Analysis Of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

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The modern man’s isolation is inevitable. The modern man is expected to work eight hours a day, five times a week in order to provide for the family. Oftentimes, work is but a repetitive daily struggle consisting menial tasks meaningless to the workers. The workplace has become a controlled laboratory with the most efficient processes designed to bring in the most revenue to the business owner. Society looks down on those who refuse to participate in the rat race, whether voluntarily or circumstantial. In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka warns us of the consequences that befall those who do not conform to the norms and expectations of the modern society. The 1914 novella tells us of the metamorphoses in the life of Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman who woke up one morning as a “gigantic insect”. Gregor Samsa’s physical transformation into a “gigantic insect” brought drastic changes to the dynamics of the household. However, Kafka’s in a matter-of-fact way of narrating made the piece seem like a light read, a disparity to the dark unfolding of events. Everything told fast going on fast. We are told of Gregor’s thoughts, flashbacks, the daily happenings. The narration gives a feeling of reading the daily newspaper or watching news channels. We are greeted with a shocking headline (“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.”). the novella continues in detailed yet monotonic voice as if turning