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Symbolism in the metamorphosis kafka
Symbolism in the metamorphosis kafka
Symbolism in the metamorphosis kafka
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There are many parallels and differences between Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” and "A Hunger Artist". Kafka portrays these differences and similarities very effectively through his utilization of elements such as transformation, dehumanization, and dedication to work. Through his works, Kafka communicates with the reader in such a way that almost provokes and challenges one’s imagination and creativity.
Kafka is known for his highly symbolic and oblique style of writing. It is no surprise that several of his pieces contain the same major themes, just in different settings. The fact that he repeats his styles only makes the message that he is trying to convey much stronger. In both “The Metamorphosis” and “A Hunger Artist”, the main characters are similar in the way that they are both extremely dedicated to their work. In “The Metamorphosis”, Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a bug. Oddly enough, Gregor does not question how this transformation happened or even why it happened. He is more concerned about getting to work (Metamorphosis 4). Similarly, in “A Hunger Artist”, the main character is completely dedicated to his job. In fact, he is so dedicated that he actually thinks of ways in which he can improve himself. At the end of a fast he asks himself, "Why stop fasting at this particular moment…why stop now…?" (Bedford 637).
Both of the characters in these pieces also cause their own destruction. Their deaths are both caused by starvation. After Gregor's death in Metamorphosis, his sister remarks, "Just look how thin he was. Of course he didn't eat anything for such a long time. The food came out again just the way it went in." (Metamorphosis 55) Ironically, though, it is because of Greta,...
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... comparisons and contrasts that can be made regarding the “The Metamorphosis” and “A Hunger Artist”. While it is true that Kafka’s style of writing is considered oblique, it may be interesting to know that many of Kafka's trials and animal metamorphoses are actually derived from common motifs in Jewish folklore (Bruce). If one were to learn about Kafka’s thoroughly extensive knowledge in Judaism, it would be easier to see how Kafka’s thought processes were reflected into his stories.
Works Cited
Bruce, Iris. "Elements of Jewish Folklore in Kafka's Metamorphosis." The Metamorphosis: Translation, Backgrounds and Contexts, Criticism. New York: W.W. Norton, 1996. 107-25. Print.
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Trans. Stanley Corngold. Toronto: Bantam, 1986. Print.
Meyer, Michael. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 5th ed. Boston: St. Martin's, 2005. Print.
In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, symbolism, archetype, and myths are three concepts he uses to compose the unique story. The symbolism in the story stands out vaguely. An archetypical reference occurs at the very beginning of the story that carries on throughout the book. The mythological aspect is sensibly the whole concept the story is about. All three of these notions are openly highlighted throughout the story. They each obtain explanations for multiple subjects. The book, How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster helps explain the three concepts in Kafka’s, The Metamorphosis.
The story of the Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka and the graphic novel of the “Metamorphosis” by Peter Kuper both portray a struggling salesman who is suddenly transformed into a human-sized roach. However, these two works are distinctly parallel from each other in their themes. Kafka’s Metamorphosis is about family while Kuper’s theme is about freedom and escapism. Though Kafka and Kuper are very similar to each other, on the contrary the themes are different.
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.
...be destroyed so easily, why cannot another?" and "Who, when, and where will be the next victim?" Thus, by establishing Gregor Samsa as a symbol of the Jewish Race, Kafka uses "The Metamorphosis" as a social critique of the treatment of the Jews in early twentieth-century Europe and raises timeless, complex, and haunting questions about the horrible atrocities of which the human race is capable.
Angus, Douglas. Kafka's Metamorphosis and "The Beauty and the Beast" Tale. The Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. 53, No. 1. Jan., 1954, pp. 69-71. Print.
The era of eastern and central Europe is a momentous time in modern history. From the beginnings of tsarist Russia to Hitler’s reign in the 1940s, happiness and euphoria have seldom been present in the lives of those who reside there. However, one of these sad souls ended up using his horrific past to move him forward in the writing industry; his name was Franz Kafka. Growing up in Czechoslovakia, he had a tough relationship with his father, which inspired the majority of family relationships in his works, published after Kafka’s death without his permission. He consistently covered and explored human struggle in some of his novels, including “A Hunger Artist”, as well as “In the Penal Colony”. In “A Hunger Artist”, the hunger artist’s profession
In Kafka’s Metamorphosis, the book begins by the author describing, “One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug”. It is the body, the form that has transformed and no...
Kafka, Franz."The Metamorphosis." The Longman Anthology of World Literature. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. 253-284. Print.Works Cited
We as readers will never know the true reason behind Kafka’s Metamorphosis, but it is a masterpiece. It relates surprisingly well to today’s society, even though it was written between 1912 and 1915. The topic of metamorphosis is really universal, we as humans are constantly changing, growing and evolving. Works Cited Aldiss, Brian W. “Franz Kafka: Overview.” St. James Guide to Science Fiction Writers.
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th Compact Ed. New York: Longman, 2013. 268-98. Print.
Updike, John. Kafka and the Metamorphosis. Literature and Its Writers: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 2nd ed. Ed. Ann Charters and Samuel Charters. Boston: Bedford, 2001 545-548.
Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is a novella that follows the story of Gregor Samsa who, one day, wakes up as an insect. On the surface, it’s just a story about a man who’s transformed into a bug; but, when deeper analyzed, you come to understand that it’s a about a man who was always a bug conflicted by his identity in a class struggle between what is known as the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. Kafka’s work was written in a time in history when the struggles between the classes were becoming more defined due to the rise of industrialization and other changing social structures. This story can best be interpreted though a Marxist lens. In Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, his Marxist ideology comes through in the way the characters represent the struggle between the proletariat and bourgeoisie classes during the turn of the century.
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.
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. 1st ed. Translated by Stanley Appelbaum. New York: Dover Publications, 1996.
Kafka, Franz. "The Metamorphosis". The Metamorphosis. Trans. Donna Freed and Ed. George Stade. New York: Barnes and Nobles, 2003.