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…
Gregor undergoes his metamorphosis without complaint.When he was transformed into an insect, he never questioned the cause, or attempt to take action to change his absurd condition back to normal. However, he accepts his metamorphosis by taking the physical comfort provided by his new body as an escape from his past suffering on his job as a salesman. After the removal of…
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…
Kafka shows how humans will adapt to fit their roles in society without any complaints, which was also shown in the Stanford Prison Experiment. Kafka shows this by having his characters fit into roles that they were assigned by physical features. In “the Metamorphosis,” Gregor is turned into a bug, and his transformation slowly begins to affect more than just his physical appearance. Within the story, we can see Gregor begin to change first with his acquired tastes for rotten food (26.8-27.4) to his newfound interest in crawling around all over the room (32.8). Kafka does a similar role fulfilling in the story “In the Penal Colony” with the condemned man. In this story, the condemned man is chained up like an animal and is even described as…
The nightmarish quality of “The Metamorphosis,” by Franz Kafka, is enhanced by the straight forward -almost academic- nature of the writing. One such example of this occurs on page 93, reading, ““What’s happened to me?” [Gregor] thought. It wasn’t a dream. His room, a proper human room, although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar walls.”(Kafka) From thereon, he abandons the description of his transformation to describe the room and previous night. As the audience reads this, they are thrown by the sudden shift of topic, still wondering what has happened. The fact that most works put an emphasis on the “why?” makes the reader expect an answer, developing their panic as it becomes less and less likely that there will…
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.…
Statistics show that 1 in 10 Americans have suffered depression, depression often being a result of isolation and alienation from society. In the short story “Metamorphosis”, Franz Kafka utilizes point of view and anthropomorphism to develop the theme of alienation.…
In The Metamorphasis, Kafka’s treatment of Gregor’s transformation demonstrates how beyond human control the natural world is. The human turning back into nature demonstrates a relationship between man and the environment. Throughout the novel there is, however, much talk of the cure and of acceptance, yet nature goes on unrelated to all talk of ways to change the situation.…
A compare and contrast Analysis of Frank Kafka’s, The Metamorphosis and The Things They Carried.…
illustrate his view to the diseases and patients, besides to the patients’ relations with the…
Ever thought about getting turned into a bug? Well, in the novella The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka the main character, Gregor gets turned into a bug. The hard working family man wakes up to find himself as a grotesque vermin. His whole life changes when his family discovers him in his nauseating state. They keep him locked up in his room and can hardly stand to look at him. Not only Gregor is inflicted by this awful, sudden change. His family, without the life-support and money from Gregor’s job they can not pay rent. A sudden change like this can happen to anyone, it unexpectedly changes not only the person going through the change but also their loved ones. Most of these changes are often not for the better.…
In Franz Kafka's short story Metamorphosis symbolism plays a great part in developing Gregor's character and life. First, s picture Gregor has of a woman is the representation of his last strand of human life in addition to the furniture in his bedroom. Secondly, the apple that Gregor's father implants into his back is a representation of good and evil within the Samsa family. Lastly, Gregor's door represents his isolation from humanity and his true transition into a bug.…
The last paragraph of Kafka’s reading metamorphosis discreetly suggests that the family’s emotions aren’t as they read, but they will travel to the edge to find a successful prospect to lead for the future. The opening sentence reads “then the three of them altogether left the flat,” pg. 241 this section of the sentence has a deeper meaning than the Samsa’s just taking off from their home and going to the park as the sentence follows up . As I read this opening sentence the word “flat” stands out to me. Flat stands out in sentence because it is used in a very untraditional way that makes me believe it has another meaning besides the description of the flat land they are on. When defining the word flat I think of a smooth, even surface without any lumps or indentations. When defining flat in an emotional context, I would define it as a lacking of interest or emotion, perhaps dull and lifeless. The context of “flat” in this first sentence of the last paragraph I would say speaks to Gregory family’s emotions after him not being present. I envision an insect or a cockroach, I always see them crawling up a wall perhaps a flat surface. Which becomes ironic to this situation as Gregor is an insect and has struggle being mobile on the flat surface which they refer to as home. In this opening sentence flat may speak of the family's emotions not just a state of the land. This word…
In The Metamorphasis by Franz Kafka, Gregor is a man who works to help pull his family out of dept, when one morning he wakes up transformed into a vermin. After a long hour of trying to get out of bed he manages to succeed in opening up his door to tell his manager, who had arrived at his home due to his tardiness, that he is still capable of working. The entire family shocked by his transformation, reject him and push him into isolation in one room of the house. Gregor becomes very dirty and a pest to the house and eventually dies due to starvation and multiple injuries. The family then celebrates the relief of Gregor’s death, by taking the day off from work and going on a peaceful train ride.…