What is the importance of symbolism in Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka?
The ones that you love the most are usually the ones that hurt you the most. The story that tells us the truth about the human nature, the humans have lost their humanity. Franz Kafka uses many symbols in the novella Metamorphosis. Kafka chose the German word for vermin –Ungeziefer – which means an animal with a disgusting nature. The German word was also used in World War II, the Nazis used to describe the Jews by this name. Jews were treated with disrespect much like Gregor was treated in Metamorphosis. In the Metamorphosis Franz Kafka uses the vermin, food, and the father’s uniform as symbolism and he also uses the apple and his autobiography to portray symbolism and to emphasize on the deeper meaning of the story.
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...
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...uses symbolism to convey his message about humanity. The underlying message of the Metamorphosis is that it unfolds the truth about human nature; the story tells us that humans have lost their humanity. He uses the vermin, food, Mr. Samsa’s uniform, apple, his autobiography, and violin as symbols in the Metamorphosis. The word transformation does not apply to Gregor but also to all the family members of Samsa family. Grete was one of the members of the family, who transformed. For the first few weeks, she took care of Gregor and leaves food for him but then she transforms and she starts to hate Gregor because the family members thought Gregor was a burden to them and was worthless. The family lost the sympathy for Gregor.
Works Cited
Kafka, Franz. "The Metamorphosis". The Metamorphosis. Trans. Donna Freed and Ed. George Stade. New York: Barnes and Nobles, 2003.
Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to discover that he has been transformed into a repugnant vermin. One may never know what initiated this makeover, but the simple truth is that Gregor is now a bug, and everyone must learn to live and move on in this strenuous situation. In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the characters that interact with Gregor, including his mother, his father, and his sister Grete, must come to terms with his unfortunate metamorphosis, and each does so by reacting in a unique way. Gregor’s family members are constantly strained by this unusual event, and all three of them are pressed to their breaking point.
Gregor’s relationship with his father shows resemblance to the relationship between Kafka and his father. Kafka, as a child, suffered abuse from his father. Kafka viewed his father as a forceful monster, which resembles Gregor’s father. Gregor wanted nothing more than the love of his family, especially his father, just as Kafka had wanted. His reason for writing “The Metamorphosis” could also relate to the situation which he lived in. He was a Jew raised in Austro-Hungarian Empire, modern day Czech Republic. He was a Jew in an area of the world which Jews were not well accepted. Gregor was described as cockroach, something that Jew were often equated to during this time period. Jews were treated like vermin, they were thought of a creature that was to be rid of. Gregor experienced similar treatment from his family. They discussed leaving or getting rid of Gregor during the story. Experiences of Gregor are similar to those that Jews would have experienced during Kafka’s life. “The Metamorphosis” could also demonstrate the issues that normal people face every day. People face trials and tribulations every day that change their lives dramatically, nobody has ever been transformed into a bug, but it does represent the extreme circumstances that may
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.
2. Franz Kafka, "The Metamorphosis," The Metamorphosis, The Penal Colony, and Other Stories, Trans. Willa and Edwin Muir (New York: Schocken Books, 1975), 67—132.
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.
Metamorphosis, and the theme of change. Kafka's main character, Gregor. Samsa, undergoes many changes and his transformation evokes change in his family. I am a Several metamorphoses take place involving Gregor. First, a physical change occurs when Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous. vermin.
“The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka is an interesting and extremely allegorical tale. The story starts out by introducing the main character, Gregor Samasa, who is a traveling salesman. One morning Gregor awakens to find that his body has been transformed into something unusually horrifying, a large insect with many tiny legs.
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.
Franz Kafka wrote the short story Metamorphosis in 1912. No one can truly know what he aimed to accomplish with the story, but it is thought he wrote it to demonstrate the absurdity of life. The story is written with a very simplistic undertone, ignoring how completely ludicrous the situation that Gregor Samsa and his family are in. Metamorphosis is most often thought of in the scientific meaning of the word, which according to dictionary.com is a profound change in form from one stage to the next in the life history of an organism. It is also defined as a complete change of form, structure, or substance, as transformation by magic or witchcraft or any complete change in appearance, character, circumstances, etc. This word is generally reserved for describing how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, a good analogy for the process of metamorphosis. It brings to mind a pleasant event, very unlike what Gregor and his family experience. We as readers only get to see things through Gregor’s eyes. Does this skew our understanding of the story, and how do Gregor and Grete’s metamorphoses differ, and how are they alike?
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.
Indeed, it is only the premise, only the beginning of the tragedy. The true metamorphosis happens internally, and within the world around him (Corngold). As Gregor loses his humanity and his family loses their empathy, the metaphor takes a new form. If Gregor becoming a bug is the starting point, the new reality the reader is forced to accept, then his dwindling sense of self is the true meat of the metaphor. Although Gregor reacts with little to no shock to his transformation, he is almost painfully aware of his fading human consciousness. Within the context of the metaphor (a literalization of how society perceives him), this loss of humanity is an extremely menacing prospective effect of alienation. He is regarded as a bug and thus takes the shape of one, and in the face of his family’s isolation and antipathy, mentally becomes a bug himself. Gregor’s family, and even his own consciousness, begins to forget Gregor’s humanity. This raises a question of human existence—how much of a person’s Self is influenced by the world around them? Gregor knows that he is still human, it is evidenced in his compassion and the room around him, and yet his family’s fear—their insistent belief that a monster is living under their roof—makes him question his own mind. If a person is continually called a monster, would they not begin to believe it
Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories. 1st ed. Translated by Stanley Appelbaum. New York: Dover Publications, 1996.
New York: Vintage International, 1988. Print. Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Trans.
Franz Kafka’s uses of symbolism throughout Metamorphosis help the audience grip the appreciation of Gregor’s drive towards humanity and independence. The transformation in this book is used as a symbol for Gregor’s metamorphosis to humanity. Even though none of us should ever wake up and experience the emotion of changing into a giant bug, the hardship Gregor felt is a sample that is relevant to us in different ways. Throughout the story, we see numerous symbols that show the ultimate symbol of humanity and independence.
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.