Franz Kafka 's The Metamorphosis

“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.

Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, is the story of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who is responsible for the financial well-being of his entire family, yet experiences an unfortunate metamorphosis into a giant bug. However, while Gregor undergoes a disturbing physical transformation, the family dynamic changes drastically as well. The family’s treatment of Gregor slowly deteriorates from them regarding him as the basis for their financial success and security to regarding him as no more than an extraordinary nuisance that holds them back from a brighter future.

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.

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.

A metamorphosis can be described as a change in structure, form, or appearance, or as a change in form from one stage to the next in an organism’s life. In Franz Kafka’s novella, “The Metamorphosis”, change is a major theme. The theme of change is significant as the main character, Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, undergoes a metamorphosis of his own as he experiences changes living as a giant insect. However, Gregor’s journey through his new life is not subjective, as his transformation provokes significant changes in his family’s dynamics. In fact, Gregor’s transformation into an insect is not the main focus of the novella. Kafka uses Gregor’s metamorphosis as a way to emphasize the more significant metamorphosis within the Samsa

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 Franz Kafka 's Metamorphosis, Grete changes from a child into an adult while also trying to do the opposite with her own family. Gregor’s metamorphosis leaves her family without anybody money to pay for their needs. Consequently, Grete replaces Gregor and begins to cook and clean for her family and go to work. These jobs allow Grete to become more experienced and to mature. Similarly, Grete shows displays these changes by dressing more provocatively and becoming more interested in romance. However, during Grete’s own metamorphosis, she realizes the burden that is (or was) her brother and proves to her family that he is no longer human. Since she wants to keep her family the same as it was before Gregor’s metamorphosis, Grete convinces her parents of this absence of Gregor’s real personality and tries to get rid of him. Thus, Grete’s goal is to keep her family the same as it is before Gregor’s metamorphosis, and to accomplish this, Grete simultaneously goes through her own metamorphosis into an adult woman as a result of the many jobs she takes to keep her family in the same situation as before.

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.

The Metamorphosis is a novella written by German author Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. The novella tells the story of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who one day awoke to discover he had transformed into an insect like monstrosity. Throughout the story, Gregor struggles with the horrible prospect of coming to terms with his situation, as well as coping with the effects of his transformation, such as the fact that his family is repelled by his new form, and that he is no longer able to provide financially for them. Through Gregor’s reaction to the effects of his transformation on his life, Kafka critiques the situation of the common man in a modern world.

Much of Franz Kafka's story “The Metamorphosis” spends it's time talking about Gregor as he struggles to live his new life as a bug. Gregor tries to find a analytical reason as to why he has taken upon this form but later on finds on that he has to accept the truth. From being an ordinary travel salesman and provider for his family to a abomination, Gregor becomes hopeless as he can't work or provide for his family. His new life as an insect causes a hardship as he is faced with isolation from his family, transformation, and guilt. Gregor discovers himself when he sees how the world looks at him from his transition from a human to an insect. Gregor's death illustrates the cruelty of society and denial of his family when they can't obtain the things they want in life anymore because of his new form.

“The Metamorphosis”, by Franz Kafka, is a mystical tale about a young businessman who awakes one morning to find his physical appearance transformed. His family and business associates fear his transformation and take immediate action by locking him in his room. For the following months, his young sister cares for his wellbeing and survival by tending to his needs. However, as time passes by, the inconveniences of caring for Gregor create tension and irritability that ultimately leads to drastic measures in some circumstances. As the tale comes to an end, he passes away due to severe neglect. Moreover, despite all the hardships he faces; he dies with fond memories of their love. By analyzing Kafka’s use of literary elements, Gregor’s ambiguous transformation can be concluded as the direct result of the superior authorities he encounters throughout his life and his negligence and passiveness towards those leads to the loss of his individuality.

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.

As the story progresses, Grete changes from an innocent and caring girl to a mature and independent young woman focused on self benefit. During the first few days of Gregor’s transformation, Grete takes care of him with her best effort; bringing food, cleaning his room, and making him comfortable. She was willing to bring Gregor rotting food scraps, “and, out of her tenderness of heart . . . she hurried away, even turning the key in the lock so that Gregor would notice and make himself as comfortable as he wanted” (Kafka 34). However, Grete soon came to view her once willing duties as laborious and unbeneficial to herself. She became careless in her efforts, leaving “dirt streaks stretched all along the walls” (Kafka 54) and the room dirty and dusty. In fact, Grete was the first family member to suggest getting rid of Gregor: “we must get rid of it . . . he must be sent away” (Kafka 61-62). It is seen that Grete no longer addresses Gregor by name, instead referring to him as “it”: an animal. As a whole, the family changes from being completely reliant on Gregor to support their lifestyle, to alienating him when he no longer serves as a use in their lives. Gregor’s transformation and sudden loss of income catalyzes change within the Samsa family, causing them to outcast their son and brother, and begin to support

"As Gregor [Samsa] awoke from unsettling dreams one morning, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin" (Kafka, 1). Gregor's most obvious change was his transformation from a business man to a bug. Since it is an external change, discovering the change was not limited to only him. Due to his new appearance and inability to work, Gregor was, so to speak, shunned by his family because he couldn't provide for them any longer. The Samsa family did not recognize Gregor for his internal self, but mistook him for a useless bug.

Frank Kafka’s short story, The Metamorphosis, is a story that observes human experiences through family bonds, the question of morality, and confronting mystery. The overall theme of the book is confronting the unknown. The story starts out with Gregor Samsa, a salesman, who wakes up as an insect. From the beginning of the text, Gregor and his family were already put to the test of confronting Gregor’s unknown situation. It is unusual for a man to turn into a vermin over the course of one night, which is what happened to Gregor. When Gregor originally turned into a bug, his ties with his families became cut off. His parents did not take care of him the way that they always had, and Gregor could not take care of his parents the way that he always did. Gregor’s ties with his sister became close because his sister, Grete, felt obligated to take care of her brother even though he was transformed. The question of morality come up at the end of the story right before Gregor dies. Gregor’s sister explodes with frustration and contemplates on getting rid of Gregor all together. The story question morality because Gregor’s family decides on getting rid of him, as if he had not been a part