Preview

Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka Realism Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
582 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka Realism Essay
In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the main character, Gregor Samsa, experiences an alienation from his family, his job, and the society he lives in. Gregor is seen in his family’s eyes as the main breadwinner, but they also treat him as a workhorse. Feeling worthless, he eventually turns into a bug and is shunned into his room. Employing the styles of Modernism in his novel, Kafka uses Gregor’s transformation into a bug as a means of manifesting Gregor’s psychological condition. Modernism was a movement that took place at the turn of the 20th century; modernist literature focuses on realism, psychological experiences of characters, and isolation. Authors, through their written works, redefined what could be considered art. Kafka was definitely considered a modernist author, because he …show more content…
In part one, the narrator states, “Gregor was still there and had not the slightest intention of abandoning his family.” (Kafka 1). This quote comes from the part of the story where Gregor is going to lose his job. Gregor had no choice in the matter, he was simply bogged down by his work to the point that he felt worthless; neither his father nor his mother work, so he was essentially forced into the job he works. Gregor did not want to leave his family with no money, but he wanted to feel that he was appreciated.
Employing the styles of Modernism in his novel, Kafka uses Gregor’s transformation into a bug as a means of manifesting Gregor’s psychological condition. Gregor feels worthless and is unappreciated by his family. They view him as only a workhorse who provides for their needs. Following his transformation into a bug, Gregor realizes that he cannot continue to be run down by his work and abandons his job; Gregor’s abandonment of his job and alienation by his family, contributes to his life in

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    He sees how much energy his family puts into him just because of his newfound situation. Gregor does his best to adjust to his new ways of life by learning more about himself, and also about his new form of outward appearance. Gregor not only looks back on himself and his new insect body, but he reflects also on his family relationship, as well as realizing how both him and his parents have now drifted further apart than before, as opposed to him and his sister’s relationship, which remains a strong bond no matter the situation. Gregor changes some of his habits as a repercussion to how he sees his family working hardly to maintain his life. In an effort to not be so much of a burden, Gregor devises a plan so his family does not have to do so much for him.…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Though at first, Gregor’s parents are highly thankful to him for supporting them, but as soon as Gregor begins to transform and is no longer able to provide for his family and is completely isolated. Over the years of Gregor supporting the family, it was something the families can to expect of him rather than a sacrifice he was willing making for them. Very soon after Gregor has isolated himself, his father does not even really try to reach out to his son, seemingly because of his shame in Gregor for no longer supporting the family. At the end of Part II, Gregor has also reached the point of making sure to keep himself from his mother. By the end of this part of Metamorphosis, his family is slowly starting to reject him and his father already…

    • 465 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Metamorphosis Franz Kafka examines the alienation from society that turns a human being into a bug. Gregor Sampsa is clearly unhappy with his life and alienated by the expectations placed upon him by his family and society. For example the text says “If I didn’t have my parents to think about I’d have given in my notice a long time ago, I’d have gone up to my boss and told him just what I think, tell him everything, I would have let him know just what I feel,” Gregor says. But of course, he can’t tell his boss how he feels. How he feels is besides the point. “He was a tool of the boss, without brains or backbone.” Gregor is in no position of power he is just another worker for his harsh boss. Gregor’s alienation is symbolically represented…

    • 167 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the “Kafka’s fantasy of punishment”, Author Kaiser reveals and scrutinizes more insightfully the significant meaning of the metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa. In Kaiser’s point of view, Gregor’s transformation is a “self-punishment for his earlier competitive striving aimed against his father.” His unintentional emotions toward his father are beyond hatred, which is interpreted by Kaiser as an oedipal jealousy intended for the mother. However, that is not the manifest struggle between the son and father. It is Gregor’s bold ambition costs him to suffer. Before his catastrophic metamorphosis, the son takes up the position as head of the family as a result of business failure of his father. He begins to work assiduously to sustain the whole family;…

    • 214 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, Gregor’s father shows considerable hostility towards him. Kafka’s own father was domineering and severe and thoroughly disappointed by his son’s thoughtful temperament, feeble form, and literary interests. His youth was hard which may have contributed to his development of an existentialist point of view. Kafka portrays this less than loving parent Gregor’s father. When Gregor emerges from his bedroom and his father comes home from work Gregor notices how sharp he looks and speaks of his father’s sternness, “he knew full well, right from the first day of his new life, that his father thought it necessary to always be extremely strict with him. (Kafka 32) Gregor must come to acceptance of even this less than loving treatment from his father.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Leaving behind his desires as a human being all he will think about was his father’s debt and how much he will have to work to help his family. Gregor had earned so much money that he was able to meet the whole family expenses. We can see evidence in the…

    • 1069 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The family's initial reaction towards Gregor is largely extremely negative. When the family and the chief clerk, Gregor's boss, see him for the first time they panic. Gregor is promptly shoved back into his room and he is locked there. "No one came any longer, and, in addition, the keys were now on the outside" (page 25). This represents the family's immediate hostility towards Gregor where as before Gregor's…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Franz Kafka is said to have based most of his works off of his own life. Consequently, in one such work, Metamorphosis, the characters, and their struggles parallel those of people present in Kafka's life. Metamorphosis tells the story of a man, Gregor, who leads a prominent lifestyle until he wakes up one morning transformed into a bug; from the moment that he takes his first breath in his transformed state, Gregor's life goes downhill. Because Kafka's work reflects his life, his state of mind is revealed through the fact that he chooses a bug in peril to represent himself. Kafka's purpose for writing Metamorphosis was to alleviate his hardships by providing himself an escape through writing.…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka it establishes the theme of alienation from the society and their true identity. The main character, Gregor Samsa awakes to the realization that he has transformed into a verminous bug. His physical and mental metamorphosis creates obstacles throughout the course of Gregor’s life. Gregor who was once the caretaker of his family is now unable to work. This has caused an economic burden on his family. The transformation also is viewed as a danger to the family’s household. Therefore, they barricade Gregor in his room where he has limited access to his family and the society. Throughout the novel the furniture, door and uniforms serve as symbols of Gregor’s alienation from society and himself.…

    • 904 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gregor hates his job and is very miserable and unfulfilled. Not only was his job a problem but also his family was not supportive. The way Gregor led his life gave many examples of the attempt to isolate and alienate himself from what he feared and detested. The relationship between Gregor and his father was not a good mainly because of the lack of respect for each other. His family's lack of respect and attention would push him further into a state of isolation. Gregor continues to hide inside his room and attempt to become more alienated. One day he wakes up with shell on his back resembling a beetle. The alienation of himself would be greater know. With the new change Gregor's own mother and sister were disgusted and rejected what had happened. His father must work just as hard for the family and becomes more upset with his son. After the metamorphosis it became very hard to understand what Gregor's needs were and even to communicate. "Did you understand a word?" the manger was asking his parents. "He isn't trying to make fools of us, is he?" "My god" cried his mother, already in tears," maybes he's seriously ill and here we are torturing him." (pg 13). Gregor's effort to be alienated is finally truly a problem and is affecting his own family. The only way to escape his way of alienation is to physically take his life and…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    7). I found these statements confusing because the book specifically tells the reader that "Gregor's idea of desiring others' help is the first step toward complete reliance on his family," which is the opposite of independence (Kafka, pg. 18). While Gregor's life itself is a picture of existentialism, his desires are contrary to this philosophy. So, how then does Gregor fit this…

    • 450 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Life as a Bug

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The prevailing theme of transformation is the foundation throughout Kafka’s novella. Focusing on the transformation of Gregor Samsa significantly highlights his contribution to the dysfunction of the family unit as a whole. Clearly before and after the change Gregor displays honorable qualities, such as his work ethic, his desire to furnish a privileged existence for the family and to educate his sister, which appears to be a foreign concept to his family. Gregor undergoes physical changes, as in, “One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin” (1999). These changes filter over into his voice, taste preferences and eyesight, yet he remains the same in his thought process, desperately wanting to continue providing for the family in the fashion to which they had become accustomed. As Gregor’s ongoing situation disintegrates he is viewed as a nuisance, whom is dealt with in a less than humane manner. As Gregor’s family abandons him the result is the filth that…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel The Metamorphosis, Kafka uses symbolism to express the idea that Gregor transformed into a bug physically, after feeling like one psychologically. Gregor worked as a traveling salesman and although he didn’t like his job or boss, he dealt with it in order to support his family. His parent’s owed money to an employer and Gregor wanted to help in any way he could and stated "Well, there’s still hope; once I’ve saved enough money to pay back my parents’ debt to him—that should take another five or six years--I'll do it without fail. I'll cut myself loosely then" (Kafka267). He hopes to quit his job, clear his parents from debt, and send his sister to music school. The story begins with Gregor waking up and finding himself to be a giant insect. He did not seem to care about his transformation and did not believe that it would change his life in any way. He was more worried about missing the train and angering his boss than the fact that he turned into a bug. The moment his family saw him as an insect they were in shock and worried about what they were going to do. After a while they really did not seem to mind at all and handled his transformation well. He’s sister was still supportive of him and even fed him.…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In the novel, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, alienation and isolation are very prominent themes that flow through the pages. When Gregor undergoes his transformation into a grotesque insect, it creates this psychological and emotional rift between Gregor and his family.…

    • 1391 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout the novel Kafka constantly utilizes depressing language that emphasizes the hopelessness of Gregor’s situation. From the very start, Gregor describes his unappealing (and helpless) physical state as a bug and contrasts it with a pretty picture of a lady with lots of fur next to him. “What has happened to me? He thought. It was no dream” (106). By acknowledging that it is really not a dream, Gregor comes to accept his dire circumstance and seals his own fate with the profound realization of his situation. Kafka’s utilization of Gregor’s point of view in such…

    • 1379 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays