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Symbolism In The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

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Could you imagine waking up as a bug? You’ll never believe what happened to Gregor Samsa in the novella “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka. The Metamorphosis is about a traveling salesman who wakes up in bed as a bug. Then he had to learn how to deal with his transformation and his relationship with his family. Before his transformation Gregor took care of his family but they abandoned him when he was no longer useful to them. Kafka uses symbolism in “The Metamorphosis” to explore the themes of alienation and isolation by using the portrait of the women in the fur, the apartment, and his family. This novella reveals that you need to enjoy your life because significant changes often come unexpectedly. Body Paragraph 1 Kafka uses symbolism …show more content…

When Gregor transformed into a bug he could no longer leave his apartment. This made Gregor depressed and miserable. To demonstrate this point the text states “These explanations by his father were, in part, the first enjoyable thing that Gregor had the chance to listen to since his imprisonment.” (pg 25). The relevance of this evidence is to show that Gregor felt like a prisoner after his transformation. This connects back to the themes of alienation and isolation because Gregor can longer work his job as a traveling salesman to support his family, so he is now stuck in his apartment. When Gregor turned into a bug his family fell into the poor class of society and they wanted to move to a smaller apartment they could afford. But because they did not know what to do with Gregor they could not leave which made them feel trapped. For example, “But the greatest complaint was always that they could not this apartment, which was much too big for their present means, since it was impossible to imagine how Gregor might be moved.” (pg 40). As shown above, the apartment was causing problems for the whole family. Not being able to leave played a big role in the theme of isolation. To conclude, the apartment was a symbol for the author when he explored the themes of isolation and

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The sight of Gregor moving and talking frightens his mother causing her to spill coffee on the rug. His father tries to shove the insect into his bedroom with the manager’s cane that he left behind and a newspaper. The door is not open all the way and Gregor is slammed into the door, letting bug guts ooze all over the door. His father gives him one last push and slams the door behind

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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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Here Gregor is contemplating the impracticality of missing work, while completely ignoring the fact that he turned into a vermin. Gregor’s ignorance to his own personal problems highlights his dedication to pay off his family 's debts (pg 9), at the expense of his wellness. The overcast weather and the mention of his depressed mood creates a pessimistic mood which would feed into Gregor’s already gloomy outlook on life. His want to sleep and forget his problems shows a pressure that Gregor must always be under. His hardworking attitude doesn’t match up to his willingness to ignore his problems.

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“The Metamorphosis”, written by Franz Kafka, takes place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the city is unspecified. The protagonist, Gregor Samsa, is turned into a giant bug and struggles to regain his harmonious life as a traveling salesman. Gregor goes through both a physical and emotional change throughout the novel, from turning into a bug and then being unable to provide for his family because of his condition. Gregor has been changed into a giant bug where he is a not a pleasant eyesight to his family and isn't accepted by his father and mother but only his sister. As the novella begins,”he found himself transformed right there in his bed into some sort of monstrous insect”.

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Gregor was turned into a bug “’ Did you understand even a single word?’ … “‘That was an animals voice,”’ (Kafka 23). In this quote Gregor’s family first realized that he was not himself. Gregor used to be a businessman and unlike Victor his whole body changed from a human to a bug.

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Imagine one day waking up with a terrible dream and was turned into a bug. Well, that’s what happened to Gregor Samsa, a short novella called “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka. When Gregor Samsa was turned into a bug, his father, mother, and his sister treats him differently. At first, Gregor’s family feels sorry for him and then later on, his family treats him like a bug. As the days goes by his family became more frustratuate on him.

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This is the reason he isolated himself from his family. Gregor is forced to work in an environment he hates but his transformation overlooks that. He doesn’t have to suffer from his occupation and allows him to spend more time with his family. However, this change only had a positive affect temporarily.

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Gregor’s isolation and loneliness begins to toy with his composure, he becomes unpredictable and frightening to his family. Although, Gregor’s slow transformation from man to bug eventually becomes beneficial to Gregor. For instance, Gregor’s bug-like appearance allows him to be released from his family's high expectations. As for his developing bug-like qualities helps him to register his inner anger he feels towards his father. Gregor now realizes his father shows no sympathy towards Gregor and instead punishes him for something he has no control over.

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The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka focuses on the twisted hidden identity of people and how it affects the society when it is reveled. Kafka depicts this ugly truth through an exaggerated extended metaphor of Gregor Samsa’s random transformation to a bug. Gregor is a travel salesman who found himself “transformed…into a horrible vermin” (1) one morning, and this transformation is what causes Gregor and everything around him to change: the ones he loved, the ones loved him, and the rest of the society. Kafka’s usage of extended metaphor crates an understated tone, which argues the restricted social norms and social rejections when one revels his or her true self. Kafka compares the idea of your true self to a bug to unravel how everyone—including

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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.

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Franz Kafka is a German novelist who wrote “The Metamorphosis.” In the story, he uses a third person point of view narrative. The novel uses absurdum, which exaggerates and dramatize the absurdity of modern life. The protagonist, Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, struggles with an external factor of transforming into an insect like creature. The transformation was not under his control and now struggles with a new identity.

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Upon awakening one morning, Gregor discovers he has transformed into a monstrous insect, incapable of performing his daily tasks. The melancholy tale follows its

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(Kafka 14). Although he had just awoken to find himself transformed into a gigantic bug, Gregor worried more about how much he despised his work. The pressure that the family placed on Gregor led him to be less concerned with his own well-being; furthermore, his inability to get to work makes Gregor feel guilty. Gregor is enslaved to his job and his family; when his mother said, "'Believe me, sir, there's something the matter with him. Otherwise how would Gregor have missed a train?

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In the beginning some notice is taken of Gregor. He misses work, so his boss stops by, and Gregor is able to make excuses for himself. But as the story progresses he ceases to speak to in any human language and begins to just hiss and squeak like a cockroach. Gregor is locked in his room, begins eating scraps of food and waste from around the house that would have previously been scorned. Essentially he becomes the cockroach, not the man.

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Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis reveals the symbol of the apple in two lights, destruction and growth, and finding a person’s place in the

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