...Name: Instructor: Course: Date: The Irony in “The Metamorphosis” by Frank Kafka It is true that anyone and everyone who writes can be considered a writer; it is not necessarily true that those whose writings follow a certain ideal structure are writers. According to Smith, what a writer openly says through his writing is not necessarily important; however, what a writer or an author whispers is what is of great importance (Morrel and Niles 128). What this implies is that anything whatsoever can be written to satisfy what readers and the audience are expected to see and feel (Anthony Collins 54). However, the messages in such writings can be continually nurtured in order to increase the power of the emotions and the images communicated if the story is relayed via a deeper message. This means that authors and writers can opt not to put a vivid face in the true significance and purport; this eventually expands the force field of their story’s meaning (Collins 34). Further, this prospers the capacity of the readers and the audience to interpret and explore; particularly, when the author employs the use of writing devices that prompt the readers to explore the writing in very different light. This is the kind of technique that Frank Kafkas employs in his novel, “The Metamorphosis”, in which he presents readers with a story of how a man mutates into a bug – a cockroach. “The Metamorphosis” is not just an intriguing tale, it is also a perfect example of an author employing various...
Words: 2995 - Pages: 12
...In Franz Kafka’s novel ,The Metamorphosis, the author pertains to his character, Gregor Samsa,with uncontrollable circumstances such as isolation caused by outside forces. Gregor Samsa, upon waking one morning finds himself transformed into what he already feels like, an insect. His parents deem him unworthy of their love and throw him away like the rest of their junk. Gregor’s father chooses a job for him that dismisses all hopes of forming human connections because of its time consuming nature. Experiences such as theses parallel with Kafka. Born into an anti Semitic community, along with a very opinionated father Kafka’s life is filled with people pushing him away. Kafka truly lives through his characters, especially Gregor, in this short...
Words: 984 - Pages: 4
...Metamorphosis is a change in form, structure, or appearance. Change is a major theme throughout Franz Kafka's novella, The Metamorphosis. There is a significant relationship between the title, The Metamorphosis, and the theme of change. Kafka's main character, Gregor Samsa, undergoes many changes and his transformation evokes change in his family. Several metamorphoses take place involving Gregor. First, a physical change occurs, "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin," and after that happened, Gregor's voice changes from human into the voice of a bug. "That was the voice of an animal," Gregor's manager said, but the words seemed perfectly clear to him. Beginning to see things less and less, Gregor experiences a change in his vision. An example, found on page 29, would be Gregor seeing the hospital less and less distinctly. A mental change in Gregor occurs when he starts not caring about or having no consideration for his family. "It hardly surprised him that he was showing so little consideration for the others; once such consideration had been his greatest pride." This has is a growing problem with him in the story because of the social change that Gregor has experienced from the alienation from the rest of his family. The only thing Gregor had to look forward to at one point was when his sister would come and clean his room or the charwoman would come in and clean. This was such...
Words: 1068 - Pages: 5
...Trial” and “The Metamorphosis” Works from the one of the most influential author, Franz Kafka, is like trying to read hieroglyphics. Unless, of course you are Egyptian. It is difficult to comprehend someone that comes from a total different era or background. Usually an author, relates their theme of their works with simple and easy literary devices, such as symbolism. So does Franz Kafka, but on a greater scale. All of the aspects and elements of his works seem unimportant, because of the different interpretations of his works. Most of his works , depicts his own thoughts and dreams. Like some authors, Kafka focuses on a single character symbolizing himself or his life. To fully recognized and understand this method , the audience must study his background and just basic history to understand his motive. He stands out against all these other authors because he goes against the flow of the writing norms. Some of the genre's found in his works are Kafkaesque, Magic Realism,Dystopia,Fantasy,Science Fiction,Modernism,Post Modernism and Existentialism. First time reading one of Kafka's predominant novel, "The Trial" was pretty overwhelming. Personally, I have nothing to compare his works to, other than his own work, in particular, "The Metamorphosis." While these two have some obvious similarities, there are some hidden and usually inconspicuous ones that readers, like myself, don’t usually pick out. Finding some common themes in “The Trial” and “The Metamorphosis” provides a...
Words: 1673 - Pages: 7
...Short Essay Kafka, “The Metamorphosis”: pg.1411 beginning with “His father, however,” ending at the end of Part 2. In Kafkas “The Metamorphosis”, the question of how much of Gregor’s humanity remains makes up most of the second section of the story. As the members of the Samsa family adapt to the situation they’ve been put in now with Gregor, each one seems to form a different belief of how much humanity indeed does or can remain in him. At the beginning for instance, Grete leaves milk for Gregor, which means she is assuming that his preference for milk when he was still human continues now that he’s a bug. So maybe Grete believes initially that some part of Gregor might still be there. But then she begins to notice that Gregor’s tastes in food have changed and now likes to crawl about the walls of his room, which makes her begin to realize he is now just an insect. Grete suggests taking all Gregor’s things out of his room to eliminate obstacles to his crawling and to make more space and better for an insect. The mother, on the other hand, argues that Gregor will want his things when he returns to his former human self, and she even refers to Gregor as her “unfortunate son” at one point, saying that she still believes Gregor to be the same despite his appearance. But the father show no sympathy towards Gregor or that he is the same, and attacks him as though he were a wild animal when he escapes his room. During all the commotion Gregor hides as usual, but he becomes anxious...
Words: 735 - Pages: 3
...In the novel, The Metamorphosis, the author, Franz Kafka, reflects the alienation of his life into the story by using Gregor Samsa and other characters to show the struggles he had in his life. Kafka shows his opinions about work and jobs in society by making Gregor share his opinions on this topic. Another aspect of Gregor’s life that is similar to Kafka’s is their relationships with their families, and especially their fathers. The two character’s strangeness and their health are also issues that affects both of their lives. Kafka dislike work and jobs and he reflects that into Gregor Samsa in his novel. Samsa is a hardworking man who works every day for years without missing a single day. Gregor is a traveling salesman, so not many people...
Words: 995 - Pages: 4
...Gregor’s transformation from human to a giant cockroach is certainly a metamorphosis, but it is only physical and rather simple. But this event triggered a series of more complicated metamorphosis amount all family members. And these transformations of personality and humanity are what the book title really refers to. Before Gregor’s transformation, he is the only financial support for the entire family. The rest family take it as granted without any appreciation. Dispirited and lifeless, Gregor’s family lived like insects, dwelling around without any purpose. After Gregor’s transformation, realize their only financial support is now a giant bug, the rest family were forced to take control of their own life. Learning their full potentials in the process of become self-sufficient individuals, the family awakens with brighter future after Gregor’s death. Using Samsa family's metamorphosis,...
Words: 875 - Pages: 4
...of Kafka's "Metamorphosis", Gregor reveals to the audience that he has "...an exhausting profession! One the road, day in, day out" (1205). We later discover that the motivation behind his work commitment is to pay back debts owed by his parents. When Gregor's mother states " It almost worries me that he never goes out on his evenings off...his only hobby is a little occasional woodwork" (1208), we realize that Gregor has sacrificed any friendships and that he is not gaining any personal reward or motivation for his efforts. In return for his work, Gregor's parents however, were unemployed. To Gregor's father, "Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, which he liked to draw out for hours over the perusal of several newspapers" (1211). Meanwhile, Gregor had to get up and be on the early train for work on a normal basis. It appears that his father has no appreciation for all of the work and effort Gregor completes for the family. Gregor's sister, Grete, had become accustomed to "wearing pretty frocks, sleeping in late...taking part in a few modest celebrations, and above all, playing the violin (1219). These were all due to the amount of work and money Gregor contributed to his family. "They had just become used to it, both the family and Gregor; they gratefully took receipt of all his money, which he willingly handed over, but there was no longer any particular warmth about it"(1218). This quote shows how the family no longer acted grateful for Gregor's contribution...
Words: 389 - Pages: 2
...Franz Kafka is the author of the book Metamorphosis. He was born in Prague on July 3, 1883. Born a German-speaking Jewish boy. Lived with his parents for most his life. He is best known for describing absurd situations with simple, cold words. Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis could fall under a couple of genres in literature, they would include: classic, fiction, and fantasy. The way that Gregor changes illustrates that the theme would be the absurdity of life. In the beginning Gregor wakes up as a bug and is kind of scared along with his family. Towards the middle he is used to his body and isn’t scared anymore. His family is starting to get used to the idea that the bug is Gregor and that’s what he looks like now. At the end though all of that changes, his sister wants to get rid of the idea that that’s Gregor and they want him out of the house so they can be free from fear again. Change can happen at anytime and it can be very destructive and life changing....
Words: 673 - Pages: 3
...Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka , is a story about change, as the title of the novel implies. But As we go deeper into the story, the continuous changes brings us to the root that it is the desire to existence that Gregor truly wants. In an unsettling dream, Gregor Samsa wakes up and realizes that he has transformed into a “monstrous vermin”. By examining the story, the metamorphosis of the protagonist represents his true self and his yearning of freedom from maintaining the entire financial stability of his family. Gregor’s metamorphosis and the dependence on him greatly affects Gregor’s sister, Grete. This leads to Grete’s drastic transformation from a child to a young woman and is in turn the biggest effect to Gregor's fate. Gregor’s mind never fully copes with his physical change into a bug. Gregor approaches life the same after the metamorphosis, doing almost the same routines; in fact Gregor almost completely ignores the change of his physical body, and only spends a small amount of time worrying about such a significant occurrence. Gregor becomes travelling salesman because his father loses his job, “At that time Gregor’s sole desire...
Words: 1399 - Pages: 6
...It is very peculiar -to say the least- to open a book and the first line describing the main character waking up as a life sized insect. Most authors tends to use symbolism to relate to the theme of their books, but the author of “The Metamorphosis,” Franz Kafka uses a different method. He uses a method that utilize all aspects and elements of the story to be uses of interpretation. In the novella “The Metamorphosis”, it employs symbols, imagery, and settings to emphasize that a family with equally-shared responsibilities is more effective in maintaining a positive home- loving atmosphere. In the usage of symbols, Kafka illustrates that an imbalance in family responsibility results in hatred and resentment in the end. In Part I of the novella,...
Words: 945 - Pages: 4
...ANALYSIS OF THEME IN METAMORPHOSIS THEMES ANALYSIS The theme of "The Metamorphosis" is modern man's sense of isolation. Driven to work long hours in meaningless jobs around people who do not care about others, just like Gregor, mankind seems to live a meaningless and ineffectual existence. Although Gregor's metamorphosis is actual and physical, Kafka implies through his change that all too often mankind is forced into an insect-like existence, no better than the bugs at the bottom of the natural order. When mankind tries to rise above their insect status and connect with humanity, as Gregor did when he emerged from his room to see his sister and listen to the violin, they are cruelly driven back into isolation and alienation. Through Gregor, Kafka presents a totally tragic view of man's existence. Kafka also shows that mankind is driven by materialism, often to the exclusion of developing human relationships. Modern life demands that a person have a job to earn money to fulfill materialistic desires. The materialistic mind-set usually enslaves the individual and transforms him into a beast or insect who does not have time to care for others. Gregor is the perfect example. He hates his job as a salesman but endures it in order to provide material things for his family. In order to have and give financial security, he sacrifices a social life, companionship, pleasure, and dreams. His life is miserable, and he counts the days until he can quit his job. Ironically, the people...
Words: 13712 - Pages: 55
...Jesus Barry Webster Metamorphosis 12 October 2012 Grete’s Metamorphosis Franz Kafka’s intriguing literary work, “The Metamorphosis,” details the physical change a man experiences and its subsequent effect on those around him. Within the novella, Gregor Samsa’s unexplained transformation into a monstrous vermin affects his entire family, and in particular his sister, Grete. This change leaves the family distraught, but allows Grete the liberty to flourish into her own person. The pressures of a metamorphosis, as seen through Grete’s example, force people to change accordingly to the one being metamorphosed. This theme is illustrated through her relationship with her brother, her emerging role in the family, and her development into womanhood. The diminishing pity Grete has for her brother’s dire predicament is a strong indicator of her metamorphosis into self-sufficiency, which she achieves by maturing in their relationship, from being his caregiver to wanting him eradicated. Initially, she is the only member of the Samsa family to care for Gregor: “[H]e could never have guessed what his sister in her kindness actually did. In order to test his likings, she brought him a big selection.” (Kafka 26). The sincerity in Grete’s actions towards her brother is evident, especially because their parents refused to even enter his room. Her behaviour is undoubtedly a sign of the close relationship they shared before his metamorphosis, a time in which his earning...
Words: 1089 - Pages: 5
...The setting of a story often helps a reader to feel as if he were actually a part of the story. Franz Kafka and Herman Melville are two authors who chose specific settings for their stories. The settings they chose help to place their characters into perspective and to understand the problems they face. Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Herman Melville’s Billy Budd take place at different points in time and in different settings; Metamorphosis in an apartment in the early 1900’s, and Billy Budd on a ship in the late 18th Century. These settings help to identify the mood of each story. Metamorphosis takes place in the early 1900’s in the apartment of Gregor Samsa. Kafka does not provide a geographical setting for Metamorphosis, however, the significance of the story taking place on land is the ability of the characters to escape at their own will. Metamorphosis begins with Gregor unable to get out of his bed for work, later succumbing to the fact that he has morphed into an insect. Gregor’s extreme tardiness for work causes upheaval and chaos in the Samsa home; The father is screaming, Gregor’s boss comes to the house to find his employee, Gregor’s mother and sister are crying because they are scared, and there are guests in the home. The setting of the entire Samsa family being confined into a small apartment makes the the turmoil that arises a much larger issue than it really is. At a certain point, the Samsa family, led by their father, decides to isolate Gregor into...
Words: 749 - Pages: 3
...The Effects of Gregor Samsa’s Metamorphosis on Himself and on the Other Characters Submitted by: Andrea Mendoza Maunahan IV- Yakal Submitted to the English and Literature Department in partial fulfillment of the requirements in English IV and Literature IV for the Academic Year 2012- 2013 February 26, 2013 Introduction In the world of fiction, there have been many stories about people transforming, or partially transforming into animals. Some make the most out of it, like super heroes; while others, aren’t very fortunate. Peter Parker, or Spiderman, acquired spider abilities but his appearance was still of a human. On the other hand, his enemy, Lizardman, who was once Dr. Osborn, has a body and has the abilities of a lizard. The only thing human left of Lizardman is his ability to speak and think like a human. There is also Beastboy from Teen Titans whose body turns into a beast’s and can turn back into a human, a green one at that. But how did they turn into what they are? Peter Parker can turn into Spiderman because a certain kind of spider bit him. Dr. Osborn can turn into Lizardman because he injects a green chemical he created himself on his body to mutate it. Beastboy can turn into different beasts because it’s his special power. But in Gregor Samsa’s tale, The Metamorphosis, he didn’t turn into a super hero. He didn’t even turn into someone’s enemy. His transformation isn’t a power but instead, a curse. He can’t turn back into a human. And worst of all,...
Words: 2960 - Pages: 12
