left behind him” (Kafka Ch 2 pg
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.
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.
In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka manifests naïveté of Gregor Samsa by prolonging his realization of societal banishment due to underexposure. Revelations made by Samsa later prove his ignorance of his purpose in the eyes of his family. In addition to the many instances in which Gregor is trialed, Kafka’s continuous stream of distractions mimic Gregor’s persona.
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...