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How Does Franz Kafka Use Internal Conflict In The Metamorphosis

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Life choices and Regret The choice to regret something is presented on a daily basis. The internal conflict of decision making allows one to give into the decision to not regret or to give into the decision which will cause regret. In the book, The Metamorphosis written by the German Jewish writer Franz Kafka and published in the year of 1915, the author uses internal conflict to show how in order to live a meaningful life, regret must accompany it. At the beginning of the novel through the structural element of dialogue, the author shows the internal conflict of Gregor fighting his thoughts to go to work through the following quote, “‘oh God,’ he thought, ‘what a grueling job I’ve picked’” (3). The dialogue shows the internal conflict through …show more content…

Gregor had done something unintentional that ended up coming out the wrong way so, “Now Gregor was cut off from his mother. Who perhaps near death through his fault…; now there was nothing for him to do except wait; and tormented by self-reproaches and worry he began to crawl, crawled over everything… and finally in desperation as the whole room was beginning to spin, fell down onto the middle of the big table” (35). Gregor caught his mother by surprise and scared her, because of this unintentional act he felt guilty thinking if she were to die it would have been his fault. Kafka uses strong negative diction to show this irony. The words “tormented, “self-reproach” “worry” and “death” create a negative tone and it establishes internal conflict because Gregor is feeling tormented by self-reproach and worry through an action which was never meant to cause a bad outcome. Through this internal conflict, it leads Gregor to the revelation of the negative feelings and thoughts of his family towards him. Presented here is crucial evidence because due to this event Gregor gets injured by Mr. Samsa badly and from there on we can see how Gregor’s will to live life has left. Kafka gives essential social commentary on how people’s true colors are shown when someone hurts something they love; this revelation of true feelings can lead one to be susceptible to emotional harm leading to a discontent life when there is no regret being felt in a unfulfilled

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