The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

In the book, Metamorphosis, Frank Kafka tells the story of a dysfunctional family that becomes even more dysfunctional when their son, Gregor, transforms into a cockroach. Before and after his transformation, Gregor has a variety of identity and self-esteem issues. Through his transformation, many of these issues are maximized. He begins to not know who he is anymore, and he is disgusted by the fact that he has turned into a hideous creature, both figuratively and literally. This is demonstrated when he has woken up after turning into a cockroach with an itch. After he tries to scratch his itch, he notices one of his many insect legs and is revolted by the truth. The immensity of his disgust is portrayed in his reaction to his transformation into a bug. He does not react how most people would if they woke up one morning to find that they have been turned into what most would consider the world’s most repulsive insect. Instead of waking up in a panic, he simply reflects on his life as a human and how monotonous it was. In this reflection, it becomes clear that his family is codependent on him. Codependency is a major concern, and it should be addressed.

Walter H. Sokel’s critical analysis essay Education for Tragedy focuses on Gregor’s and his family’s mindset and the psychological aspect of not only the characters in the novella, but as well as Kafka himself. Sokel makes outstanding points that allow the reader to think about the psychological and literal aspect of the characters themselves, rather than why what happened with Gregor happened. Sokel, instead, focuses on the emotional aspect and what the metamorphosis itself represents as a whole rather than as just a random, unexplainable transformation. Sokel explains Gregor’s relief and release from slaving over his family day in and day out in a job that he despises, and his sudden transformation. Gregor thinks that he is not required to go on “slaving”. The family treats him as neither a human nor a bug, but, rather, as an personification of the most disgusting, most dangerous side of his personality. One side of the metamorphosis, as Sokel states, is the anger and aggression. The metamorphosis turns Gregor into something that people become fearful and anxious about, and, to the father, enrages; unconsciously embodying Gregor’s own bitter discontent. The other side is helplessness, the metamorphosis representing guilt, namely because he is too scared or cowardly to stand up for himself and rebell, allowing people to

“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.

    Gregor Samsa lives a dreary and disconnected life as a traveling salesman for one reason: family debt. Gregor works for 5 years straight, taking no sick days, in order to settle this debt brought upon his family by their ruined business. All of this occurs before Part 1 of the story, before Gregor turns into an insect. Economic strain causes emotional strain, that is often a fact of life, and the Samsas are no different. Gregor endures the subsequent stress all the way up until his transformation which is the turning point on which the rest of the story hinges. Franz Kafka enacts themes of alienation, economic stress, and depression because they can cause transformations in those that suffer these physical and mental states.

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 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.

A metamorphosis can be described as a change in structure, form, or appearance, or as a change in form from one stage to the next in an organism’s life. In Franz Kafka’s novella, “The Metamorphosis”, change is a major theme. The theme of change is significant as the main character, Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, undergoes a metamorphosis of his own as he experiences changes living as a giant insect. However, Gregor’s journey through his new life is not subjective, as his transformation provokes significant changes in his family’s dynamics. In fact, Gregor’s transformation into an insect is not the main focus of the novella. Kafka uses Gregor’s metamorphosis as a way to emphasize the more significant metamorphosis within the Samsa

What is betrayal actually? How do we visualize it? In what particular ways do we see it? A wide range of literature has been dedicated to the phenomenon of betrayal demonstrated in different ways. In the course of this essay two works of literature will be analyzed having regard to the issue of betrayal revealed therein. The work of art to be analyzed first will be The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. The Metamorphosis is a surreal story by Franz Kafka surrounding the tale of Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one day, reborn into a large insect. He wants to live a normal life, unfortunately, this is impossible because he cannot 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 a human form, the hero was beyond human existence. He is automatically deprived of the right to be a part of society.

In The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka tells the story of a young man named Gregor who observes the radical changes in his life after transforming into an insect. Gregor’s life was centered on his job as a traveling salesperson and his family. One morning Gregor woke up transformed into an insect. Afraid of the transformation Gregor stays in his room and ignores calls from his family. When Gregor realized that his new body did not allow him to have a normal life, he tried to adapt. After his metamorphosis, Gregor is abandoned by his family and only maintains a small relationship with his sister Grete, who is in charge of serving and provide him with food, but always leaving some distance because of his ugly appearance.

One instance that Kafka uses to critique the modern man’s situation in the novella is the opening scene. Although, upon waking up, Gregor immediately discovers he has transformed into a monstrosity, instead of his mind being occupied by thoughts on how such a thing could have taken place and what effects it will have on his life as a whole, he instead ponders on mundane topics such as paying of his family’s debt and reaching work on time. This is shown in Gregor’s thoughts, “If I didn 't have my parents to think about I 'd have given in my notice a long time ago, I 'd have gone up to the boss and told him just what I think… let him know just what I feel. He 'd fall right off his desk. Well, there 's still some hope; once I 've got the money together to pay off my parents ' debt to him - another five or

Much of Franz Kafka's story “The Metamorphosis” spends it's time talking about Gregor as he struggles to live his new life as a bug. Gregor tries to find a analytical reason as to why he has taken upon this form but later on finds on that he has to accept the truth. From being an ordinary travel salesman and provider for his family to a abomination, Gregor becomes hopeless as he can't work or provide for his family. His new life as an insect causes a hardship as he is faced with isolation from his family, transformation, and guilt. Gregor discovers himself when he sees how the world looks at him from his transition from a human to an insect. Gregor's death illustrates the cruelty of society and denial of his family when they can't obtain the things they want in life anymore because of his new form.

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 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

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is an absurd but interesting tale about a young man who wakes up to find that he has turned into an insect one weekday morning. The edition I used was Norton Critical Edition, but it was translated and edited by Stanley Corngold. The Metamorphosis is a tale that has hidden meanings in every sentence and can be viewed in multiple ways. In this essay I will be talking about the effect the transformation has on everyone, Gregor’s role/ responsibilities in the family, how Gregor was dehumanized even before turning into an insect, what the book can be interpreted as, and what the novella reveals about son/father relationship of Kafka/Gregor.

“In The Metamorphosis by Franz Kakfka, the style enhances the nightmarish quality of the work.” The style enhances the nightmarish quality of the work because the straightforward style seems to add in details all at once, but doesn’t give the major details for the readers to be able to fully understand the plot and the way Franz Kafka is trying to present his work. This is shown when Gregor wakes up and realizes he doesn’t have the form of a regular human being and when he feels a slight pain on his belly and sees that it’s covered in a white layer of specks that hurt to the touch. I believe that Gregor turning into an unknown creature creates a nightmarish effect because the author adds small details giving away hints of what Gregor might