Summary Of Walter H. Sokel's Metamorphosis

Gregor is treated differently than every person in his family and as well as everyone in the world. For example, Gregor is fed trash from the garbage instead of actual food because his sister realizes that Gregor does not want fresh food anymore. He is treated like a vermin in part because he has been treated like one for so long so he starts to feel like an actual bug. His parents did not care about him and they did not give their son the treatment he deserved. Towards the end of the novel

Many times throughout our life, we wake up and do the same monotonous tasks every day and our lives rarely see change. We do not add any flavor or interest to our lives and consequently our expectations rarely change. But, how would you react if one morning you woke up and had somehow turned into a giant bug? Welcome to Gregor Samsa’s life. The Metamorphosis shines light on Franz Kafka’s own bitter life as his experiences are relived and reimagined through the timeline of Gregor Samsa. If the characters in this story were a representation of Kafka’s own life it reveals how truly awful it was. Indirect characterization intensifies the overall text by developing the characters and tying together Gregor’s fictitious world with Franz Kafka’s own reality.

     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.

Kafka’s Metamorphosis suggests to his readers to take a glimpse inside a dysfunctional atmosphere triggered from a painful childhood, to see how influential each member of the family contributes to the dynamics, but also to learn how to make light of the situation with acceptance. Kafka is reflecting on his own relationship with his family in Metamorphosis. He sees himself in Gregor, or is he him.

The deeper meaning of “The Metamorphosis”, by Frank Kafka, can be interpreted in many ways depending on critical theory is used to examine it. From a feminist criticism, one can observe how Gregor’s dominance as a male diminishes after he becomes a bug as his sister’s strength and role in the family grows stronger. From a biographical criticism, one can compare and contrast the traits of Gregor and the people around him with that of Kafka’s own life and his relationships. However, the focus of this essay will be applying a psychoanalytical criticism to the characters in “The Metamorphosis”, using the studies of Sigmund Freud to approach

People have a high amount of pressure on them in their daily lives with social, mental, and physical appearances. Kafka represents this pressure he has on himself through Gregor. This allows Kafka to vent many emotions and feelings through this novella Everyone is there own person but some take others opinions to heart to often and need to see things are not as bad as they seem. Throughout The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, Kafka displays himself through Gregor, and shows his true feelings about people and society he lives in.

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 “Metamorphosis”: Rebellion and Punishment” is written using and expressionist point of view, with influences from Freud. Walter Sokel explains Freud’s study of “accidents” and how “Metamorphosis” displays it. Freud’s theory states that accidents “are often acts springing from motives of which the conscious mind keeps carefully unaware” (209). When Gregor scares his boss and causes him to forget his cane and hat it actually makes Gregor happy. Sokel writes that “the metamorphosis fulfills Gregor’s secret

In “Franz Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ as Death and Resurrection Fantasy,” Webster clarifies how Gregor is not the only one transformed by his situation, as well as the negative effects that have been brought on by it. The tone used by Webster in his essay brings about this negative feel towards the transformation itself, as well as a cynic view towards most of the novel, especially the title. “'Metamorphosis' is misleading as a title,” because it entails that only one person or being is being metamorphosised; instead, “it should be pluralized since the whole family…father, mother, and sister…are equally transformed.” By giving a reason as to why the title is erroneous, Webster expresses his disturbance towards the title and that Kafka should have realized this and given the proper form of the word. He declares that “Grete…finally refers to…Gregor as ‘It’ and insists that unless he is rejected…the whole family will disintegrate,” interpreting Grete’s altered view towards him as a sign that she has also grown up through this. The syntax displayed only adds to the negativity towards not just the title, but other parts of the book. Grete’s sudden outburst combines with the syntax of other pieces in the article to display Webster’s assertion on the negativity of the whole family’s transformation. This contrasts with the positive outlook towards it

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.

In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka conveys the series of emotional and psychological repercussions of a physical transformation that befalls the protagonist, a young salesman called Gregor Samsa. As the story progresses, Gregor finds himself unfairly stigmatized, cruelly rejected because of his clear inability to financially support his family, and consequently increasingly isolated. Through extensive use of symbolism, Kafka is able to relate the surreal and absurd, seemingly arbitrary events of this short story to a general critique of society-particularly on the alienating effects that conformity generates. On a broader level, the combined themes-which include the themes of conformity, freedom, and alienation--found throughout The

Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis (1915) is a novella about protagonist Gregor, a hard-working traveling salesman transforms into some a vermin overnight and struggles to adjust to his startling change. Kafka characterizes Gregor as a selfless individual whose profound love for his family misleads him about their genuine disposition. As he adjusts to his new change, he undergoes great difficulty to determine his identity and humanity. Gregor has deceived himself into believing that his family will love him despite his repulsive appearance. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka uses characterization and third-person narrative to demonstrate Gregor’s self-deception and self-awareness regarding his family and circumstances to establish the theme of identity.

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

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,

During the presentations, several articles and vital information were presented to the class to get a further understanding of the Metamorphosis. The majority of subjects introduced were abut Kafka’s life behind the books, and interpretations, criticism, and influenced authors. The presentation “Kafka’s biography” we learned that Kafka had a very close relationship with his sisters, being the oldest of six. I believe this is why Gregor had a very close relationship with his sister. He turned into a monstrous vermin and had no one but his sister Grete to confide in. Kafka was also a fulltime insurance officer by day and by night Kafka did what he loved most which was write books non stop. This relates to Gregor because he was a salesman and