In The Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka cruelty is what stemmed Gregor’s change into a large bug and subconsciously motivated him to end his life. Gregor’s new form was a depiction of how he already felt in his household, trapped, voiceless, and small. As Gregor’s metamorphosis developed so did the characters cruelty which affected both the perpetrators and the victims. The Samasa family’s cruelty was demonstrated both physically and mentally by Gregor’s father driving him back into his room, throwing apples at him and by Grete’s use of the word “it”.
Most notably, his reaction is extremely calmer than normal people would be. As a human, Gregor accepted the hardships he faces by his family without complaint. He is a naive and decent person. He works in anonymity without uttering words to earn money for the whole family even he did not even like this “exhausting job he’ve picked on”(p89) since his dad’s failure in business. Similarly, when he first realized he had transformed into an insect, he was not disgusted by his looking and condition, he did not wonder how he turned to an insect and how to transform back to a human.
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.
Another example in the story is how he could no longer work off the family debt after being changed to a cockroach. The story tells the reader how in Gregor’s society, the son, which is him, has to work and make money for their parents.
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.
While surely this monster seems quite fictional, the amount of recurrence of the legend only makes it seem more concrete. In Franz Kafka Metamorphosis, a normal man transforms into an insidious bug. The main character, Gregor, faces a change in lifestyle and must spend his days in confinement. Even though Gregor does not try to harm anyone, people in the story get fed up by his issues and fail to discern he still possess human qualities. For example, when Gregor listens to his sister play violin, how “ was he an animal if music could captivate him so?”
Elizabeth Pace Doctor Jane Hinckley IHUM 202-001 12 August 2023 Denial of Worth Kafka created a compelling short story that delves into family relationships, commenting on the worth that is placed on family members depending upon their accomplishments and the services and benefits that they offer to their family. Kafka’s main character, Gregor, wakes up and discovers he has been transformed into a vermin one morning, testing his relationships with his family as some believe the bug is him and others do not. Throughout Metamorphosis, food is a powerful symbol used as a mirror to reflect the family’s emotion towards Gregor and the unfortunate circumstances surrounding his transformation into a bug. As the story progresses, the emotions of his
When the narrator introduces Gregor, he grows very concerned about the origin of his metamorphosis: “One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin” (Kafka). Initially, Gregor maintained a strong relationship with his sister, Grete, who kept a constant supply of food in his room. However, as Gregor’s mentality began to develop more animalistic instincts, such as a preference of the rotten food, Grete withdraws herself from Gregor’s presence, despising her meetings with the vermin. When Gregor finally began to accept his form as a bug, he realizes the despicable treatment from his family, “Sometimes he thought that the next time the door opened he would take charge of the family's affairs again, just as he had done in the old days. At other times he was in no mood to worry about his family, he was completely filled with rage at his miserable treatment, and although he could not imagine anything that would pique his appetite, he still made plans for getting into the pantry to take what was coming to him” (Kafka).
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.
Having adult responsibilities means that people will start to be dependent on other people and that they have a responsibility to help meet their needs, such as a responsibility towards one's family. Often those responsibilities can be forced upon someone due to certain circumstances and as a result their personality can completely change. That is the situation with Grete in “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, that due to the ramification of taking care of her brother’s condition Grete’s overall character changes into that of a responsible adult but in the process she becomes a cruel person. Grete character in the story starts out as a quite and naive girl who prefers to stay in the background and is sensitive enough to suddenly start crying when she tries to get her brother out of his bedroom. Before Gregor’s condition Grete couldn't do anything on her own and wasn’t a dependable person.
There are hundreds of works of literature out in the world, many of them are great, and some are not as great. What makes them great is the truth behind them, the true feelings, and what it truly meant to the author. Many great works of literature are influenced by several different things, in the case of “The Metamorphosis”, it was influenced by the life of Franz Kafka, the author, and his real- life experiences. The Freudian concept help explain why “The Metamorphosis” contains symbols and clues that can be used to compare certain relationships throughout Kafka’s life, one being with his father, and the other with woman who entered his life. Franz Kafka was a German man who worked as a lawyer who worked at the workmen’s Accident Insurance
“As it were armour-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his dome-like brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top” (Kafka, 1916, pg.9) the opening of the story provides a vivid description of Gregor’s transformation, thus engages the reader, as it throws them straight into a surreal nightmare.
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.
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.
Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis is the tragic story of young travelling salesman Gregor Samsa who becomes alienated by his family after he transforms overnight into a giant insect. The Metamorphosis, while open to various interpretations, clearly depicts Kafka’s own views of the suffocating capitalist socio-economic structure and the struggles for power that occur within one. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka illustrates the incessant oppression that occurs as a result of a rigidly capitalist society. First, Kafka illustrates the expendability of workers in a capitalist society with the role of Gregor at his workplace and within his family. Gregor is a traveling salesman, utterly unimportant to the company to which he dedicates his life.
