Internal and External Demons: Franz Kafka and The Metamorphosis
Without knowledge of deeper symbolism, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka appears to be incredibly abstract and even humorous. The story is that of a man who transforms into a beetle within one evening and who struggles to endure. Upon scrupulous analyses, several forms of parallelism are evident within Kafka’s short story, and Kafka’s personal life is portrayed within The Metamorphosis in a mild manner to those who do not appreciate deeper meaning. Kafka’s antagonist in The Metamorphosis mirrors Kafka himself. Franz Kafka battled his father and his mental well being whilst living, and upon closer inspection of the short story, Gregor Samsa’s image (physical and psychological) reflects Kafka’s demons. The writing of Franz Kafka is greatly influenced by both the internal and the external struggles of his personal life.
…show more content…
Following Gregor’s transfiguration, which led to the cease of going to work, Samsa’s father was repulsed and turned to forceful means to keep Gregor at harbor in his room, “at every moment he was threatened by a fatal blow on the back or head from the stick in his father’s hand,” (Kafka 23) “then his father gave him a strong push from behind that was a truly liberating one, and , bleeding profusely, he sailed far into his room” (Kafka 24). “Kafka was subjected to abuse and constant yelling from his father because he was a failure in his eyes” (Nervi). Kafka wove his own father’s actions into his novels and short stories through his characters, specifically Gregor
To fully understand the depths of Gregor’s family’s betrayal, it must be mentioned how much he does for his family. His father had once owned a very unsuccessful small business, and when the business went under the family’s financial woes were unimaginable. Gregor saw this and wanted to bring joy to his family again. Kafka states, “At that time Gregor’s sole desire was to do his utmost to help the family to forget as soon as possible the catastrophe that had overwhelmed the business and thrown them all into a state of complete despair” (Kafka 25) He found a job so that
“The Metamorphosis” is a surreal story by Franz Kafka surrounding the transformation and betrayal of Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one day, reborn into a large insect. Along with the bizarre and nightmarish appearance of his new hard back, brown segmented belly, and many legs, Gregor only desire is to live a normal life, unfortunately, this is impossible because he struggles to even get out of bed. Gregor transformation into an insect is a vivid metaphor for the alienation of humans from around the world. After losing human form, Gregor is automatically deprived of the right to be a part of society. Franz Kafka could relate to Gregor because he too was mistreated/neglected by his father and worked a job that he was unhappy doing. Franz and Gregor both were providers for their families. Alienation, isolation, and loneliness were not hard to recognize during the Modernity and Modernism time period.
Franz Kafka’s twentieth-century classic, The Metamorphosis, shows the changes of the Samsa family after their son, Gregor, turns into a vile insect. Even though Gregor has turned into the most disgusting of creatures, this “metamorphosis” is ironic compared to the transformation that his family endures. While Gregor still sustains his humanity, the lack of any compassion and mercy from his family, is what makes them the disgusting creatures rather than Gregor. The changes of Gregor’s father, mother, and sister prove that the theme of metamorphosis is not exclusively present within Gregor.
In The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka tells the story of a young man named Gregor who observes the radical changes in his life after transforming into an insect. Gregor’s life was centered on his job as a traveling salesperson and his family. One morning Gregor woke up transformed into an insect. Afraid of the transformation Gregor stays in his room and ignores calls from his family. When Gregor realized that his new body did not allow him to have a normal life, he tried to adapt. After his metamorphosis, Gregor is abandoned by his family and only maintains a small relationship with his sister Grete, who is in charge of serving and provide him with food, but always leaving some distance because of his ugly appearance.
In “The Metamorphosis,” Gregor Samsa is a travelling salesman trying to find his place in the world, earn a living and support his family. His adult life, although uneventful, is inevitable, which he begins to accept over time, primarily when he awakens one morning with the grotesque body of an insect. Gregor contemplates life as it was before his transformation when he was the sole breadwinner for the family. Now that he is a bug, the other members of the family lose both the financial and emotional security associated with his career, beginning to disregard Gregor as a member of their family. In ‘The Metamorphosis’, Kafka uses the metaphor of the bug to describe the transformation and emotional separation experienced by Gregor Samsa to bring
Franz Kafka is an icon of dark existentialist and absurdist literature that frequently wrote about themes of isolation, alienation, and authoritarian oppression. His well-known work includes the short stories "The Metamorphosis", and “ The Judgment.” as well as his prominent "Letter to His Father", in which he attempted to clarify the tense relationship and his emotional oddness. Franz Kafka was born in Prague on July 3rd, 1883. Prague was a perplexed city, a great deal like Kafka himself. With several languages and ethnic groups struggling for a position in Prague, it was apparent in the late 19th
Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis (1914) is about the transformation of Gregor Samsa into a giant insect. His life has been miserable due to the fact that he works to meet the standard necessities of the family after his father has lost his business. Kafka implies that Gregor’s transformation is simply a manifestation of what he was already experiencing. It is a punishment for Gregor not having attempted to engage with others. Kafka’s main theme is alienation and he explores it passionately through Gregor’s introverted life before his transformation, the metamorphosis of the family’s treatment towards Gregor after he turned into an insect, and Gregor’s behaviour after his drastic change.
Franz Kafka led a life filled with struggles, particularly evident in his relationship with his father. His experiences and feelings in life are manifested throughout his writings, as the themes in his life dominate the themes of his works, especially so in his novella, The Metamorphosis. Through his extended metaphor of Samsa as a vermin, Kafka illustrates the family dynamic present throughout his life, that of his family, and particularly his father, devaluing and isolating him.
Kafka reveals very little about Gregor's life prior to this incident: all we know of him is that he had been a traveling salesman who was constantly "busying himself with his fretsaw" and who "never (went) out in the evenings," instead spending his time "sitting . . . at the table quietly reading the paper or studying" (Kafka 12-13). This imagery of Samsa as a studious carpenter characterizes him as humble and, in this, somewhat unlikable to the toughest audiences. Even imagery as simplistic as this conjures the image of Gregor as a bookish, studious milquetoast. At the same time, the carpenter characterization connotes Christ, and thus immediately hints at Samsa's eventual heroism, even before anything significant has happened. So when the book's first "metamorphosis" occurs in the first sentence, Gregor's prior circumstances make him fertile ground in which a change in spirit can occur. Samsa even acknowledges the metaphysical change enacted in himself: when he tries to explain to his family and the head clerk why he cannot leave his room, his audience can "no longer (understand) his words, even though they (are) clear enough to him, clearer than before even" (15). It is as if he is in another dimension from them completely and therefore a sort of "immortal" at heart, before the knowledge is even imparted upon him in the form
"The Metamorphosis" is a novella written by Franz Kafka, which depicts the strange story of a man who has undergone a bizarre transformation. The main character, Gregor Samsa, wakes up on day to find himself turned into a beetle. Throughout the rest of the story, we see how he learns to accept his fault, whilst no one else in his family does. The more realistic parts of the story seem to tie in perfectly with this change in a depressing way.
Throughout literary history, certain authors are so unique and fresh in their approach to the written word that they come to embody a genre. Franz Kafka is one such author; “Die Verwandlung” or “The Metamorphosis” is one of his works that helped coin the term “Kafkaesque.” Through this novella, Kafka addresses the timeless theme of people exploit-ing others as a means to an end. He demonstrates this point through showing that a family’s unhealthy dependence on the main character results in that character’s dependence on the family.
When I was younger my fear for insects was nonexistent. Growing up I didn't see many insects till I moved to the East Coast. Some of the insects I came across was beautiful, for example at night fireflies would light up, and that fascinated me. Other insects such as flying ants and roaches made me no longer enjoy the idea of insects as once before. In today's American society it's common that people deveolped their own perceptions about insects. In Kafka's Metamorphosis, the story explained how Gregor's family didn't accept his transition. Gregor was practically disowned and treated differently. His family viewed him as disgusting.Therefore,Gregor's experience directly correlates with how people today view insects now. Americans tend to perceive
There exists no one true approach to examine writing; consequently, Literature continually proves to be a misunderstood art. Emerging through time, theories have been conceived due to the study of literature, but different readers believe in different theories. For instance, Franz Kafka’s short story, The Metamorphosis, may be interoperated countless ways do to its intricacy, as well as by varying literary theorists. Kafka himself and historical background may even be scrutinized, when studying The Metamorphosis. Complexity in The Metamorphosis lies throughout the entirety of the story, for the story tells the telling tale of salesman Gregor Samsa and his time as a gigantic insect (Kafka). Despite their differences, Biographical Criticism, Historical Criticism, Psychoanalysis, and Marxism all provide methods by which to analyze Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.
In the opening lines of German author Franz Kafkas’ short story narrative “The Metamorphosis”, the protagonist Gregor Samsa a disgruntled traveling salesman who lives with and supports his parents and little sister, awakens from a night of unpleasant dreams to find that he has been metamorphosed into a cockroach he calls a “monstrous vermin” (Kafka, page 89). This particularly strange opening sets the stage for in my opinion, a very strange and very vague play. I say this because throughout the whole story we never find out much less are given any clue of how or why he managed to be metamorphosed into this insect. Not to mention what the moral of the story is or the fact that this whole book reads like one big
Franz Kafka’s ”The Metamorphosis” is acknowledged as a literary masterpiece to be read by any literary aficionado. “The Metamorphosis” has been referenced in many industries far exceeding the English scholarly genre and has crept its way into such studies as the medical and psychology field. Recounted in Psychology journal articles, a portrayal of the agony and sense of loss of self is portrayed so consistently throughout the novel and these feelings are often associated with a number of psychological illnesses. For this reason, “The Metamorphosis” can be found in psychology articles. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1910630/ The psychology articles take a detailed look at the psychological torment experienced by Gregor and present the literature such that you could almost imagine that Gregor Samsa is a psychiatric case study rather than a fictional character. However, opinions among scholars and literary enthusiasts have contemplated what it was Kafka was trying to convey when he wrote this piece. Indeed, Kafka suffered from mental issues and the point is often brought to light that Kafka could have been projecting his internal feelings and experiences about growing up onto Gregor Samsa. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2639911/ Franz Kafka also held a strained relationship with his family, particularly his father, and died at a young age from tuberculosis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2639911/ “The Metamorphosis” can, and has, been