The Great Depression Of Franz Kafka 's The Metamorphosis

     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.

Modernism, trailing after Realism, is a style that follows the mantra “Make it new!” It challenges previous styles, focusing less on spirituality and more on science and technology, becoming apathetic and less optimistic. Narrative style is a writing style that is presents all events in chronological order, and has a tendency to change focus going from one setting to another.

Modernism is when writers proclaimed a new "subject matter" for literature and the writer feels that its new way of looking at life required a new form, a new way of writing. The writers of this period tend to pursue more experimental and usually more highly individualistic forms of

The Great Depression was a devastating time for many Americans. From 1929 to 1932, the US experienced an economic downturn that was calamitous to the lives of many people. Millions upon millions of Americans lost everything when the stock market crashed on October 29, 1929. After exiting an era that left people living a life of luxury, the stock market crash came as a surprise. As a result of the stock market crash, many became unemployed and many families were being forced to close their businesses. Although there were many factors that contributed to the cause of the Great Depression, the three main causes were The Stock Market Crash of 1929, high unemployment, a decrease in consumer purchases due to being “stuffed with stuff” during the roaring twenties.

Firstly, poverty brought on by the Great Depression spread throughout the country and made unemployment increase significantly. The output of crops in the Midwest significantly decreased because of the winds and dirt deposits onto the crops of the Dust Bowl. In Text 4, Franklin Delano Roosevelt states, “a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence…. Our greatest primary task is to put people to work.” The quote represents the fact that unemployment in America was in such a bad spot where the government needed to step in and help the majority of the people who were not financially stable. Another cause why American economy crashed is because employers realized that people would do anything for work and work for just about anything, so their immediate response was to lower worker’s wages so the employers made more money. It says in Text 3, “The volume of manufactured goods dropped sharply, as did the national payroll. The response was to lay off workers, slash dividends, reduce inventories, cut remaining wages, forgo improvements and reduce production.” The quote depicts economic struggles workers dealt with throughout the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. Overall, unemployment gripped the workforce of America, making it the worst economic depression America has ever been in.

At the time of this essay the Great Depression had occurred in 1929. “Herbert Hoover became the president in 1928.” The causes of the Great Depression was agriculture, gap between rich and poor and the Stock market speculation. ” There was a downward spiral in the Great Depression that affected people jobs.” “The Hawley-Smoot Tariff which made the Great Depression a worldwide depression.

After World War I America 's economy was booming. People everywhere were making money and spending it on electronics, movies, cars, music, and late night parties. This was the time when no one had a care in the world and just enjoyed the luxury life style. But while everyone enjoyed the new amenities and frivolous spending, no one knew what was going on with the banks. Most people were extremely overjoyed with all the money coming in, it hadn’t occurred to them what problems were happening. The Great Depression wasn 't just caused by the Stock Market Crash but by false prosperity, and overproduction, which affected people 's social life, banks, and unemployment across the country. It was only nine short years of prosperity until a dark cloud came rolling in across the country.

The 1920s seemed to promise a future of a new and wonderful way of life for America and its citizens . Modern science, evolving cultural norms, industrialization, and even jazz music heralded exciting opportunities and a future that only pointed up toward a better life. However, cracks in the facade started to show, and beginning with the stock market crash of 1929 the wealth of the country, and with it the hopes and expectations of its people, began to slip away. The Great Depression left a quarter of the population unemployed and much of the rest destitute and uncertain of what the future held. Wealth vanished, people took their money out of banks, and plans were put on hold. The most significant way in which the Great Depression affected Americans’ everyday lives was through poverty because it tore relationships apart and damaged the spirit of society while unexpectedly bringing families together in unity.

While the captivating Roaring Twenties seemed as if it were a time of exceptional success through rapidly increasing economic prosperity and somewhat radical social change, it ended with a rather large bang, leaving the citizens of the United States encumbered with numerous hardships. Hallucinations of this prosperity were created through a faulty system of credit. This flawed practice of loaning money to undeserving people manifested a shaky foundation on which the US economy sat upon. Building up such tension in the economy lead up to the stock market crash of 1929. As a result of the crash, many people were left unemployed, creating a massive restraint on industrial production. The Great Crash created the most detrimental impact to the United States during the 1920s by generating mass amounts of poverty among people.

The birth of the modernist movement in American literature was the result of the post-World War I social breakdown. Writers adopted a disjointed fragmented style of writing that rebelled against traditional literature. One such writer is William Faulkner, whose individual style is characterized by his use of “stream of consciousness” and writing from multiple points of view.

It is almost nine decades since the outbreak of great depression of 1929 and it still haunts the economy of America today. The Great Depression was a time of financial hardships and misery for the Americans. America experienced a time of wreckage and terror. The Great Depression was not a sudden collapse. Many events led up to the most traumatic economic period of modern times. World War I, the “Roaring Twenties” and unequal distribution of wealth among the people were all origins of the Great Depression but a specific cause to this disaster stills remains a mystery today.

When the great depression hit America, the country was left in devastation. Due to the

Literature: the enlightenment, romanticism, realism, modernism, and postmodernism…. Where does one begin? To some, those words can be as scary as the word computer is to others. This essay is designed to help you become a great literary interpreter. Getting the motivation is three fourths of the battle to getting into the heads of the artists. To begin, an outline of some of the literary movements has been provided.

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.