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.

“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.

Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, is the story of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who is responsible for the financial well-being of his entire family, yet experiences an unfortunate metamorphosis into a giant bug. However, while Gregor undergoes a disturbing physical transformation, the family dynamic changes drastically as well. The family’s treatment of Gregor slowly deteriorates from them regarding him as the basis for their financial success and security to regarding him as no more than an extraordinary nuisance that holds them back from a brighter future.

Franz Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis, takes place in the Post-World War I era. In a world dominated by cold machinery and irrational fears, Kafka constructs a criticism of humanity through the transmutation of Gregor from a human to a monstrous vermin. Kafka’s symbolism of Gregor’s bug form primarily serves to indicate how humanity underappreciates themselves and keep value within materialistic ideals. Gregor’s character development from almost drone-like to individualistic ultimately implies that the metamorphosis is not just a physical mutation, but rather a mental transformation in which Gregor grows as an individual.

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 Franz Kafka 's Metamorphosis, Grete changes from a child into an adult while also trying to do the opposite with her own family. Gregor’s metamorphosis leaves her family without anybody money to pay for their needs. Consequently, Grete replaces Gregor and begins to cook and clean for her family and go to work. These jobs allow Grete to become more experienced and to mature. Similarly, Grete shows displays these changes by dressing more provocatively and becoming more interested in romance. However, during Grete’s own metamorphosis, she realizes the burden that is (or was) her brother and proves to her family that he is no longer human. Since she wants to keep her family the same as it was before Gregor’s metamorphosis, Grete convinces her parents of this absence of Gregor’s real personality and tries to get rid of him. Thus, Grete’s goal is to keep her family the same as it is before Gregor’s metamorphosis, and to accomplish this, Grete simultaneously goes through her own metamorphosis into an adult woman as a result of the many jobs she takes to keep her family in the same situation as before.

In the story “The Metamorphosis”, written by Franz Kafka, Gregor’s family represents the causing factor that prompts Gregor to become a cockroach. Gregor’s family is a symbol of a repressive structure that inhibits Gregor’s every thought and action. When Gregor gets up in the morning to get ready for work and finds that he has been transformed into a cockroach, he ponders about how maybe he should just go in to work late and get fired, but then realizes that he cannot because “if [he] were not holding back because of [his] parents, [he] would have quit long ago” (Kafka 8). This quote displays how the family contains immense power over Gregor which causes him to turn into a cockroach that symbolizes that he has become alienated, has

Selfishness is omnipresent in the context of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Throughout the story, the Samsa family struggle to balance their own lives and the sympathy for Gregor, the only son, as his transformation from human to cockroach leaves a burden on the family and results in the loss of Gregor’s humanity. Despite the fact that Gregor had been the sole income of the family, the loss of humanity from becoming a cockroach was overwhelming to the family, resulting in selfish tendencies. Kafka displays how humans are unintentionally selfish, especially when the inability to sympathize diminishes through the family’s relationships.

The Metamorphosis, an ironically dejected novella by Franz Kafka tells the story of a family dealing with the fact that their son and brother was turned into a bug. The bug symbolizes the lack of control and acceptance through which Kafka implies that nothing in life is predictable so it's best to remain strong. When Gregor is first turned into a bug he realizes he has very little control of his body and soon finds out that he had no control over his life when it is revealed that his family had money and used Gregor for years.

From ‘The Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka, I believe that Gregor, if given the chance, would relive his life. Gregor could use this second chance to pay more attention to himself and his own needs, spend more time at home with his family, and attempt to find a profession that he actually wants . In the story, Gregor is introduced in a state of sorrow. Gregor lives a life of overloaded responsibility with a lack of appreciation for his efforts and money contributions to his family.

The novel contains the stereotype that women are the care providers and entertainers for the family. They do so by preparing and serving food, as can be seen between Mr. and Mrs. Samsa and between Gregor and Grete, when she feeds him a multitude of different foods to see which he prefers. Also, they help by cleaning around the house and fixing the house to the comfort of the men, which they did by removing furniture from Gregor’s room. Furthermore, when the three tenants moved in, Mrs. Samsa cooked them food and Grete entertained them with her violin.

In “The Metamorphosis,” Kafka utilizes the idea of alienation in a few different contexts: there is the alienation Gregor is experiencing between himself and his identity/well-being, the alienation spawning between himself and his humanity, and the isolation between him and his family. In the text, Gregor has alienated himself from any semblance of a personal identity mostly due to the emphasis he has placed on his work. Gregor’s life revolves around work, as it takes precedence over all else. This is evidenced by the lack of a reaction he had towards the discovery of his transformation, instead focusing on how “strenuous” his career is and the repercussions of possibly missing work that day. The man has just turned into a big cockroach with no explanation as to why or how this has happened, and all he wonders about is what would happen if he told off his boss. This is a testament to how much he defines himself through his work,