Kafka´s The Metamorphosis Essay - 937 Words

In Kafka’s â€Å"The Metamorphosis†, the character Gregor transforms from a man into a bug, specifically a cockroach. Although Gregor physically changes, he does not change as a person. Gregor merely accepts his new condition as a bug and his family’s continuous abuse and hostility. Gregor’s acceptance of his new bug form is representative of his passive personality before and after his transformation. Gregor’s passivity, in response to the hostile world around him, causes his eventual downfall. Therefore, Kafka uses the character Gregor to exemplify how a passive attitude can cause one’s demise. Kafka shows Gregor’s passive nature in â€Å"The Metamorphosis†. Gregor’s actions are passive before he becomes an insect. This is demonstrated†¦show more content†¦Once Gregor transforms into an insect his passivity is increasingly apparent. Gregor maintains submissive personality and does not defend himself. Gregor’s physical change into a bug is the only aspect of him that changes. Gregor continuously allows himself to be abused. Upon Gregor’s transformation, he is unable to go to work. Therefore, the chief clerk visits Gregor to force him to come to work. Gregor remained locked in his room and would not leave for work. So, the clerk became extremely impatient. The frustrated clerk divulges into a cruel and demoralizing speech. He maliciously accuses Gregor of hiding because of unethical involvement in cash receipts. Later, Gregor’s family and the clerk become restless and want to see Gregor. The door to Gregor’s room is unlocked to open and reveal Gregor in his insect form. Gregor’s family and the clerk react with horror. The clerk and Gregor’s mother run away from him in fear. Gregor’s father grabs a stick and a newspaper and dashes toward Gregor, herding Gregor back into his bedroom with prods and fierce language. Gregor injures himself badly while trying to fit back through the doorway. Gregor’s door is slammed shut behind him and he his left alone, frightened and injured, in his room. The events subsequent to Gregor’s transformation exhibit his passive nature. Clearly such passivity was not useful to Gregor. Gregor’s passivity poses two major problems.Show MoreRelatedThe Kafka s The Metamorphosis959 Words   |  4 Pagestroubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect† (Kafka 269). The opening line of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis has been known as the best opening line in modern literature (X. J. Kennedy 269), and still critics stumble over that single opening line. Kafka was always hesitant to publish his work and published very few short works in his actual life time one of which was The Metamorphosis. Kafka died at a young age from tuberculosis; he asked for his other works to be destroyedRead MoreThe Metamorphosis Franz Kafka s Metamorphosis1663 Words   |  7 PagesIn The Metamorphosis Franz Kafka tells the story of a young man named Gregor who observes the radical changes in his life after transforming into an insect. Gregor’s life was centered on his job as a traveling salesperson and his family. One morning Gregor w oke up transformed into an insect. Afraid of the transformation Gregor stays in his room and ignores calls from his family. When Gregor realized that his new body did not allow him to have a normal life, he tried to adapt. After his metamorphosisRead MoreMetamorphosis By Franz Kafka s Metamorphosis1496 Words   |  6 PagesIn Franz Kafka s Metamorphosis, Grete changes from a child into an adult while also trying to do the opposite with her own family. Gregor’s metamorphosis leaves her family without anybody money to pay for their needs. Consequently, Grete replaces Gregor and begins to cook and clean for her family and go to work. These jobs allow Grete to become more experienced and to mature. Similarly, Grete shows displays these changes by dressing more provocatively and becoming more interested in romance. HoweverRead MoreThe Kafka s The Metamorphosis997 Words   |  4 Pagespushed them far from investing quality energy with their friends and family. In Kafka s The Meta morphosis it is seen that Gregor s transformation in to a bug renders him helpless to communicate and part take his job as the earner of the family. Gregor’s family is not seen to have empathized with him after his sudden life changing transformation. Despite some good family members who support the individual when one s family turns against them it leaves the individual feeling dead on the inside andRead MoreAnalysis Of Kafka s The Metamorphosis 1166 Words   |  5 PagesKafka is ranked among the most important writers of the twentieth century for works that express modern humanity s loss of personal and collective order. His writing describes the situations of psychological, social, political, and physical instability and confusion that defy logical explanation and which typify Kafka s conception of humanity s absurd relationship with the universe (Kafka, 2013). Although Kafka s work has elicited various critical interpretations, he himself characterized hisRead MoreThe Kafka s The Metamorphosis1062 Words   |  5 Pagesto find himself transformed into a human-sized insect in the short story The Metamorphosis by Kafka. He’s disoriented and thinks that he’s dreaming, but, through his family’s shocked reactions, finds out that he actually is an insect. The Metamorphosis is laced with dark humor, but Wallace, in his analysis of Kafka’s works, Laughing with Kafka, says that â€Å"it is next to impossible to get them [students] to see that Kafka is funny† (23). Kafka’s piece usually fascinates readers, but it is difficultRead MoreThe Existentialist Philosophy Of Kafka s The Metamorphosis1364 Words   |  6 PagesThesis Assignment The existentialist philosophy of Kafka is presented in the metamorphosis is a picture of isolation and despair, something which prevailed in Kafka’s life. The diary of Kafka which was later found also showed Kafka’s intense imagination about his existence and extinction. It became apparent that at the heart of metamorphosis lies deep rooted feelings of Kafka himself. (Kafka.org ). The Metamorphosis a novel written by Franz Kafka is about a man, Gregor Samsa, who wakes up to findRead MoreReview Of Franz Kafka s The Metamorphosis 958 Words   |  4 PagesFranz Kafka There are several aspects about the writing of Franz Kafka that make it enticing to the reader and tantalizing enough to keep the reader intrigued. The narrative that I find most intriguing by Kafka is The Metamorphosis. The Metamorphosis is a tale wherein Kafka essentially gives his perception of the story of his life through the use of storytelling devices, which without the use of them would have made it a less interesting tale. Franz Kafka was born on July 3rd, 1883. Kafka was aRead MoreAnalysis Of Franz Kafka s The Metamorphosis 3979 Words   |  16 PagesAustin Day Professor Imali Abala English 357 18 February 2015 The Theme of Alienation in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis The Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka in 1915 is said to be one of the greatest literary works of all time and is seen as one of Kafka’s best and most popular works of literature. A relatively short novel; the story explains how the protagonist, Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a vermin which completely estranges him from the world even moreRead MoreFranz Kafka s The Metamorphosis882 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Metamorphosis† is a surreal story by Franz Kafka surrounding the transformation and betrayal of Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one day, reborn into a large insect. Along with the bizarre and nightmarish appearance of his new hard back, brown segmented belly, and many legs, Gregor only desire is to live a normal life, unfortunately, this is impossible because he struggles to even get out of bed. Gregor transformation into an insect is a vivid metaphor for the alienation of humans from around the