Biblical Allusions In The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

This quote about his father throwing apples at him, "Another one however, immediately following it, hit squarely and lodged in his back; Gregor wanted to drag himself away, as if he could remove the surprising, the incredible pain by changing his position; but he fell as if nailed to the spot and spread himself out, all his senses in confusion" (36). This quote is saying how Gregors father threw apples at him and how one of them he threw a lot harder than the other ones, so it stuck into his back. This is a lot of abuse to their son and it is clear that he was doing it because of him being a

In his "Metamorphosis", Kafka utilizes an allegorical technique to compare Gregor's sacrifices to those of Jesus in the Bible. Ultimately, both Gregor and Jesus sacrifice their lives so that they can help their loved ones, despite betrayal.  Kafka uses this biblical allegory to illustrate Gregor's Christ-like actions.

Everyone has people they depend on. People that he or she knows will always be there when they’re needed. But what happens when those people just don’t show up or just all of a sudden stop caring? The feeling of loneliness can break down a person’s character and reduce him to a shell, or in this case and exoskeleton, of who he once was. We can see this in The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. When Gregor Samsa finds himself transformed into a giant beetle-like creature, what he needs more than anything is the love and support of his family, but he disgusts them. They shut him up in his room so that no one can see him. They are ashamed of him, and quickly forget that he was part of their own flesh and blood. All that they can see is the monster that appears on the on the outside. Gregor’s sister and parents betray his love for them and leave him feeling lonely in the most terrifying and desperate time of his life.

In the article, written by Walter H. Sokel, he goes into depth about how Franz Kafka’s life is reflected in the book The Metamorphosis and his other writings. Sokel ties together multiple aspects of the novel and their importance to Gregor and his family dynamic as a whole. Many of the points made in the article address the absurdity of the situation the novel presents and the underlying meaning in the actions of the characters. The premise of the article is pointing to the facts that Gregor's predicament is Kafka inserting his own life frustrations into his literary works. In each passage of the article another part of Gregor's life is laid bare. Sokel’s many inferences that the fault is in Gregor's own doing and not his situation in life, create a complex maze of cause and effect.

Kafka’s Metamorphosis suggests to his readers to take a glimpse inside a dysfunctional atmosphere triggered from a painful childhood, to see how influential each member of the family contributes to the dynamics, but also to learn how to make light of the situation with acceptance. Kafka is reflecting on his own relationship with his family in Metamorphosis. He sees himself in Gregor, or is he him.

People have a high amount of pressure on them in their daily lives with social, mental, and physical appearances. Kafka represents this pressure he has on himself through Gregor. This allows Kafka to vent many emotions and feelings through this novella Everyone is there own person but some take others opinions to heart to often and need to see things are not as bad as they seem. Throughout The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, Kafka displays himself through Gregor, and shows his true feelings about people and society he lives in.

What led to Gregor Samsa’s tragic end? In the novel, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, published in 1915, a young man named Gregor Samsa wakes up one day, only to find that he has gone through a very shocking physical transformation into a human-sized bug. Throughout The Metamorphosis, Gregor’s family basically disowns him, and he begins to feel like a burden to them, so he decides something needs to change for them, and for him, death is the only option. One of the literary elements in this novel is the incorporation of biblical allusions. The first example, is when Gregor is hidden away and shunned by his family, this can be looked at as a biblical reference to Gregor’s situation, when Jesus is turned against by his followers. The second, and most prominent example of biblical allusion is the role that the apple plays in the plot. The apple can be interpreted as the same Biblical fruit, from the tree of knowledge. Lastly, when Gregor cannot move from the pain after an apple is wedged in his back, he states that he feels “nailed in place” (Kafka 52). This is just like Jesus, and how he was nailed to the cross.

On the surface, “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka is an evocative story of a man transformed into a “monstrous vermin”. It seems to focus on the dark transformation of the story’s protagonist, Gregor, but there is an equal and opposing transformation that happens within Gregor’s family. Although Gregor has physically changed at the beginning of the story, he remains relatively unchanged as the novella progresses. The family, on the other hand, is forced to drastically change how they support themselves. Although the change was unexpected, Gregor’s transformation into a vermin sets into motion a change in the Samsa family that leaves them better off in almost every facet of their lives. Thus, Kafka’s story is not one of descent into darkness, but one of a family’s ascent towards self-actualization. The metamorphosis the title speaks of does not take place in Gregor, but rather in the Samsa Family; consequently, Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” is not a tale of darkness, disconnection and despair, but rather a story of hope, new beginnings and perseverance.

In “Franz Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ as Death and Resurrection Fantasy,” Webster clarifies how Gregor is not the only one transformed by his situation, as well as the negative effects that have been brought on by it. The tone used by Webster in his essay brings about this negative feel towards the transformation itself, as well as a cynic view towards most of the novel, especially the title. “'Metamorphosis' is misleading as a title,” because it entails that only one person or being is being metamorphosised; instead, “it should be pluralized since the whole family…father, mother, and sister…are equally transformed.” By giving a reason as to why the title is erroneous, Webster expresses his disturbance towards the title and that Kafka should have realized this and given the proper form of the word. He declares that “Grete…finally refers to…Gregor as ‘It’ and insists that unless he is rejected…the whole family will disintegrate,” interpreting Grete’s altered view towards him as a sign that she has also grown up through this. The syntax displayed only adds to the negativity towards not just the title, but other parts of the book. Grete’s sudden outburst combines with the syntax of other pieces in the article to display Webster’s assertion on the negativity of the whole family’s transformation. This contrasts with the positive outlook towards it

Gregor's physical transformation also sparks a streak of cruelty on the part of his family. It is understandable that they be frightened when he first appears, but they continue to lock him in his room without ever trying to communicate with him. The only person who ever goes in his room on a regular basis is his sister and she can barely even tolerate his presence. At one point when Gregor successfully escapes from his prison cell, his father ends up throwing apples at him with the intention of causing injury. "Gregor came to a stop in alarm, there was no point in running on, for his father was determined to bombard him." As Gregor merely sat there on the wall, his own father sunk an apple into his shell. After this event they leave him to whither away and die alone in his room. Gregor did not bring this horrid behavior upon himself by his actions, but instead they result because his different appearance and behavior led his family to think of

Analysis of the story “The Metamorphosis”, by Franz Kafka was written back in the early 1900’s, but reflected a more modern way of thinking and lifestyle of today. Gregor felt that he was a slave to his job, isolated from his co-workers, and misunderstood by his family. Although that is the norm in today’s society, it was not the norm back then. In the story Gregor finds himself transformed into a cockroach and his internal struggles become a permanent reality. Kafka’s choice of the family member to play the role of the cockroach was necessary in portraying the curse of the working man only living each day in hurried lifestyle with no freedom.

In The Metamorphosis, Kafka establishes, through his religious imagery and gospel-esque episodic narration, the character of Gregor Samsa simultaneously as a kind of inverse Messianic figure and a god-like artist, relating the two and thus turning the conventional concept of the literary hero on its ear. The structure of the novel reflects that of the Gospel of Mark in that it is narrated in individual events, and in this it is something of a Künstlerroman - that is, the real metamorphosis is over the course of the novel, rather than just at the beginning, and that change is a heightened sensitivity to the world in an artistic sense. The motif of change is a rather theological one as well: we see it in a religious sense, in the form of

As the story goes on, Gregor becomes more and more alienated from the family. His mother even passes out at the sight of her insect-son. His father, angry with what his son has become, begins to pelt Gregor with apples. “Suddenly something lightly flung landed close beside him and rolled in front of him. It was an apple; a second apple followed immediately; Gregor came to a stop in alarm; there was no point in running away now, for his father was determined to bombard him” (Kafka 90). One of the apples gets wedge into Gregor’s back, seriously injuring

Franz Kafka, in his novel The Metamorphosis, explores two conflicting ideas through his protagonist Gregor: unity and isolation. Gregor’s transformation created a whole life of distress for him, but on the other hand also formed a deeper and better relationship for the rest of the family.

Kafka describes the tedious, murky and muggy environment that foreshadows the decomposition and fall of Gregor’s life. When Gregor opens his eyes, he finds himself changed into a grotesque vermin or an enormous insect, an insignificant creature. Gregor does not scream. He does not panic at least not until he worries about going to work, that a gigantic insect doesn’t need to bother showing up for work doesn’t cross his mind. It seems as though Gregor accepts his fate so willingly. With this striking opening, Kafka sets his mystifying psychological fantasy in motion. Kafka’s diaries and letters point out that he considered “Gregor’s fate no worse, or better, than that of any person.” The prior life of a traveling salesman vs. the one-room Gregor occupies, as an insect are both lives of solitude. Kafka wrote that “the cares we have to struggle with every day” are emotional anguish. Kafka lived a sad life. He was persistently haunted by the oppressive image of his father. This could be clearly seen in Gregor’s attempts to get out of the bed. But, since his door was locked, he would need to call for help, which he does not favor. This shows Kafka’s fear of his father. He would rather lay on the bed forever than call his father to help him. Kafka’s fear estimated here as Gregor’s fear