How Does Kafka Present The Struggles In Gregor's Life

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 book Tom Brennan and the documentary The Wave, the role of insiders and outsiders in society is shown, also both the film and novel show how there are many individuals who are affected by being not accepted. There many examples in the novel Tom Brennan and the film The Wave that support this point. In Tom Brennan the major example of this is when there is a car accident caused by drink driving. As a result of the accident the Brennan family become outsiders and forced to move away from their town. To add to this, in The Wave the whole film is based around a ‘Hitler’ like group that are the ‘insiders’ and that anyone who are not a part of the group are losers and thus outsiders. Throughout the novel and the film the way individuals are affected by being excluded is

He supported his mother, father and Grete. Now that he cannot work, his family is desperate for money. The father decides to go back to work to bring home money. To make some more money on the side, they rent their apartment out to three lodgers. One night while the lodgers were there, Gregor was seen, which made the lodgers freak out and leave. This marks a turning point in how Grete feels about Gregor. She comes to realize that he has no humanity left. The reader sees this when Grete explains to her father, “It has to go,’ cried his sister. ‘That’s the only answer, Father. You just have to try to get rid of the idea that it’s Gregor. Believing it for so long, that is our real misfortune” (Kafka 1107). Grete no longer thinks of him as Gregor, but refers to him as “it”, showing that she really has no regards for him. This ultimately adds to the decision that they should get rid of

Gregor’s role in his family characterizes him as an altruistic individual whose nature made him ignorant to his family’s manipulation. Gregor endures most of his hardships without complaint and puts the needs of his family firmly above his own. Upon realizing his transformation at the beginning of the novella, his first thoughts were not of alarm but of great concern about being late to work because it is his only means of taking care of his family (Kafka 6). After his father’s business failed, Gregor “work[ed] with special ardor” (27) doing laborious work as a traveling salesman, not only to “pay off [his] parents’ debt”(4), but to also spend what little money he has to give Grete the opportunity to perform violin professionally (26). With all these responsibilities, it’s inevitable for Gregor to be under great stress, which can infer that Gregor’s transformation is a result of his willful desire to escape the pressures his overburdened life. Gregor struggled between remaining a steadfast provider or following his desire for independence, however, his metamorphosis freed him from a job he detests. Now that it is impossible for Gregor to work, Mr.Samsa reveals that “he possessed more money than Gregor knew about” (#). This is a significant event where Kafka uses the motif of betrayal to emphasize the corruption in familial infrastructure represented through Gregor’s sacrifice and interaction with his family, as well as to socially comment about how people in society use

A nuclear family: a mother, father, sister, and brother the basic outline of every family worldwide. The Samsa’s fit within this shell yet many grow and change and need new shells. Gregor attempts to follow in the footsteps of his family and the historical stereotypes during Gregor's early adulthood. By having to obtain a job and provide for the entire family can be seen as a major responsibility and Gregor seems overwhelmed hence his chance in physical and emotional demeanor. Kafka states: “He felt very proud that he had been able to provide such as a life in so nice an apartment for his parents and his sister. But what now if all the peace, the comfort, the contentment were to come to a horrible end?” (Kafka 22). Gregor embodies the typical young man in a growing home where the men are sent out to work and the women stay home to cook, clean, and assist the men. Kafka continues to add pressure on Gregor with feelings of guilt, pride,

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

Even though Gregor realizes later that it’s not what he wants, she remains stubborn because she thinks it will be best for him anyway. Grete saw that Gregor was hanging from the ceiling, and thought she could make him more comfortable by removing the furniture from his room. It is clear that Grete cares for her family when she gets a job to earn money for them even though she is only seventeen and not used to working. But when Gregor can no longer work she gets a job and starts providing for her family. Grete showed empathy towards Gregor in many ways during his transformation, but she was not the only

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.

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,

Furthermore, Gregor’s descent into social and physical abjection then forces his family to change radically in order to support themselves. In the beginning, Gregor starts off as the provider for his family. He hates his job, but he still goes above and beyond the call of duty to give his family a more comfortable life, even indulging the expensive endeavour of his sisters’ dream of studying the violin. However, after the metamorphosis, he is thrust into the role of a dependant – forcing his family to take responsibility and support themselves. His sister steps up to the plate in the beginning, giving him a selection of foodstuffs to find what he likes and even cleaning up after him. His parents are still in denial at this point, so much so that they refuse to see him at all. But as time goes by, his family begins to accept the situation and even try to help Grete out. His father produces some money from his previous failed business venture and his mother and sister try to make life more comfortable for Gregor. Grete in particular changes the most noticeably; Gregor himself notes at the beginning that her life up till that point had been “enviable”, consisting of “wearing nice

We can tell Gregor and his father dont have the best relationship because his father abuses him. He slams him into the door, “ Then his father gave him one liberating push from behind, and he scurried, bleeding severely, far into the interior if his room.” (Kafka, 151) Also, when Gregor's looks scare the mother, the father assumes that Gregor

The late eighteenth century through the early nineteenth century where a lot was changing in the world. From the Lewis and Clark expedition in the west to Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean, time seemed to call upon for exploration and rapid change. With rapid change comes increases in population, economy, and some new thoughts or ideologies from up and coming philosophers. It is unimaginable to believe that one man, by the name of Thomas Robert Malthus, lived during the time frame of the eighteenth and nineteenth century was able to be influential in all three forms of change. Thomas Malthus can easily be considered one of the most influential men of his time, being that his thoughts on topics such as political economics, demography, and

In this story, the universe that Kafka has created doesn’t seem to have any obligation to Gregor, its work has been done since it’s provided Gregor with a way to have an easy life now. If the universe had felt any sort of obligation towards this man, it probably would have helped him out when his family started to turn their backs on him. It would have made sure he didn’t feel completely left out and that his transformation wouldn’t have resulted in his family resenting him.

While the weeks and months passed Grete and his mother and father struggled to give little any compassion or concern for Gregor as their finances plummeted to the ground. Prior to his metamorphosis Gregor was physically alienated from any semblance of a social life due to his job and financial obligation to his family afterward the transformation and he was deemed a burden to his family that he had provided for countless months he was psychologically isolated from them as well. Notably while Gregor had finally been emancipated from his dreaded job as a salesman, he had become a parasitic to his family without being labeled as a provider they slowly began to turn against him only worsening his mental state and exile.