The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

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.

     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.

In the article, written by Walter H. Sokel, he goes into depth about how Franz Kafka’s life is reflected in the book The Metamorphosis and his other writings. Sokel ties together multiple aspects of the novel and their importance to Gregor and his family dynamic as a whole. Many of the points made in the article address the absurdity of the situation the novel presents and the underlying meaning in the actions of the characters. The premise of the article is pointing to the facts that Gregor's predicament is Kafka inserting his own life frustrations into his literary works. In each passage of the article another part of Gregor's life is laid bare. Sokel’s many inferences that the fault is in Gregor's own doing and not his situation in life, create a complex maze of cause and effect.

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.

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.

In Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, in desperate need of appreciation, took the responsibility and obligation of maintaining his unappreciative family member’s every day life. While traumatic instances occur, the limits of the family’s loyalty and sympathy for Gregor’s needs are rejected by the ones he cherishes the most. Obviously, one can notice the unconditional love Gregor shows his family, but the profound transformation he physically endures leaves him now as his family’s burden (SparkNotes Editors). Although many instances occur throughout Gregor’s transformation that shows new profound realization of his unsympathetic family, one can analyze the many

In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Gregor is not the only presence that undergoes a complete transformation. Sometimes a change in one area of life will give way to changes in other areas, but the ensuing changes would not have come about without the first change that set things in motion. This is the case with Gregor and his family. Gregor’s family was in dire need of change, and Gregor’s condition became a powerful catalyst for that change. Gregor’s metamorphosis facilitates the change of his entire family, proving that oftentimes an outside source is needed to pull people out of a rut and get them on their feet again.

Waking up one morning as an insect is not a common occurrence. Although there are many different ways to interpret and describe The Metamorphosis, there is no doubt that the main character, Gregor Samsa, experiences prominent acts of betrayal after his strange alteration, both with others and within himself. Consequently, Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis embodies various examples of betrayal through Gregor’s father abandoning him, Gregor giving up his life, and Grete losing her faith in Gregor’s human restoration.

Additionally, Kafka’s relationships with his family members further demonstrate the devaluation and isolation present in his life. Concerning the novella, Straus writes, “the narration focuses on how Gregor invalidates his family, how his family invalidates and destroys Gregor.” (Nina Pelikan Straus) The story itself focuses on Gregor’s exile from his family by his family. Such exile reflects the invalidation of Kafka in his own and the destruction Kafka felt from his own family. Furthermore, Gregor’s father states that “if he could understand us, then maybe we could come to an agreement with him.” (Metamorphosis) Kafka’s own father was unable to come to terms with him and his experience is paralleled by Gregor and his

The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, is a book outlining the changes in opinions, and views over a period of time. Gregor wrote during a time when anti-Semitism was starting to become a popular way of mind, where people were influenced into changing their mind set, especially with him being a Jew. In The Metamorphosis, Gregor is seen as an outsider to many, but had support from his family, but not for long. Kafka’s portrayal of Gregor’s family’s opinions, especially his sister, in the Metamorphosis towards Gregor change as other influences and social norms become more frequent.

Franz Kafka, in his novel The Metamorphosis, explores two conflicting ideas through his protagonist Gregor: unity and isolation. Gregor’s transformation created a whole life of distress for him, but on the other hand also formed a deeper and better relationship for the rest of the family.

In Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis,” Gregor Samsa deals with the alienation from his family stemming from both absurd and mundane circumstances. While Gregor’s transformation into a bug is the catalyst to his physical alienation, Gregor had for years been becoming more and more isolated mentally and emotionally from his family due to his displeasure at his having to work a job he hated due to his father’s failings and the lack of gratitude he received from his family for his hard work. It was not just his family who Gregor was becoming isolated from, but it was humanity in general that Gregor had been drifting apart from, as he had not mentioned having any friends or work colleagues which leads the readers to believe he had no social life

Similar to Frost’s poem, Kafka’s novella, Metamorphosis explores the life of the protagonist, Gregor, as he encounters a sudden physical transformation which acts as a catalyst for his self-discovery. Kafka's incorporation of nature and social disconnection, through the metaphor of transformation of the protagonist from human to vermin, allows the audience to explore Gregor’s emotional instability in relation to his perspective upon himself, through the representation of his changing psychological state through the life of a bug. Kafka uses descriptive language such as “armour-like back… and brown belly, slightly doomed and divided by arches into stiff section” prompting thought and imagination amongst the readers, creating a lasting impact in the mind of the reader through the use of symbolism of the surrounding natural environment. The use of anthropomorphism emphasises the protagonist’s discovery and self-evaluation of his own worth and value both within society and his family. Kafka expresses the issues of prioritising a job and how the constant travel made to and from work restricts and individuals ability to have human interaction “…you can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them” as limiting the persona’s potential to discover. As evident within Gregor’s speech, the idea of self-discovery is illuminated through the abrupt change in appearance into his new insect body “Gregor was shocked when he heard his own voice… it could hardly be recognised.” In this dialogue Kafka reveals how the protagonist quite literally realises he has no say within his household to call out for help, or simply to voice his opinion. As Gregor accepts his transformative self-discovery, through his change in perspective as he reflects upon his ability to view life in a new light from the aspect of being an insect. Similarly, both

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