Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka Becoming An Outsider

is that there are outsiders in today’s society. When one is made into an outsider, the bias

It appears that the people who care the most end up getting hurt by the ones they love. The more time, energy, love, and money that a person sometimes invests get thrown back in their face once something drastic happens. In turn, this causes feelings of worthlessness and isolation and can eventually lead to death. Franz Kafka understands this better than anyone else and can portray this in his novella, the Metamorphosis. In his novella, The Metamorphosis, the protagonist, Gregor Samsa is one who undergoes a physical and mental transformation due to the unrelenting pressures that his father placed upon him which eventually cause him to die. At the heart of the father-son relationship lies Gregor and his father whose relationship is explored

     I have chosen The Metamorphosis as my subject for this paper; I will take a close look at how the death of Gregor Samsa opens the doors to understanding the story. I will give examples of irony through Gregor’s metamorphosis and how this irony brings together the conclusion of the story. Through his death we see the truth behind his parents, which in it’s self is ironic. It is difficult to pinpoint one specific thing to write about in the story; there are just so many things that can be brought to light. If I happen to lose sight of my topic bear with me, there is just so much to be discussed in the novella.

“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.

An outsider is one who is simply just misjudged by others. A big factor of misjudging someone is the appearance of how they physically look. For example, in the novel The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, the main character, Gregor Samsa, wakes up one morning to discover that he has transformed into a human bug. When his body became visible to the Samsa family, everyone freaks out and starts

What does being outsider mean? Does it mean being left out of being different? People have often felt like an outsider at one point in their life, and wonder why. Are outsiders misjudged or misunderstood? These two terms meet at a crossroads, and are commonly misinterpreted. Misjudging someone is when you make a solid assumption or conclusion about them, whether it be on their looks our how they act. Being misunderstood is when someone interprets you for someone you are not. Based on both of these definitions, outsiders are simply misjudged. We can see examples of outsiders being misjudged both in literature and in modern day society.

Everyone has people they depend on. People that he or she knows will always be there when they’re needed. But what happens when those people just don’t show up or just all of a sudden stop caring? The feeling of loneliness can break down a person’s character and reduce him to a shell, or in this case and exoskeleton, of who he once was. We can see this in The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. When Gregor Samsa finds himself transformed into a giant beetle-like creature, what he needs more than anything is the love and support of his family, but he disgusts them. They shut him up in his room so that no one can see him. They are ashamed of him, and quickly forget that he was part of their own flesh and blood. All that they can see is the monster that appears on the on the outside. Gregor’s sister and parents betray his love for them and leave him feeling lonely in the most terrifying and desperate time of his life.

Have you ever walked into school or a job and felt like you were not like everyone else? Many people struggle with the feeling of not fitting into a certain norm, which causes them to feel as though they are an outsider. In the story Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Gregor Samsa becomes an outsider when he wakes up to discover he is a monstrous bug. Not only does his family misjudge him but they starve, mistreat, and seclude him. Outsiders like Gregor Samsa have always been different and misjudged.

No matter where one goes on this dismal chunk of rock, one will probably encounter an outsider. In high school lunchrooms there is always at least one poor, sad teenager who has the unlucky seat next to the trash can. In parks and school playgrounds there is always that one melancholy kid that provides a stark contrast from the joyful shouts and screams coming from the other playing children. The experience of being an outsider is an inescapable universal condition that can be caused through social class, appearance, or other factors.

The first reason why “outsiders” are misjudged is because others judge them on where they live, who their parents are, and their social status. Ever since humans have been on earth, we place each other into a socioeconomic status. Certain people might live in a terrible, broken down house in a dangerous part of town, due to not making enough money. Others might be rich, living in a ginormous mansion, and living like a king. The poorer and less fortunate can't often help that they don’t have a lot of money. Yet, some richer people judge these poorer people on things like where they live or how they might dress. This happens a lot more in high schools, although some adults could do this too. Others might judge the “outsider” because of who raised them. The “outsider’s” parents might have had a “troubled past” in the eyes of some people and they might judge the outsider for being their child. It could also be the exact opposite and others could judge the outsider due to their parents being “wealthy” or “snobbish.” People are judged all the time based on lives that they can’t control. An outsider might want to try and create a better life for themselves

“Being an outsider means not being heard, not having a voice. It means being treated as a second-class citizen, being diminished in the eyes of others. We have all felt this way at one time or another, but some feel it more consistently.” This quote said by the American novelist, Chris Crutcher. Just as most of society agrees, the experience of being an outsider is universal. Numerous short stories and other works demonstrate the act of being an outsider. Works such as The Doll’s House by Katherine Mansfield, shows the knowledge of actually being an outsider in reality, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, shows the know-how of merely feeling like an outsider, and Fences by Pat Mora shows how parents can influence if you are or are not an outsider.

What is an outsider? An outsider is a person who is not excepted by or is isolated by society. Have you ever been an “outsider”? Everyone experiences a situation where they weren’t able to fit in. The feeling of not being able to fit it is universal. Not everyone is the same and in certain situations you may not be able to bond with everyone. Everyone is focused on being judged or being the person who is judging someone. If you are not like everyone in your society group, those people don’t except you. Nowadays our society feels that if you aren’t up to people’s expectations, you are known to be an “outsider”. Being an outsider is universal because not everyone is social, not everyone can afford nice things and not everyone is popular.

Have conflicts with others ever change how you feel about yourself? In 1915, Franz Kafka published the novella, Metamorphosis. He included many personal connections that can be seen through the character of Gregor. Due to the bad relationship that Gregor shares with his father, he possessed many conflicts within himself. His conflicts can be seen when he becomes a bug, when he starts to become distant from his family and lose the connections he once had, and when he begins to not eat.

Remember in Junior High and High School when there were groups of different people? Like the football, basketball and cheerleaders hang out in a big group, but in the other corner there are the gamers, the book smart kids and then the others that don’t fit in. So now I am asking you as a reader, what do you think? Are outsiders simply those who are misjudged or misunderstood? In my opinion, I think that the outsiders are both misunderstood and misjudged.

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.