Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka Analysis

Isolation not only changes the personalities of Gregor and his family, but also it changes the role and duties Gregor plays in his family. Before the metamorphosis, Gregor worked alone to provide for the entire family. For example, in the beginning, before the transformation, he says, “But besides that, the money Gregor had brought home every month he had kept only a few dollars for himself” (4). This shows Gregor’s selfishness and his family’s heavy dependency on his income. It establishes the fact that Gregor’s family’s loyalty to Gregor was strong because the family depended on Gregor for their own survival, and shows how they betrayed him by disregarding him after he became an insect. The isolation of Gregor caused by the transformation not only affects Gregor’s role in the family, but also changes the role of Mr. Samsa. Mr. Samsa originally told by Gregor: ”Now his father was still healthy, certainly. But he was an old man who had not worked for the past five years and who in any case could not be expected to undertake that much” (17). This shows how irresponsible Mr. Samsa acted for his family in the beginning. Mr. Samsa, a man in his 50s, blamed his unemployment on anxiety and depression from a past failed business. Mr. Samsa changes his role as the useless drag to the provider of the family, and even obtains a new job as a bank manager.

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

In every aspect of Gregor’s life, each and every man living in the present right now can share the same frustration and tiredness of a long painful day. Gregor was a commercial traveler, which for him was a sufficient enough paying occupation that allowed his family to live off satisfied. Having this career which is quite exasperating, from selling house to house, resembles the hard working men that deserve more than what they have. They way that Gregor took responsibility as the breadwinner shows how he was just another man trying to survive in his overwhelming era.

In Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, the character Gregor transforms from a man into a bug, specifically a cockroach. Although Gregor physically changes, he does not change as a person. Gregor merely accepts his new condition as a bug and his family’s continuous abuse and hostility. Gregor’s acceptance of his new bug form is representative of his passive personality before and after his transformation. Gregor’s passivity, in response to the hostile world around him, causes his eventual downfall. Therefore, Kafka uses the character Gregor to exemplify how a passive attitude can cause one’s demise.

Analysis of the story “The Metamorphosis”, by Franz Kafka was written back in the early 1900’s, but reflected a more modern way of thinking and lifestyle of today. Gregor felt that he was a slave to his job, isolated from his co-workers, and misunderstood by his family. Although that is the norm in today’s society, it was not the norm back then. In the story Gregor finds himself transformed into a cockroach and his internal struggles become a permanent reality. Kafka’s choice of the family member to play the role of the cockroach was necessary in portraying the curse of the working man only living each day in hurried lifestyle with no freedom.

Gregor’s loathe for his work helps develop his isolation from the rest of the world, alienating him from his own body, into that of an insect. It becomes evident that Gregor hates his job, and especially his boss, when he first wakes up in the morning. Gregor thinks to himself, “If it wasn’t that I’ve held back on account of my parents, I’d have given in my notice long ago. I’d have gone to the boss and told him what I thought outright, with feeling. It would make him fall off his desk” (30, Kafka). Gregor is sick and tired of working for his boss at the job

‘The Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka, the composer of the novel, explores the relations between an outsider and an insider, and Gregor Samsa’s relationship with his family, gradually following up on how Gregor decided to become an insect that he was physically being seen as, although he had been psychologically/ mentally been feeling like an “insect” for a while now. Gregor allowed himself to transition into an insect, as he chose he would let his family affect his personal happiness. Subsequently, he made the choice to become accustomed to the routine of the life he was living, to exclude and suppress himself from all persons and things, and to become fully focused on his job and his duties, despite the fact that he despised it so much. Gregor wanted to believe that he was in full control of his own life and emotions, when he only allowed his family to affect him thoughts and progression, similarly just like Kafka’s did as well as confiding to become an insect

Markedly, Gregor is undeniably forlorn at his work which continuously belittled him, but he doesn't care about himself enough to quit. Gregor refers to his boss as talking "down to the employees from his great height, and we also have to get right up close because he's so hard of hearing" (Kafka 119). This shows how trivialized and inferior Gregor felt at his work. Gregor was working long, hard hours to provide for his family, but most of all, to send his younger sister to school. Once Gregor morphs into a giant bug, he initially feels as though he lost his worth to both his family and in society.

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,

missing work due to his transformation, his supervisor comes to his door and threatens him of the consequences that he might face if he doesn’t come back to work. This shows both the process of exploitation, of the employee by the employer and also his alienation from his job because he finds no interest in it. The idea of alienation is evidently depicted in the following quote: “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, 58). Because his father’s business had failed, the entire burden was upon Gregor’s shoulders, and even as he was changed into an insect, without his will,

He misses only a few hours of work and yet, the Deputy Director has to arrive at his door to demand his business. Gregor questions his company’s appreciation, “Why was Gregor condemned to work at a company where the least infraction immediately attracted the greatest suspicion” (131)? He has worked for this company for so many years, and yet, the Director threatens him that Gregor’s position “is not the most secure” (133). Gregor is replaceable and insignificant but he still remains to provide for his family. He has let this job take the best of him, thus, his conceding reply to the Deputy Director that he will get up for work. The author never describes the sound of Gregor’s reply, except that it is a “voice of an animal” (134), because the incomprehensible, meek reply is the animal talking that wants to save his job and whose company has its leash on. The animalistic characteristic reveals that the company has erased his identity when Gregor could be working another job that better represents who he is, rather than working at an area that he doesn’t like and doesn’t treat him like a human being. He still leads himself into the same direction for the last five years, however, just so his family could live a comfortable

Throughout the novella, Gregor’s deeply rooted sense of guilt transitions from having the power to drive his actions to merely plaguing his thoughts. Immediately after his transformation, Gregor reveals that he has to “deal with the problems of traveling, the worries about train connections, irregular bad food, temporary and constantly changing human relationships…” (Kafka 4), in his daily work. Although he appears to hate his job, Gregor does not quit, as he has both intrinsic motivation to provide and extrinsic pressure from his family to keep them afloat. Rather than reflecting on his feelings and emotional baggage attached to his job, Gregor focuses on grievances set in reality, and allows this to occupy his conscious mind. After Gregor’s transformation, his

Since Gregor put so much of his energy towards his family’s well-being rather than his own, he never formed a unique identity. After waking up as a cockroach and regretting that he wouldn’t be able to attend work, he thinks of his unhappy work life and says, “If I didn’t hold back for my parents’ sake, I would have quit long ago” (4). In sacrificing the time that he spends at work to support his family, Gregor shows the lengths he is willing to go to allow his family to survive. Gregor recognizes that his work is uninteresting, but he decides it is more important to support his family than to follow his own desires, essentially letting his parents control his life. Another example of Gregor admitting to putting his parents’ needs above his own is when he admits that a lot of his unhappiness comes from the fact that he is just a subordinate of the boss and he has no real power. As a travelling salesman, all he has to do is go from door to door trying to sell items that people don’t want. As Gregor continues to think about his life at work after his transformation, he recognizes: “He was a tool of the boss, without brains or backbone” (5). Gregor sees that he is lacking “brains or backbone”, which is recognition that he does not need individuality to perform his job. However, after his transformation, his lack of a “backbone” is externalized since, as a cockroach, he literally lacks a backbone. Gregor can see that he is a drone, since

In “The Metamorphosis,” Kafka uses Gregor’s conditioned and illogical thoughts to convince people to look outside of the systems they often find themselves in, even if the system itself is immoral. For example, the culture of work generally relies on a person’s desire to be accepted and not to be looked down upon. People are brought to believe that the differences between them and animals lie mainly with the fact that human beings have built themselves based on logic, which has given rise to the languages and symbols that are unique to them. To be preoccupied with the external environment as opposed to the skills useful in work is to be in touch with the beastly base that makes up all animals. In a way, Gregor feels ashamed of being so sensitive to music because he views that as a sign that he is not only a beast on the outside, he

In 1915, Franz Kafka, writes a fictional short story, Metamorphosis, metaphorically reflecting on societal norms. The metaphor he uses is absurd. It is absurd because the main character becomes a giant cockroach. This is not quite the lived experience. However, Kafka stabs at the theme of dehumanization.