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Literary analysis of the metamorphosis
Literary analysis of the metamorphosis
Literary analysis of the metamorphosis
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“Symbolizing ones humanity”
Although Gregor’s transformation into a bug symbolizes his dehumanized and alienated humanity in The Metamorphosis, his passionate response to Grete’s violin playing embodies a relationship between his transformation as a bug and his fantasy of protecting Grete as he slowly crawls up to her. Throughout the Novella and Gregor’s transformation into a vermin, the theme of the story becomes contingent on what and who Gregor Samsa once was and has become. Grete playing the violin toward the end of the story fills a void that Gregor had been missing for some time since his transformation.
Gregor Samsa’s transformation into a vermin is a literal representation of the dehumanized and alienated life that he has come to live. Gregor in his human form represented nothing more then a paycheck to keep his family afloat because of his father’s misfortune. As Gregor took on the role as the family’s income and support, he lost all touch with reality, lust, love, enjoyment and friendship, which are symbolized by his transformation into a vermin. As Gregor hears the music from Grete’s violin, it is the first time he has heard her music since his transformation into a vermin. While Gregor listens to Grete play the violin, he begins to feel a love for the music, which he once felt in his human form. “Was he an animal if music could captivate him so” (Kafka 58)? Gregor’s passionate response to Grete’s music is because “He was being shown the way to the unknown nourishment he had been yearning for” (Kafka 59). The music that was being played by Grete allowed Gregor to justify his humanity and love for her violin playing, which then lead to his fantasy of protecting Grete as he crawled up toward her.
Although Gregor’s...
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...technique suggest that it is a precipitation in fantasy of his lifelong sense of loneliness and exclusion” (Angus 70).
Throughout Gregor’s transformation he never looses sight of who he once was, but has to learn to adapt to his new body mentally and physically in order to survive. As Gregor responds with such passion to Grete’s music, he is reminded of his humanity and love for his sister’s musical talent. When Gregor remembers these feeling of humanity through listening to Grete play the violin, he is able to then remember his sexual and erotic desires as he fantasizes about protecting Grete. Gregor’s decision to pass in the early morning hours can be viewed as either a heroic option, resembling the roles Gregor took on as a man in the beginning of the Novella or as David Angus says “…the last desperate appeal of the narcissistic neurotic dies for pity” (71).
It is notable that Grete is a very good violin player. We see that Grete seems to take care of Gregor in a way, but that leads to her starting to act like his owner, and that he is a piece of property. “She had grown accustomed, certainly not without justification, so far as a discussion of matters concerning Gregor was concerned.” (Kafka, 161) Though, near the end of the story, Grete begins to care less and less for her older brother, and eventually decides to let him go. ““He must go,” cried Gregor’s sister” (Kafka, 176) It's just another example of Gregor never fitting in. He is stereotypically, just a bug. A quote, more than less an example that really hits it
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
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is the story of Gregor Samsa, his turning into a bug, and his ultimate death. In the beginning of the novel Gregor wakes up as a bug and struggles to become used to his new body. Gregor is locked in his room and late for work; he is the only one who works in his family, so it is important that he shows up and earns money to pay off his parents debts. His office manager shows up wondering where he has been and everyone is shocked to see Gregor’s transformation when he finally makes his way out of his room. Upon seeing him, his father shoves him forcefully back into the room, scraping Gregor’s back. Grete, Gregor’s sister, is his primary caretaker throughout the book and she makes certain he is receiving the food he wants and is the only one to clean his room for him. Gregor’s mother and father do not pay much attention to him at all throughout the book. The mother occasionally checks on him, but can barely stand the sight of him. Eventually, Grete starts working and stops taking care of him too, leaving Gregor all by himself. Betrayal is evident in The Metamorphosis and contributes to
‘’This internal lack of self-esteem and the insecurities it produces are heightened by the change in his body. One of the major problems to reading The Metamorphosis is accepting Gregor’s transformation as literal and not merely symbolic; he has really turned into an insect. The strangeness of this fact, along with his and his family’s reactions to it, is what makes the narrative so fascinating and rich in interpretative possibilities’’(Silet). In the Metamorphosis it’s quite odd the way his family reacts to him during his transformation from a human to a creature. They act as if it was something common like, a flu or something.
and Mrs. Samsa. Gregor describes throughout the novel his sister’s passion for music. He also points out the fact that their parents do not assist Grete in pursuit of this type of career, “Often during Gregor’s short days in the city the Conservatory would come up in his conversations, but always merely as a beautiful dream which was not supposed to come true, and his parents were not happy to hear these innocent allusions” (Kafka 26). The Samsa’s hindered Grete’s potential which forced her into a path she did not want to follow. Another example is how she was forced to become the primary caregiver for Gregor.
Grete’s isolation from society stems from her passion and interest for her loved ones. Grete spends all her time at home caring for her family members. Kafka describes her as “perceptive; she had already begun to cry when Gregor was still lying calmly on his back” (Kafka 16). Throughout the text she becomes the sole reason Gregor stays alive. Grete spends her days worrying about the various foods Gregor likes and dislikes, how to make his room more comfortable, and trying to make him feel more comfortable. Gregor is not the only family member whose health is cared for by Grete. “Now his sister, working with her mother, had to do the cooking too; of course that did not cause her much trouble, since they hardly ate anything” (Kafka 25). Kafka incorporates household chores and her mother’s illness, escalating Grete’s isolation. During her mother’s many asthma attacks, Grete arrives first
In fact, according to her, Gregor is contributing to the disintegration of the family and must be killed to help save the family. Grete was the concerned one and now she refuses to call him her brother, and insists that he has to be disposed of just like any old household pest. 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.
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.
... indifference and loss of love finally kills him. Gregor is our heart-breaking narrator of the story whose never-ending tenderness and love makes you ache to hold on to your own sense of human decency and moral characteristics and cling to the purity in life.
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.
In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa's sudden transformation into a cockroach is appalling to all that encounter him, but none attempt to cure him of his affliction. The acceptance of his condition by Gregor and those around him highlights the underlying existentialist and absurdist perspective within the characters' attempt to come to terms with this circumstance. In the face of this dramatically absurd metamorphosis, Gregor does not blame a higher power, nor himself. As time wears on, he not only refrains from questioning his transformation but, at times lavishes in it and embraces it. His adjustment, and the adjustment of his family members, is not one of questioning his new life, but rather attempting to accept it for exactly what it is. In this way, Gregor and his family, particularly his father and sister, epitomize rationalization and freedom of choice in the face of absurdity.
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.
...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.
Grete is a character who appears to have the most tolerance for Gregor shortly after his metamorphosis. Gregor was apparently rather fond of his sister and had hoped to finance her education in a conservatory. He was also rather mesmerized with her violin playing. His inability to follow through with these planned acts of kindness may have led to a faster deterioration of Grete’s maintenance of Gregor’s room. Although she could never get used to Gregor’s new freakish appearance, she was his sole provider throughout his life after the metamorphosis:
Through the characterization of Gregor Samsa, Kafka is sending the message that isolation can lead to the dehumanization of a person. Gregor’s own decisions, along with others, ultimately cause his isolation and lead to the dehumanization of his character. When Grete comes to bring food to Gregor, Gregor notices how she can not bear the sight of him and is always scared by his appearance. This causes Gregor to carry “a sheet on his back on the sofa.and arrange it there in such a way as to hid[e] him completely” (Kafka 99).