Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” is a nightmarish tale with a very straightforward, matter-of-fact style, and this style enhances its nightmarish quality. An example of this is found in paragraph, which states, “His many legs, pitifully thin when compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked.” When describing this scene, the narrator definitely uses illustrative words, but does not have the disgusted tone one would expect from a story like this. The narrator speaks in an emptier way, which helps magnify the eerie feeling of the work. Both it and Gregor act very removed from the events, not how a normal human would react. Another instance of this is, “So then he tried to get the top part of his body out of bed…
In the Metamorphosis,Gregor must work to support his family after they lost the company and lost all their money. One morning he wakes up and discovers he is a vermin. The first thing that occurs to him when he discovers this is how will he get to work and that his boss will come to his house and demand that Gregor come to work, meanwhile Gregor is locked in his room unable to get out of bed because he is a bug. Finally he is able to get out of bed, but the boss is gone the time he gets up. His family sees him and is disgusted and shocked by his transformatio. His sister brings him food and cares for him like no one in his family ever has, but even she becomes disgusted with him after a while. They all ignore Gregor. At one point Gregor is…
“The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation.” This quote from a British preacher Charles Spurgeon accurately con-veys Flannery O’Connor’s works that are considered mere dramatizations of her stated religious views. O’Connor’s stories such as “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and “Revelation” have au-thoritative narrators who analyze corrupt characters’ theological errors. She often focuses on characters’ grotesque path toward redemption. The term grotesque is defined as a work in which two separate modes are mixed and the result is a disturbing fiction wherein comic circumstances prelude horrific tragedy.…
In “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, the style enhances the nightmarish quality of the work. The text states, “It took just as much effort to get back to where he had been earlier, but when he lay there sighing, and was once more watching his legs as they struggled against each other even harder than before, it that was possible, he could think of no way of bringing peace and order to this chaos,” (Kafka 12). This is interesting because the situation that Gregor is in is extremely scary and unusual, and the calm language used makes the event seem like a normal occurrence. Although one would think that Kafka would use chilling and disturbing language to describe these events, that is not what he did. The emotionless tone of the story confuses…
In “The Metamorphosis” By Franz Kafka, the style enhances the nightmarish quality of the work in many ways. This quote from line 304-306 can be used to illustrate this when Gregor says, “I’ll open up immediately, just a moment. I’m slightly unwell, an attack of dizziness. I haven’t been able to get up.” These lines from the text show that Kafka describes this nightmare in a simple style. Gregor has completely transformed from a human into a vermin yet he treats the situation as if it could happen to anyone, and he still attempts to complete his normal responsibilities. Gregor thinks his transformation is simply a cold, and Kafka describes it very blankly, leaving it open to interpretation by the reader which in turn shows how horrifying the…
Ken Kesey’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a Classic American novel that is filled with correlating events that portray women as monsters through misogynistic actions and language. Throughout time, society advocated that man was the dominate role that was in charge in almost every aspect, while women stayed at home and were inferior figures. However, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest shows how society acts misogynistic, or shows hatred towards women, when there is a reversal of these stereotypical gender roles; women are instantly depicted as monsters and uniformly terrifying. McMurphy’s actions in the ward, Kesey establishing women as over-oppressive, and women being portrayed as terrifying figures all illustrate how society acts…
As with any great literary work, there must be a purpose behind the story. Kafka’s short story was written for a few main reasons. He wanted to exemplify the absurdity of life, show that there is often a disconnect between the mind and body, and that there are limits to society’s affection for its servants. I found that all points appeared to be both relevant and accurate while maintaining the fantastical appeal of the strangeness of Gregor’s sudden transformation. I believe this contributes to why “The Metamorphosis” has made a lasting impact across the globe.…
Steven Berkoff wrote Metamorphosis in the late 1960’s. The play is about the dehumanizing effect of becoming part of a “machine” of an industrialized society. That living to work is vastly negative for human beings, and that as humans we need some sort of emotional or cultural richness or our lives are worthless and no better than an insect. This ties in well with the growing counter culture of the 1960’s. In which the old social orders were being changed –Hippy culture, Rock music, social revolutions in terms of black, women’s and gay rights, innovation and experimentation in music and the arts and what was “socially acceptable” had begun to destabilize the old social order. Berkoff makes Gregor Samsa a metaphor…
An individual cannot prevail positively or productively with all fundamental needs met without the dynamic of society. Society engenders restrictions on man. Our society has created many stereotypes which has blinded many individuals, resulting in leaving one confined to the realms of the world, crippling humanity. In the fictional novel, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, a salesman named Gregor Samsa was left in his own bubble to suffer alone, simply because he didn't measure up to the prevailing social standings that were upheld in this society. Kafka demonstrates the theme of alienation, from a unique perspective through the utilization of tone and imagery.…
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.…
Psychologists have long debated the nature versus nurture issue in the shaping of our identities. Are we shaped by our biology or by our environment? This psychological debate is explored in Mary Shelly’s gothic novel, Frankenstein. The novel poses a simple question: Was Frankenstein’s monster inherently an evil creature, or was he made into a killer because of his environment? Shelly’s characterization of Frankenstein’s monster shows that the creature began as a clean slate, but was shaped into a monster by his experiences and isolation.…
Metamorphosis is the process of transformation from one nature to another. However, in Kafka’s “Metamorphosis”, we witness two types of metamorphosis emotional and physical. Kafka shows us physical metamorphosis through Gregor’s transformation and introduces us to emotional metamorphosis when referencing to Gregor’s family dynamic. Therefore, when looking at true character change, we have to compare these two aspects. Kafka elaborates on two characters specifically throughout the book, Gregor and Grete. While he talks how Gregor’s metamorphosis has impacted his family, he only focuses on the physical aspects and Gregor’s personality remains unchanged. However, when he talks about Grete, he shows the change in character she experienced due to…
The book entitled, The Metamorphosis, discusses the life of a family oriented man named Gregor Samsa. Gregor Samsa lead a life dedicated to supporting his family, maintaining a job he does not enjoy. One morning, Samsa awoke to find he was no longer a man, but a bug. This sudden transformation opened his eyes and allowed him to realize the lie of a life he’s been living. Not only was he underappreciated by his undeserving family, but constantly taken advantage of. This awakening resulted in malnutrition and soon after death.…
Metamorphosis is a classic staple in story-telling, perhaps the most popular and effective. While accompanied by several other themes, we see Eliza Doolittle of Pygmalion and Edna Pontellier of The Awakening transform dramatically. Comparably, these women are quite opposite in almost every way but their stories posses many parallel threads. Bernard Shaw and Kate Chopin affectively apply the struggle for change, independence, and self-discovery in these two works.…
The Oral Presentation rubric grades based on the presenter’s knowledge and understanding of the works, presentation, and the language of the presenter. My Presentation, entitled: “Gaining Happiness Requires Selfishness and Loneliness,” was particularly strong in any of the three categories, but fairly week in each category. The thesis for my presentation was: “Kafka characterizes the mother as being initially selfless when caring for Gregor and shows how she becomes selfish after abandoning him period, which ultimately leads to her happiness. This reveals that when you are selfish you may gain happiness, but also loneliness.…