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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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In the "Metamorphosis" Kafka uses metaphors to show several ways that public shaming can lead to the harm of one’s self-esteem; eventually leading to complete isolation. Throughout the story Gregor was isolated from his social life, his family life, and his professional life. The amount of shame that Gregor encountered also led to the lack of communication between him and the members of his family. Although Gregor experienced extreme isolation and self-hate due to public shame, he is one of many people who deal with the pressure of society on a daily basis. The amount of shame and doubt is experienced by people in our society every day and has become somewhat of a norm.

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However, his family never realizes these sacrifices and takes Gregor for granted, ultimately leading to his painful demise. Gregors perpetual devotion to his harsh family represents the unconditional love one feels for their own flesh and blood no matter how wicked they may be. The family's reaction to Gregor’s transformation into a bug demonstrates their lack of compassion for

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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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As the story progresses, Gregor becomes aware of his waning humanity because of his lack of interaction with the other members of the family. His degradation as a human, however, began before his physical transformation, due to his ceaseless devotion to work. Informing the audience of the Samsa family’s backstory, at one point the narrator states that “They had been good times and they had never come again, at least not with the same splendour, even though Gregor had later earned so much that he was in a position to bear the costs of the whole family, and did bear them. They had even got used to it, both Gregor and the family, they took the money with gratitude and he was glad to provide it, although there was no longer much warm affection given in return” (Samsa 15).

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Friedrich Nietzsche once said: “Man is the cruelest animal.” In regards to The Metamorphosis, Gregor’s family is less human than Gregor – even if he is in the body of a bug. In chapter 1, it is explained that Gregor worked long and hard in order to support his family while they did not enter the workforce for five years. In return, when Gregor wakes up as a bug, no one in his family throw themselves to find a way to ‘bring Gregor back’. Although he is a bug, he possesses human thoughts and behaves in a respectful manner when his sister enters his room every day.

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Kafka uses diction and symbolism to convey the family’s dissatisfaction and the deterioration in their family ties. Each family member acquires a job to compensate the loss of Gregor’s salary. Kafka writes: “They were fulfilling to the utmost the demands the world makes on the poor: Gregor’s father fetched breakfast for the petty employees at the bank, his mother sacrificed herself for the underclothes of strangers, his sister ran back and forth behind the shop counter at her costumers’ behest... And the wound in Gregor’s back would begin to ache anew when… Gregor’s mother…would say: ‘shut the door now Grete’; and Gregor was left in the dark again” (Kafka

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‘The Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka centres on a family of four: Gregor Samsa, Grete - his sister - and their father and mother, an ideal family. The story begins with Gregor’s dramatic physical transformation from a human to a bug. Though Gregor himself doesn’t seem affected, the story depicts how other family members react as well as the change in their attitude and behaviour towards Gregor after his physical changes. Though superficially, the drama of ‘The Metamorphosis’ revolves around Gregor’s bug transformation, it becomes apparent that Gregor’s physical change actually acts as a powerful catalyst to reveal the brutal and cold-blooded nature of his family members. The subtle shift in tones and actions of the characters - especially those of his Father and Grete - gradually rise to the surface as Gregor’s days of being a bug lengthens.

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Franz Kafka, heavily influenced by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, devises the character Gregor Samsa in order to portray a detailed experience of an individual’s metamorphosis. Kafka’s narration style differs greatly from Ovid’s, in that, the narration begins with a first person perspective and changes to a third person narration, which remains consistent to the end of the novel. Unlike the stories within the Metamorphoses, there is a clear contrast in the portrayal of Gregor’s transformation. Ovid and Kafka’s depiction of a metamorphosis incorporates the concept of identity in the individual’s transition, however Kafka emphasizes the family dynamic and the hostility Gregor feels. Gregor’s family’s inability to look past Gregor’s exterior appearance

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775 Words | 4 Pages

Essentially, he was paying off his parents’ debts – a symbol of original sin or guilt. Once the Samsa family realized Gregor was no longer present to provide for their needs, they became angry with Gregor; thus, the significance of Gregor’s work shifted from being a complementary “self-sacrifice” action to some form of an expectation. Holland further supports this fact by reiterating it was “only after he has expiated the sin-debt can he ‘take the big step’ toward freedom.” Kafka additionally intensifies spirituality in the novel by composing Gregor’s transformation from man into an atrocious cockroach to directly correspond with the passion of Christ. Moreover, proof of this biblical allusion is supported throughout a great number of similar circumstances occurring in each figure’s lives.

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Although Gregor's metamorphosis represents his desire for freedom from oppression, the language employed in the novella shows how Gregor constantly faces condemnation and rejection as a result of his transformation. Gregor’s rejection of his metamorphosis is clear when “His father clenched his fist with a hostile expression, as if he wished to push Gregor back into his room” (Kafka 19). Mr. Samsa’s animosity for his son’s transformation is underlined by the vocabulary such as fist and hostile. He does not instantly punish Gregor, but his contempt is evident. Furthermore, as Gregor is attacked by his father, his fruitless effort at rebellion is solidified.

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He became embodied by his weak form and closed off to the real world, literally. Gregor’s influence on his family also allowed his father to grow as an individual and appear superior when dressing within his

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In order to inform the audience of what he deems to be the most dangerous intangible of all time – evil morality – Kafka paints a painful picture of the consequences that follow rationales with selfish objectives. While Kafka does not specifically condemn the act of trying to be moral, he attempts to display the effects of self-centered integrity – that is, adhering to one’s own morality to the point of desolation. Therefore, flashback is the prime literary device for him to use to show the depths poor ethical focus can take one to. Kafka writes, “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams…” conveying the sudden and negative connotation of the ‘metamorphosis’ Gregor has experienced (Kafka, 3). In addition, Franz Kafka is making it clear that Gregor’s transformation into an insect coincides with bad dreams.

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In Metamorphosis, written by Franz Kafka, Gregor Samsa works as a traveling salesman in order to provide money for his sister’s education and parents living expenses. Gregor is underappreciated and taken advantage of by his ungrateful family. One morning, Gregor wakes up as a massive bug that reflects the truth of how his family views him. Throughout the novella, Kafka uses symbolism of the repugnant bug that Gregor becomes, removal of furniture previously used by Gregor and an apple thrown at Gregor by his father, which essentially takes a large part in his death, to express the need of care and love to feel true happiness and the importance of receiving attention to avoid the consequences of loneliness and isolation.

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