Franz Kafka Allusion

In the Bible, the population, at first does not accept Jesus, but more come to believe in Him after he is able to prove his powers through the miracles he performs.  However, the nobility, especially, they fear that their power is threatened; eventually, they are out to get Jesus.  Once Jesus' authority is questioned, most people who once believed in him no longer acknowledge their faith in him.  Eventually, swayed by the aristocrats, the people begin hating Jesus. He is treated less than human and is no longer a useful tool for the people, a source of healing or peace.  He becomes a scapegoat, and is considered the source of problems.  Even the people closest to him, his disciples, betray him.  Judas sells

Walter H. Sokel’s article does well in trying to encompass many deeper meanings behind the story, The Metamorphosis, but some of them are invalid and do not accurately represent the happenings in Kafka’s work. Sokel emphasized that the reason for the metamorphosis was of Gregor's own doing more than anything else. The article tries to compile several viewpoints and ideas which is confusing and unconducive to any one motive in the novel. The basis of this articles many widespread arguments is as absurd as the story it is trying to explain. Any clarity that could have been gained was overshadowed by Sokel's own conflicting ideas. In the end the causes and results that exist in the Kafka's far flung tale are neither factual nor comprehensible, leaving it up to the reader to evaluate if they themselves are absurd to question Gregor's

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.

One of the most important quotes of this book, that represents biblical allusion is “But he felt as if he was nailed in place and stretched out completely confused in all his senses.” (Kafka 37) In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka tells the story of a man named Gregor, who has takes on all of the responsibilities of his four person family. One morning he wakes up as a vermin who no one can bear to see, and eventually scares everyone away from himself. Including his sister Grete who stays by his side throughout most of the novel. By making references to the condemnation of the serpent for tempting Adam and Eve, the Crucifixion of Christ, and the cleansing of sins, Kafka dramatically enhances his writing with these biblical allusions.

“The Making of an Allegory,” by Edwin Honig and “Franz Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ as Death and Resurrection Fantasy,” by Peter Dow Webster illuminate how sacrifice and transformation are a vital part of the deeper meaning of "The Metamorphosis." Gregor Samsa is an ordinary young man until he wakes up one day as a giant vermin; metamorphosised into something horrendous and reviled by the world. Through Honig’s and Webster’s critical essays, this transformation, as well as many more, and sacrifice made by all involved are explored in a thorough and definitive way.

Probably the most noticeable biblical allusion Kafka uses in The Metamorphosis is the apple that is forced into Gregor’s back by his father. At one point in the novel Gregor finds himself in the living room when his father comes home from work. His father, in an act to get Gregor back into his room, proceeds to firing multiple apples at him. One of the apples forces its way into Gregor’s

"The Metamorphosis" begins the task of summarizing the popular anti-Semitic beliefs of early twentieth-century Europeans by clearly establishing the story’s protagonist, Gregor Samsa, as a symbol of the Jews. The story opens with Gregor awaking from sleep and finding "himself transformed . . . into a gigantic insect" (Kafka 67).2 This disturbing image of the insect is a clear connection to representations of the Jews as bugs and vermin. Gregor calmly views his transformation as a natural occurrence. He does not become surprised or scared at his metamorphosis but calmly accepts it, as if he had always been an insect. Symbolically, Gregor is accepting his "Jewishness" as a completely natural state of being and is neither ashamed nor afraid of its consequences.

Within Kafka's “The Metamorphosis” there are many forms of symbolism. The story it is often argued that Kafka shows a strong Christian allegory in that Gregor is viewed as a Christ figure through out the story. Throughout the story the story of Christ can be argued or related to.

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.

This interactive oral on Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis mainly focused on the religion presented in the book, its connection to Kafka or another work of literature, and Gregor’s transformation and the emotions connected with it. The class presented many ideas, a lot which I had not seen or heard of through prior research and knowledge, such as the family’s connection to The Bible and Christ/Christianity, and the connection the work has to Franz Kafka’s life, relationships and ideas. These ideas gave me a wider lens to look through, since I hadn’t fully thought of most of these before, and it helped change my thoughts, along with giving them different new ideas to grasp and add to my knowledge.

Even though Kafak was Jewish, his spiritual influences are not those of Jewish beliefs, but those of Roman Catholic beliefs (Bloom 5). Kafka uses two spiritual symbols in his novella. The first is the apple that his father threw at Gregor. The apple symbolizes the Forbidden Fruit. And the second symbol is Gregor’s death. His death symbolizes the death of Christ. Gregor’s death can be viewed similar to the sacrifice of Christ (Holland 1). Just like Christ, Gregor died for the greater good of others. He also died at three o’clock in the morning just like Christ did. There is always a bigger meaning behind an event that meets the

Before he began attending the theater, Kafka’s parents were one of his biggest influences. Kafka’s life was very short, so family was a pivotal influence in his writing because they were an integral part of his youth, which was a majority of his life. Starting from his childhood, Kafka did not have a strong relationship with his father. The two disagreed about everything, especially religion: “Kafka

In his parable Before the Law, Franz Kafka suggests that obstacles that one faces in life can either be used to mold one’s success or bring about one’s failure. If one can overcome challenges that they face they grow in a unique type of way, for every individual perceives each situation in a distinct fashion. That unique type of growth is what establishes a person’s character and perception of the world. However if one cannot overcome their obstacles, then they cut of their means for growth and are left uninspired, forgetting any dreams or aspirations. It is through the man’s interaction with the doorkeeper, and his inability to overcome this obstacle, that eventually leads him down the path of complacency and failure.