Examples Of Working Class In The Metamorphosis

Although work is immediately presented as the exterior factor pushing Gregor into the system, the majority of the book is characterized by Gregor’s relationship with his family-- and their individual role in forcing Gregor to stay within the norms of society. Even in the context of Gregor’s employment, his work itself can be seen as an extension of his familial pressure to operate within his societal role. The necessity of money, and it’s direct relation to his family was described

Realistically, it is impossible for men to turn into bugs; thus, Gregor’s metamorphosis has some concrete meaning beyond simply a biological transformation. Applying Marxist theories, the process of the metamorphosis represents the struggle proletarians raise against the controlling bourgeoisie class. Firstly, Gregor is in the right social position for such a struggle to take place. Gregor and his family are proletarians whereas his boss is a typical bourgeois. In the main guide of communism, “The Manifesto of the Communist Party,” Marx defines the proletariat as including all people who possess no assets and live only on salaries (Marx 128). Gregor, accordingly, belongs to this class for he has no business of his own but is leading a life of working for others (Kafka 4). Similarly, such classification into the proletariat is true for all other family members who do not even work. By contrast, the boss of the company that Gregor works for owns the capital and is, hence, seated in the social upper class—the bourgeoisie. According to Marxist theory, Gregor’s family and the boss are in the two opposite classes.

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.

Grete undergoes a change in perspective to such a degree that by the end of the novella it is she who declares, “we must get rid of it” (84). This change in perspective shows how Kafka believes that members of society often stop sympathizing with the isolated group when it becomes inconvenient for them to continue doing so. Gregor’s mother reacts in an initial manner somewhere between the father and sister since when first seeing him she “went two steps toward Gregor and collapsed right in the middle of her skirts” (23). These conflicting desires continue through the novella, such as when Mr. Samsa tries to kill Gregor, “she begged him to spare Gregor’s life” (65) but at the same time she is repulsed by him. This illustrates how she wants to help him and tries to think of him the same way she did before his transformation, yet is unable to. This resembles the idealists in society who theoretically support the alienated person but often succumb to social pressures when they are forced to face the problem. These three reactions to Gregor’s transformation as a result of the initiation of his isolation by the manager demonstrate the spectrum of reactions. From the immediate acceptance of the hierarchy represented by Mr. Samsa, to the true compassion of Grete and the idealism of Mrs. Samsa, Kafka shows how a wide variety of reactions is expected from society, and how people often change their opinions.

The story is very sad and realistic, some of the things that are related in Kafka's story can be found in modern families today. Gregor was a man who sacrifices himself working to pay his father's debts, instead off on his own where he could prospered. Gregor never was recognized by his family of all the efforts that he did, he was taken for granted and he was

With this in mind, Gregor, being an allegory for Kafka, portrays his feelings towards his family and his involvement with them. He portrays most of his feelings through his sister, and father, who are mainly static characters

In the beginning of the novella, Gregor undergoes a transformation. Many readers view his transformation as he turns into a bug because of the way Kafka describes Gregor. Kafka may have been undergoing a transformation of his own. Kafka dealt with many issues growing up such as self doubt, issues with his father, and eventually, health issues. Like Kafka, Gregor deals with issues with his father and within himself and begins to feel less and less like himself as the novella continues. He awakes from his sleep to ask himself, “What’s happened to me (Kafka, 3)?” With the conflicts Gregor has with his family, especially his father, he begins to feel unwanted and unappreciated. Gregor also feels that he is becoming less sensitive when that used to be one of his main traits as a human (Kafka, 24). Seeing that Gregor is losing his sensitivity, that shows that he is truly losing himself since he is losing one of his main traits. Feeling less like himself, Gregor becomes more distant with his close

Gregor's life as an insect, or vermin, as he described himself, is a metaphor for feelings of alienation and isolation that existed long before his transformation. Gregor’s loss of humanity in the eyes of his family condemns Gregor into what he describes as an “imprisonment” that restricts him from any of the comforts and securities of human interaction.

Kafka utilizes a new narrative perspective in the last passage of his work to expose the one-sided love between Gregor and the rest of his family. The majority of the story had been told in a free indirect discourse restricted to the mind of Gregor. In this position, Gregor’s humanity —despite his inhuman exterior— and his genuine love for family is revealed. As the only source of income for the family, he works with every fiber in his being to overcome the debt that plagues them, as “He felt great pride at having been able to give his parents and sister a life like this in such a beautiful apartment” (411). This compassion is clearly not reciprocated when the narration shifts to the remaining family following Gregor’s demise. Instead they critique the shelter that Gregor

Gregor allowed his family to harass, bully and degrade him, in the same manner that Kafka had allowed his family to do. The similarity of Kafka’s relationship with his father was also portrayed with Gregor and his relationship with his father. Kafka intended to reflect and highlight the decisions that were made by Gregor being influenced by his family, by making them important protagonists within the novel. Gregor expresses from the beginning of the novel how his father intended on raising him, “from the first day of his new life that his father considered only the strictest treatment called for in dealing with him”38, much like Kafka’s father had. Gregor’s father was rather tough on him and his duties, and would take no clear- minded steps into understanding what Gregor, as a bug, did or tried to communicate through the actions he took. As he jumped to conclusions the second he saw Gregor out of his room, and would beat him with a cane trying to pressure him back to staying in his room as if he wasn’t even his son, or throwing apples at him. This provokes Gregor, allowing him to think more rationally, becoming more introverted, yet inside he was suffering with such sadness and crying desperately for some kind of recognition, much like Kafka did.

Franz Kafka uses metaphors in the story to show the readers that Gregor’s worthless and useless as a human bug. By doing so, Franz is able to show the readers how Gregor human life is really similar to a bug life.

Many views of existentialism are exposed in Kafka's Metamorphosis. One of these main views is alienation or estrangement which is demonstrated by Gregor's relationship with his family, his social life, and the way he lives his life after the metamorphosis. Namely, it suggests that man is reduced to an insect by the modern world and his family; human nature is completely self absorbed. Kafka reflects a belief that the more generous and selfless one is, the worse one is treated. This view is in direct conflict with the way things should be; man, specifically Gregor should be treated in accordance to his actions. Gregor should be greatly beloved by his family regardless of his state. This idea is displayed in three separate themes. First,

Kafka certainly starts the novella off strong by explaining the situation Gregor is randomly put into. The ridiculousness of the circumstance is enough to hook the reader into the story. Gregor is transformed into a giant insect, but dismisses it as him being tired. The first part is quite enjoyable as the reader has the suspense of his family and boss seeing Gregor’s new appearance and the humor of Gregor saying that he will be leaving for work soon while getting accustomed to his new body. The amount of work Gregor put into explaining that he will be leaving for work soon is ironic as well since the reader later finds out that his speech is incomprehensible to humans. However, one must wonder how Gregor planned to go to work as a giant insect to begin with. Even when he fully realized he actually transformed into a giant insect,

In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis Gregor, a young traveling salesman who dutifully leaves the family apartment early every day for a job he hates so that he can pay off his father’s debts. Gregor is characterized as a bug because for the longest time he has felt nothing but pressure, so much pressure has been thrown at him that makes it him feel small. This portrays when Gregor changes into a being that is always alone and helpless, an insect.

Also, in his writings, Kafka pointed out the dehumanizing forces of industrialization and capitalism in post-WWI Europe. Kafka saw bureaucracy establishments as being something that deprives the mere existence of real human standards of industrialization that will oppress a person in a workplace. “Work like this is far more unsettling than business conducted at home, and then I have the agony of traveling itself to contend with” worrying about train connections, the irregular, unpalatable meals, and human intercourse that is constantly changing, never developing the least constancy or warmth” (Puchner, P1881). Before the protagonist Gregor’s transformation, he views his life as a working insect being trapped in a society where alienation and decay are rampant because the workers are not happy. Gregor is stuck in prison