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The Role Of Family In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis

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The Metamorphosis Timed Writing In Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Gregor is evidently portrayed as a savior of his family, which in turn symbolizes him as a Christ figure. The notion of Gregor being a Christ figure in the novel can be substantiated by events such as: Gregor sacrificing his life, both figuratively and literally, for the betterment of his family’s life, Grete’s change in outlook towards her beloved brother, and Mr. Samsa throwing apples at Gregor. The primary theme of family and the duties of family members towards each other drive the interactions between Gregor and his beloved family. Even though Gregor despises his job, he diligently continues to work the mundane job so that he can provide for his family – supporting his feeble parents and attempting to send his beloved sister to the conservatory. On the contrary, his family cares for Gregor after his radical change only so far as duty seems to …show more content…

Mr. Sama 's aggressive and cruel action of throwing apples at Gregor symbolizes the family 's rejection of Gregor 's inadvertent metamorphosis. Gregor is enslaved by his family because he is the only one who financially supports his family, and the family seems to treat him not as a member but as a source of income. Hence, when Gregor is no longer able to work after his metamorphosis, he is treated with revulsion and neglected. Thus, such a treatment of the family towards Gregor illustrates the underlying theme of the novel: humans are selfish, by developing the selfish nature of the family members. Kafka 's ingenious ability to employ Gregor as a symbol not only illustrates Gregor as a Christ figure in the novel, but the symbol also helps establish the underlying theme of the novel - humans are selfish at heart, as they view people valuable only as long as they have an advantageous talent. For instance, initially, the family viewed Gregor as a valuable member of the family, but after his metamorphosis they became more hostile and repugnant

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Each family member experiences a metamorphosis, because each of them started to despise Gregor and thought that he was ridiculous. But in irony all of them also became savages and just waited for gregor to die to start a new lifestyle with his sister, so they were more disgusting and absurd than Gregor turning into a bug. “ [Mr. and Mrs. Samsa] thought that it would soon be time, too, to find her a good husband. And it was like a confirmation of their new dreams and good intentions”, these were some of thoughts of the mother and father after the death of Gregor, this shows how little they cared for their son. They were ready to start a new life which symbolizes the metamorphosis the family is going through.

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In Franz Kafka’s novella “The Metamorphosis”, Gregor Samsa is a travelling salesman who has been turned into a “monstrous vermin” overnight. The story follows the events that happen after this transformation, such as how the different family members treat Gregor. At the end of the book Gregor dies, and the novella concludes with the family future plans after Gregor’s death. After reading the novella, I think that looking at the ending of of the novella, the readers are definitely left with a sense of hope because the future prospects of the family are very promising, and the family also has a clear future for their daughter.

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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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