Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis Literary Analysis

Is the projection of his own life, as seen through the similarities between Gregor Samsa and the author, a creative method with a purpose of exposing the struggles of a human being who lives without personal aspirations by obligation? In The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka writes about the life of Gregor Samsa, a middle aged man that has been overwhelmed by the stress of having to work full time in order to support his parents and his younger sister; all of a sudden, he woke up as an insect. Despite the surrealness within the plot that Gregor Samsa has created, it does not distinguish itself from his characteristics as a writer and a human being. Throughout the story, the reader follows the series of absurd events that occur to Gregor Samsa in his

Also, not only did he feel controlled by the educational system, but by his own father who pressured him to get a job that he wanted not one that Kafka wanted.(“Franz Kafka (1883-1924).”) This can be seen throughout the story and the life of Gregor Samsa in almost every aspect. Samsa is also being forced into having a job he doesnt want and he must provide for his whole family while his mother, father and younger sister all stay home and do nothing. Gregor Samsa was tired of it all, he was somewhat happy to be an insect and not have to deal with the constant stresses of having a job and taking care of his family. After Kafka graduated from high school he went to the “Charles Ferdinand University of Prague”, where he studied chemistry, until he decided to comply with his father’s wishes and pursue a career on law (“Franz Kafka.”) Nonetheless, this career path gave him the opportunity to explore topics such as arts and literatures which interested him to a great extent. This aspect of his personal life is very well portrayed in the story because Gregor Samsa was forced to work at a job he does not enjoy, a commuting salesmen. It is clear in the literary work that the only reason he stayed at his job was because to please his family, assure their well being, and

Also, he was a successful businessman in the retailing of women and mens clothing thus explaining why he wanted his son to have a profession such as becoming a lawyer, due to the high degree of respect the job entails. (“Franz Kafka (1883-1924)”) His father would express how little fond he was of Kafka 's interest in literature rather than law by his low tolerance and short temper. Kafka believed that most of his struggles related to his romance and other personal obstacles were caused by the strain of the complicated relationship between him and his father. As he showed it in his book through his boss, which Gregor was scared of because of how badly he treated him and how he was an overbearing figure that could manipulate and affect someone just because of the power that they have over them. After Samsa’s boss witnessed the transformation from human to being an insect he told Samsa that he had been working very poorly and that he wanted him to put more of an effort or he would get fired. This shows how his boss used his excessive amount of power compared to Samsa’s to make sure he would work harder.

Ultimately, this shows how Franz Kafka used the character of Gregor Samsa in the Metamorphosis to portray his own life through his relationship with his father, his childhood at school and how he was able to become a well known writer because