Franz Kafka 's The Metamorphosis

The main character of Kafka’s book, The Metamorphosis, is a normal, everyday salesman named Gregor Samsa who happens to wake up one day only to find that he had suddenly become a hideous insect overnight. Throughout the book, Gregor experiences neglect, disgust, and eventually complete isolation

“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.

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.

The Metamorphosis, a story written by Franz Kafka, is about the sudden transformation of Gregor Samsa into a bug. The narrator describes how Gregor’s transformation negatively affects his work, family, and social relationships; it also takes readers through Gregor’s journey of trying to regain his humanity. Throughout the story, Gregor denies his loss of humanity and attempts to preserve his previous work and family relationships because these relationships make up a great deal of his identity. Throughout his life as a bug, Gregor realizes just how much of an influence his work and family have on who he is, and life becomes difficult for him now that he is letting down both his family and his

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

In Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” Gregor Samsa dreads his daily grinding of working as a traveling salesman in order to provide for his family. Gregor endures the burden of carrying the financial responsibility of taking care of his family. While his family enjoys the fruit of his labors and live comfortably because of him. Gregor is not allowed to live for himself, this suppresses him into a shell. The family’s lack of appreciation for Gregor leads to his physical change which is his first metamorphosis. This first metamorphosis results in Gregor transforming into a hideous insect. One morning Gregor awakes late for work in his new body. Instead of being concerned about his appearance Gregor is more worried about getting to work as

In Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” the character Gregor Samsa is transformed into a giant bug while he is sleeping. Although it is never said why he turns into an oversized insect, the characters never seem to wonder why or how this has happened. It is ironic that even after undergoing something dramatic and life changing as becoming a vermin, Gregor does not question his transformation; his reaction undermines the situation entirely. Irony in “The Metamorphosis” is a reoccurring theme that affects each of the characters in the story. Gregor, who was once a genuine hard working, family orientated man, is now a beetle who feels guilty about not being able to help his family anymore. Gregor’s family sees him as a burden. Their bitterness towards him instead of sympathy through his ordeal is greatly satirical.

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 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

by Franz Kafka, the style enhances the nightmarish quality of the work by giving a very normal and nonchalant tone in clearly disturbing areas of the story. This very odd style can be seen in many occasions. One of these occasions is where Gregor is looking out his window and noticing the fog outside. He says,’ Seven o’clock and there’s still a fog like this.” This is odd due to the fact that Gregor is still ,in fact, an insect. He nonchalantly cares for the weather rather than being a bug. Most people today would not give any sort of attention to the world around them if they were no longer human. Another instance of the this style is a short while after Gregor realizes he is a vermin,yet, still stresses about his career.

The straight forward style enhances the nightmarish quality of Franz Kafka’s, “The Metamorphosis”. For instance, the dialogue in the novel between the chief clerk and Gregor’s mother; the chief clerk states, “I hope it’s nothing serious. But on the other hand, I must say that if we people in commerce ever become slightly unwell then, fortunately or unfortunately as you like, we simply have to overcome it because of business considerations” (Kafka, 257-261). In this excerpt, the chief clerk shows no signs of mercy for Gregor. Unless he is on the verge of death he is expected to be at work. This heightens the nightmarish quality because it belittles the fact the Gregor has turned into a vermin and it supports the thought that Gregor is under

Throughout Franz Kafka’s highly descriptive novella “The Metamorphosis,” the author uses the main character, Gregor Samsa, to reflect Kafka’s developing alienation and suffering. Throughout much of Kafka’s life he was alienated from his father and suffered with depression and anxiety. Escaping his hardships through his writings, Kafka reflects these hardships through Gregor Samsa, who also suffers isolation from his family while trapped in his apartment due to his immobility as an enormous bug.

“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

“The Metamorphosis” explores a series of physical, emotional, and psychological transformations that impact the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, as well as his family and how they treat him. Unlike other stories that depict the archetypal journey of the transformation, Gregor’s change occurs in the very beginning of the story as he wakes up “one morning from unsettling dreams [and finds] himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” (Kafka 1). Though his external appearance has been altered, his mind remains intact as he begins questioning how this could have happened to him and how he is going to get to work. The discord between mind body and mind leaves Gregor in a state of unrest. As the story progresses, Gregor begins acting more and more like the insect that he has become, but his mind never fully copes