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Isolation In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis Essay

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In “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find that he has been transformed into a giant insect. This moment then leads to isolation from his family, along with Gregor finding his purpose in life. In the work of Franz Kafka’s book The Metamorphosis, existentialism, or the belief that people are responsible for creating the meaning of their own lives, appears in order to clearly express the impact of the transformation on Gregor and his family. The idea that people are completely free and responsible for their own choices is shown through the transformation that Gregor has encountered. With this idea, there is an underlying notion about the fact that some feel limited with their choices due to their situation …show more content…

The isolation and detachment from the things holding him back allowed Gregor to go on a journey to find his true purpose. With the lack of freedom and control over himself, he is now depending on his family to help him with his basic needs; although, he is having a difficult time communicating with them. While he was once the financial provider for his family, that is now taken away, and the absence of acceptance is shown by his family, resulting in him feeling guilt that is beyond his control (Pavlos E Michaelides). It forces him to confront who he is and find out what he wants out of life since he can not live the life he previously had. He struggles to escape the expectations and demands of his family, as well as come to terms with his new form. His existence once relied on his job as a salesman, but after his transformation, he is no longer able to work and is left with no purpose. With the transformation, Gregor has now been provided an escape from the hardships he has been experiencing (Hamedreza Kohzadi). In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, we see the expression of existentialism: isolation, freedom, and meaninglessness. The portrayal of Gregor's past is shown in his new way of life and is prominent in the idea of giving life meaning. He provides an inside look at the struggles that people go through to find purpose. The unwanted transformation led Gregor to a place to gradually find

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Gregor’s initial reaction to his transformation shows his preoccupation with work. His confusion over his radical transformation does not last long, quickly becoming concerned with work and disregarding that he woke up physically transformed into a monstrous vermin. Immediately after realizing he had transformed, Gregor explains, “Well, I haven’t given up hope completely; once I’ve gotten the money together to pay off my parents’ debt to [the boss] that will probably take another five to six years… But for the time being I’d better get up, since my train leaves at five” (4). The quick transition of Gregor’s thoughts from the initial shock to his economic duties reveals his ironic nonchalant attitude towards his nonsensical transformation and

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He is willing to take on anyone in order to support his family, which plays into the theme of family duty. Also, Gregor’s determination and military experience (pg 12) is displayed in his plan making and strategizing to capture his manager. The loyalty to his family, displayed by working and trying his best to keep a job he doesn’t want, gives insight into Gregor’s character. The unhealthy relationship Gregor has with his family is very common for a character in Franz Kafka’s book. His own tumultuous relation reflected onto his characters lives.

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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.

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“The Metamorphosis” focuses on the alienation on a common man after he can longer do what is expected of him, this is shown by Gregor 's relationship with his family, social life, and the way he goes through live after the metamorphosis. It suggests that the common man is reduced to an insect by the modern world and his family; human nature is focused mostly around us being self absorbed. We tend to look after our own need before the needs of others. Through out “The Metamorphosis” it can be seen that the more generous and selfless one is towards others, the worse one is treated. This view is in direct conflict with the way the generous common men should be treated.

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This reveals about Gregor’s family’s financial issues. He feels trapped doing a job he does not like to help pay for his parent’s debt. The debt is a large sum since it is gonna take him 5-6 years to pay it off. Therefore, after his transformation his first thought was how was he going to get to work so, he can continue paying off the

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The initial change in Gregor’s life is the first stage of his metamorphosis.

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Our interactive oral in class allowed me to dig deeper into time and place of the work. My understanding of existentialism and how it correlates with Anti-semitism within The Metamorphosis developed further. Existentialism explores human existence and the belief that everything is meaningless. Throughout The Metamorphosis existentialism is represented by Gregor and his purpose to live. Gregor's main purpose in the story is to provide for his family and stay attached to them.

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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.

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The family sees Gregor as a monster now. Someone who used to work tirelessly for them trying to help them out has now been turned on because he feels confined in the

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In reading Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” the character Gregor is the one that he uses to describe a man who has an acute loss of spirituality. For example, Gregor had a dream he was a bug and this dream became so realistic that it turned into his reality. In Gregor’s perspective, he can’t control himself and has lost his self with this dream that his voice even changes making his family worry about him. Throughout Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” Gregor’s happiness or what he thought was happiness slowly starts to deteriorate. Gregor had a job to help his parent’s pay off debt that they were in and since he can’t function as a normal human being he lost his job.

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In "The Metamorphosis," the main character, Gregor, unavoidably metamorphosizes into a “gigantic insect,” (Kafka, 1915, p. 89) and undergoes several psychological transformations that demonstrate his growing disassociation from the contemporary world. He is moreover so negatively impacted by his isolation from his family that he ends up putting his own wellness below his intense need to support the family. Throughout the transformation, Gregor begins to prioritize his own personal needs and desires as opposed to other people's needs. Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" furthermore signifies the emotional shift that Gregor experiences; the central protagonist of the novella suddenly stops behaving normally, and his surroundings continue to shift. (Kafka, 1915) Gregor had already been living an automated life under subjugation, sacrificing his personal and social life to support his family while they all remained home.

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Gregor’s metamorphosis changes him from the main provider of his household to a burden for his family and heralds the alienation of the individual person even from his closed ones. Kafka’s diction is simplistic, avoiding using verbose language and expressions. Instead he introduces vagueness and grotesque, the two elements that are to become his signature writing. His simplicity though is only superficial as his words are rich in subtle allusions. The Metamorphosis is set in a middle class neighbor in a central European city and takes place almost entirely within the Samsa family apartment.

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Gregor Samsa- Human Or Insect Gregor Samsa, an unhappy traveling salesman wakes up one morning as a cockroach. Many readers believe that his transformation is a metaphor for self sacrifice and isolation, however some readers take this information more directly and believe his physical form is an insect. Personally I took this transformation as a metaphor for how Gregor was feeling about his life and the isolation he felt from his family. In Franz Kafka's novel The Metamorphosis the main character Gregor portrays more human qualities than insect.

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Gregor is a thoughtful and compassionate person. However, he lives a life he does not enjoy. Gregor hates his job. He thinks, “Oh God, what a strenuous career it is that I’ve chosen! (…) there’s the course of travelling, worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food, contact with different people all the time so that you can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them.”

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Gregor knows that he wants to help his family but can’t, so he hides so his family can feel like he does not exist. His only hope was that his parents would love him and their love would make him ‘human’ again. It is what is keeping him alive. He hopes that after working hard for his family for five years they will return the favor by caring for him. After being rejected by his family due to his metamorphosis, he has no reason to live and his humanity started to disintegrate.

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