Franz Kafka 's The Metamorphosis

Throughout the novel, Gregor faced many situations of betrayal by his family. These instances are not only shown there, but also in Kafka’s life. Points can often be overlooked throughout novels because typically the reader tends to forget about the deeper meaning of things, but in The Metamorphosis many acts of betrayal are prominent from start to finish, such as: Gregor waking up to discover that he is now a vermin, which then compeled his family to seclude him, also forcing them to establish him as worthless for no longer making money for their family.

The novella The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka was first published in 1915. This novella shows the degree of loyalty a family has to even their own family members; this case being Gregor Samsa, his mother, his father, and his sister Grete Samsa. Upon reading the novella, it becomes evident that Gregor’s care for his family is pure and genuine, which, throughout the short story, leaves a small feeling of melancholy due to the fact that the family never really returned that same gesture. Gregor works solely to support the Samsa family through their debts and his sister’s future through a job that he keeps due to his obligation as the money-maker of the family. Support, in both factors of the word, should be a

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.

Kafka’s timeless novella, The Metamorphosis, first shows, the physical and mental change of Gregor Samsa. As Gregor wakes up for work, he realizes that his body is not what it used to be. He has completely transformed into a giant beetle-like insect and he begins to notice his “hard... armor plated back… dome-like brown belly divided into stiff arch segments, [and] numerous legs… which waved helplessly before his eyes” (Kafka 6). Mentally, Gregor continues to think like a normal person. Even though he has just transformed into a nasty insect, his main concern is still about getting to work and supporting his entire family. This concern fades when he understands that his illness releases him from his job. Wilhelm Emrich also believes that Gregor gains freedom by stating that, “Samsa complains of his “grueling job,” of the “upset of doing business,” “worrying about changing trains, eating

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’s clear isolation of Gregor underlines the families’ separation from society. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka emphasizes Gregor’s seclusion from his family. However, Gregor’s separation is involuntary unlike the family who isolates themselves by the choices they make. Each family member has characteristics separating them from society. These characteristics become more unraveling than Gregor, displaying the true isolation contained in The Metamorphosis.

The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, is a book outlining the changes in opinions, and views over a period of time. Gregor wrote during a time when anti-Semitism was starting to become a popular way of mind, where people were influenced into changing their mind set, especially with him being a Jew. In The Metamorphosis, Gregor is seen as an outsider to many, but had support from his family, but not for long. Kafka’s portrayal of Gregor’s family’s opinions, especially his sister, in the Metamorphosis towards Gregor change as other influences and social norms become more frequent.

In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Gregor is not the only presence that undergoes a complete transformation. Sometimes a change in one area of life will give way to changes in other areas, but the ensuing changes would not have come about without the first change that set things in motion. This is the case with Gregor and his family. Gregor’s family was in dire need of change, and Gregor’s condition became a powerful catalyst for that change. Gregor’s metamorphosis facilitates the change of his entire family, proving that oftentimes an outside source is needed to pull people out of a rut and get them on their feet again.

In Franz Kafka’s fiction novella The Metamorphosis, the isolation of Gregor Samsa is made apparent as he “[looks] out the window, obviously with some sort of memory of the freedom he formerly enjoyed”. As Gregor loses his humanity, his physical isolation parallels the social isolation he experiences from his family and society. Through the use of theme, symbolism, and characterization, Gregor’s transformation reflects the changes within an individual, a family, and a society.

In a household or family, typically, changes that one family member experiences affects the way of living of another family member or even the whole family. These changes can affect families by making them come to a realization in which they have to find other resources to accommodate their needs or the change can help mend relationships within the family. Changes can also help in the development of one or more of the family members. In The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka this theme of change within family and personal growth is seen and experienced with all the characters in the family. The character that experience the most changes and personal growth is Grete. Grete’s brother, Gregor, is a salesman that wakes up one day transformed into a bug. This transformation that Gregor experiences from being the provider of the family and being dedicated to his job makes Gregor go through various realizations about his life. As Grete witnesses this transformation she experiences major changes of her own. Throughout the novella, Grete’s metamorphosis can be interpreted into three different parts. The first is Grete in her most innocent and sensitive phase, where she is helping her brother out of kindness and love. The second stage is where Grete is beginning to develop and get accustomed to these new

Change is often times inevitable. In order for drastic change to occur, a strong driving force must be present. Such a driving force is made evident in Franz Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis. Gregor Samsa’s transformation propels his family toward gradual change. The Samsa family moves from being dependent and pitiful in Part I to independent and abusive mostly in Gregor’s father’s case during Part II, and later negligent and hopeful in Part III. Kafka portrays the changes the Samsa family undergoes through careful choice diction and symbolism.

In Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis,” Gregor Samsa deals with the alienation from his family stemming from both absurd and mundane circumstances. While Gregor’s transformation into a bug is the catalyst to his physical alienation, Gregor had for years been becoming more and more isolated mentally and emotionally from his family due to his displeasure at his having to work a job he hated due to his father’s failings and the lack of gratitude he received from his family for his hard work. It was not just his family who Gregor was becoming isolated from, but it was humanity in general that Gregor had been drifting apart from, as he had not mentioned having any friends or work colleagues which leads the readers to believe he had no social life

Once Upon A time, a young boy named Gregor turned into a bug. It all started when Greg got bit by a roach. A few days went by and Gregor started to feel different. On this one particular day, Gregor woke to a face full of tiny hairs. He continually rolled around and spit out a mouthful of vomit. He jumped up and when he got up he noticed he could not balance like before. He landed hard on his back, that then caused a sharp pain to shoot up and down his spine. He rolled to his side and felt the spot with his fingers. As far as he could tell, there was some sort of lump on his back, about the size of a watermelon, but it began to burn intensely. He rubbed at it vigorously, trying to make it feel better, but instead it just oozed and burned even

By locking him in his bedroom, the family isolates Gregor even more in which Kafka uses to tell the audience that social isolation is not just self-imposed, other people are also a factor in enhancing an individual’s state of isolation. The psychologically realistic aspect of this event is that when a person is exposed to being disgusted by others, they tend to hide which is a common reaction in modern society. Sometimes extreme social isolation can lead to severe negative effects on an individual’s well-being, such as depression. In the final section of The Metamorphosis, Gregor ”thought back on his family with deep emotion and love. His conviction that he would have to disappear was, if possible, even firmer than his sister’s” (Kafka #). This statement causes the audience to empathize and sympathize for Gregor because Gregor is expressing what can be taken as suicidal thoughts. The audience sees that the isolation and loneliness of Gregor which resulted in him becoming depressed and suicidal. All he wanted was love, affection and attention from his beloved family, but they want to get rid of his troublesome bug-like self. Depressed people tend to feel worthless, lonely and unloved , just like Gregor, and sometimes can often indulge in suicidal thoughts. Suicidal thoughts are often romanticized

Yet, after Gregor goes through the transformation the traditional family structure is restored to some extent. The father becomes robust and asserts himself as the patriarch of the family. Some would argue that this restoration of hierarchy makes The Metamorphosis modernist and to some extent this assumption is correct. However, the restoration of the family structure comes at the price that Gregor is no longer considered part of the family. This suggests that Kafka was in fact trying to reveal the fragility of the family. Gregor began as the sole provider for the family, yet they turned their backs on him after his transformation, showing how selfish the family really was. Kafka effectively makes the reader empathize with Gregor, even in his hideous state, to ironically make the rest of the Samsa family look like the vermin at the end of the book.