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The metamorphosis analysis essay
The metamorphosis analysis essay
The metamorphosis analysis essay
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More handpicked essays just for you.
The metamorphosis analysis essay
The metamorphosis analysis essay
The metamorphosis analysis essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Gregor’s mother tried to justify her son being late for work because he is sick due to being a workaholic. Everyone tries to get Gregor to come out of his room,
1. Almost from the very beginning of Gregor’s metamorphosis, Mr. Samsa has been unwilling to accept Gregor as his son. Furthermore, Gregor’s transformation into an offensive form of an insect, constantly reminds Mr. Samsa of the grotesque, feeble, and pathetic aberration that he has fathered. Consequently, now that Gregor has genuinely revealed himself in all his audacious behavior, his cruel father is driven to destroy him. In his eyes, Gregor has become everything loathsome to him—scrawny, parasitic, and futile—not the kind of son this once successful and ambitious storekeeper could be proud of.
The Repercussions of Cruelty Cruel actions lead to cruel endings. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist in Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis, is turned into a bug from the mental and emotional abuse by the hands of his own family. The cruelty in the Samsa household is apparent from the beginning of the storyline. Their neglect and lack of compassion for Gregor's condition immediately sets the dark and miserable mood of the novella. Gregor’s whole existence has been about caring for his family and making sacrifices for their well being.
Gregor Samsa’s transition from human to vermin was not the only shift that happened through the duration of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. The novel is centered around Gregor who wakes up as a vermin, presumably a cockroach, which catalyses a series of emotionally traumatic experiences for him and his family, culminating in Gregor’s death. Yet the most significant change is, in fact, the gender role reversal seen both with Gregor and Grete, his sister, as Gregor becomes more effeminate and Grete becomes more emasculate, directly correlating with their societal and emotional transformation due to Gregor's physical change. From the moment, Gregor wakes up he has transformed. But not just as a vermin.
As the main character, Gregor Samsa, transforms from human state to that of a beetle, there are many aspects that are left unexplained and seemingly unstable. For example, in the novel, Gregor’s transformation into a beetle is left unexplained by Kafka. Kafka opens up the novel by stating, “When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” (Kafka 1). There is no scientific or physical evidence as to why this transformation occurred, but it can be ascertained that it is a psychological transformation.
Kafka uses diction and symbolism to convey the family’s dissatisfaction and the deterioration in their family ties. Each family member acquires a job to compensate the loss of Gregor’s salary. Kafka writes: “They were fulfilling to the utmost the demands the world makes on the poor: Gregor’s father fetched breakfast for the petty employees at the bank, his mother sacrificed herself for the underclothes of strangers, his sister ran back and forth behind the shop counter at her costumers’ behest... And the wound in Gregor’s back would begin to ache anew when… Gregor’s mother…would say: ‘shut the door now Grete’; and Gregor was left in the dark again” (Kafka
Franz Kafka, heavily influenced by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, devises the character Gregor Samsa in order to portray a detailed experience of an individual’s metamorphosis. Kafka’s narration style differs greatly from Ovid’s, in that, the narration begins with a first person perspective and changes to a third person narration, which remains consistent to the end of the novel. Unlike the stories within the Metamorphoses, there is a clear contrast in the portrayal of Gregor’s transformation. Ovid and Kafka’s depiction of a metamorphosis incorporates the concept of identity in the individual’s transition, however Kafka emphasizes the family dynamic and the hostility Gregor feels. Gregor’s family’s inability to look past Gregor’s exterior appearance
However, using Gregor’s thoughts and actions allows the reader to interpret the theme. Kafka uses Gregor and the changes of other characters as a symbol to convey the theme that alienation can cause people to feel disconnected from their lives. In the midst of the novella, it can be seen that Gregor is kept in his room from the rest of his family and previous life. However, earlier in the book his family and the chief clerk were desperate for him to open the door.
Julie was a homemaker that lacked intellectual depth which in result, weakened the bond between her and Kafka, much like Gregor and his mother, Mrs. Samsa. In The Metamorphosis, unaware of the extent of the problem, Mrs. Samsa tries to help Gregor once she found out that something was wrong with him (Kafka, 1996, p. 32). She even tried taking the furniture out of his room so, he had more room to climb around (Kafka, 1996, p. 34). She also begs Mr. Samsa to stop throwing apples at Gregor (Kafka, 1996, p.38) . However, towards the end of story, Mrs. Samsa begins to grow tired of having to care for Gregor.
It’s quite remarkable how differently people react to change; how one could be so rebellious while the other embraces it. In “The Man in a Case” written by Anton Chekhov, Byelikov is not only a reserved, quiet man who revolts against any form of change, but is also a man who makes no exceptions to his mental disciplinarian handbook of rules whether it was for personal or professional purposes. On the other hand, “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka begins with Gregor Samsa treating his change from a human being to an insect with complete disregard as though his transformation is a natural occurrence in his life. Chekhov and Kafka, in their respective works of literature, use profound figurative references and discuss the different reactions to change, which as a result intrigue and arouse the reader’s curiosity.
The text “One day in the life on ivan densiovich” takes place during such time in Russia when the government was run by Stalin, known for his trynnanical tendencies. Stalin was organizing programs which would enforce usage of machinery for development instead of old fashioned collectivization of agriculture. Millions were displaced and deprived of their lands. Those who resisted were sent to labor camps. In which one of these camps Shukhov was sent to due to resisting to enforce new methods of production as he believed it was lacking creativity since all of the designs of the carpets which were being produced where the same which would make it boring for them to work on.
Instead of grieving like a normal family, they spoke of the economic benefits that would come from his death and their future financial plans. Due to his inability to work, Gregor had become worthless to his family, and wouldn’t be missed at all. This shows how much Gregors family viewed him as an income instead of a son, no matter how much they loved him while he was an asset to the family, they couldn’t bring themselves to love him while he wasn’t able to provide money. The economic situation within their family outweighed any emotional attachment that they had towards Gregor. The family decides to leave the house, and as their sitting on the trolley with Grete they begin to talk about her upcoming marriage, and the economic benefits that her husband is going to have on their family.
However, Grete does not even notice. Towards the end of the piece, Grete is fed up with Gregor when she insists to her parents they must get rid of him. Grete states “I will not mention my brothers name when I speak of this monster here; I merely want to say: we must find some means of getting rid of it” (pg. 124). At this point, Grete has no more time to spend on Gregor.
Parents, like all humans come in all shape and size. They vary from one to another. There are those to spoil their children, but also those who use their kids to their advantage. The latter form of parenting is animated in the novel, The Metamorphosis, written by Franz Kafka. As the breadwinner of the Samsa household passes away, the new one has already being chosen.
Franz Kafka had a hard family life, his only glimmer of hope was from his sister who betrayed him. In Metamorphosis, we see that this is represented through Grete, Gregor’s sister. Grete at first tries to understand and help Gregor but later gives up hope. “‘It’s got to go,’ called the sister, ‘that’s the only remedy, Father. All you have to do is try to shake off the idea that that’s Gregor.