Metamorphosis Passage Analysis

Metamorphosis Essay In metamorphosis Gregor and his sister Grete have an interesting relationship along with their own interesting personalities. Franz Kafka develops a connection between these two characters along with illustrating the personalities of the two. In this metamorphosis passage is two of the main characters. Gregor, the person who transformed, is brought into more depth. He is portrayed to be very introverted and secluding in his new insect form as shown in this part of the passage, "then out of consideration for Gregor's feelings, as she knew that he would not eat in front of her, she hurried out again and even turned the key in the lock so that Gregor could know he could make things as comfortable for himself as he liked." Also shown here, "his sister slowly turned the key in the lock as a sign he should withdraw. He was immediately startled, although he had been half asleep, and he hurried back under the couch." Gregor is also shown to give in to his insect tendencies and have insect behavior by eating rotten old food, "quickly one after another, his eyes watering with pleasure, he consumed the cheese, the vegetables and the sauce; the fresh foods, on the other hand, he didn't like at all, and even dragged the things he didn't want to eat a little way away from them because...show more content...

They share more of a Dependent independent relationship due to Gregor's metamorphosis. You can tell in this passage that Grete loves and cares for her brother but is also not use to him being an insect and seems to be a little disgusted with him, "she immediately picked it up– using a rag, not her bare hands– and carried out." But the love she has for her brother is shown by the way she makes sure Gregor's well being is good, " Gregor was extremely curious as to what she would bring in its place, imagining the wildest possibilities, but he never could have guessed what his sister, in her goodness, actually

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Question 1: How has Gregor's transformation liberated him from the burden laid upon him by his family?

Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis tells the story of a young man named Gregor Samsa, who transforms into a life–sized beetle. There is no clear explanation of how or why the event happened, or any indication that Gregor deserved it, which helps give rise to the absurd. The absurd is further evident in the family's lack of reaction to his transformation. They were unusually calm, accepted this supernatural occurrence, and quickly adapted to it. Kafka emphasizes Gregor's seclusion from his family. However, Gregor's separation is involuntary as he worked to keep his family financially stable while hating both his job and his boss. Gregor's self–condemnation keeps him trapped as he is enslaved to his family, therefore his guilt emerges from the families' burden. This ultimately causes Gregor to use his...show more content...

Kafka's character Gregor, through all the turmoil he is going through, attaches himself to insignificant items in an effort to remind himself of the human being he used to be. The decay in his life furthers him from human relationship, therefore causing him to relate with objects. This can be observed by the clinging of his furniture and more specifically, by protecting a portrait of a woman in fur.

Gregor is aware of the tension present between his mind and body and the decay of his life, as he attempts to fight it. When Gregor's sister and mother decide to move his furniture to make his living space more suitable for him, he becomes upset because he is still attached to his former identity and attempts to retain it at all costs. Having to stay in his room most of the time, caused Gregor to form a sense of attachment with his surroundings. Therefore, his furniture was of great importance to him, especially as his life continued to Get more content

by Franz Kafka

How individuals think about their identity and how they respond to others is a person's self–concept. Various factors in an individual's life can have a negative or positive affect on their self–concept. Focusing on negative self–concept, we can see reoccurring variables in their social environment that can trigger depressive symptoms. Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, begins when Gregor has awakened from his disturbed dream as a dung beetle. Gregor, the main character and Kafka himself, experienced insecure behavior, alienation and depression in their relationships. For Gregor, these symptoms had a tremendous effect on his self–concept: it led to a depressive and desolate end. Kafka's misery in his real life was reflected in the Gregor's...show more content...

Kafka's relationships with his family and with women demonstrate an avoidant insecure attachment. In the article "Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka" written by Allan Beveridge, Kafka felt "estranged" from society and his relationships (Beveridge 459). In The Metamorphosis, Gregor feels significantly inferior to his entire family: "[he] recoiled at his father's brazen self–confidence" which made him "[feel] uneasy in his own body" (Beveridge 459).This feeling of insignificance parallels to his metamorphosis into vile vermin. Kafka's relationship with his father was avoidant and throughout his adolescence and early adulthood his depressive symptoms and negative self–concept reflect the avoidant attachment. In the biography "Franz Kafka," written by Veronica Loveday, Kafka's upbringing could be described as a tormented one; "feeling oppressed by his domineering father ... [who] had high expectations for his son, was intimidating" (Loveday np). His father was an accomplished business man and like most fathers, had some hope that his son would continue in his footsteps. After Kafka's graduation, he began to work in the family business, just as asked by his father; Kafka hated his long hours and just like Gregor with his fretwork, he never found time for his short stories. Kafka felt constantly criticized at the job which inevitably lowered his self–concept. These continuous feelings of inadequacy created a constant struggle with own perception of himself, which Get more content

The Metamorphosis

The longer story The Metamorphosis, first published in 1971, was written by Franz Kafka. He was born in Prague in 1883 and lived until 1924, and he has written many other stories along with The Metamorphosis. The Metamorphosis appears to be a fantastic piece. After reading The Metamorphosis, I do believe that there are many similarities between magical realism and fantastic literature. Kafka showed many fantastic issues in The Metamorphosis.

While reading The Metamorphosis, I did not feel that it had any magical elements in the story, but had manyfantastic elements. In my opinion, I think that the story did have some realist elements. For example, there was a lot of tension with the family. Although it had to do...show more content...

But what is particularly found problematic is the apparent contradiction in the definition of magical realism as "an amalgamation of realism and fantasy" such as The Metamorphosis (129).

Many things are fantasy, but now since I have learned what magical realism is, I see magical realism in The Metamorphosis. I feel that waking up and being something else is magical and a person hearing his family talking and being scared to leave his room is magical. Also, he had to learn how to walk differently, lie differently, and even eat differently. I feel that part is more magical than fantastic.

The Metamorphosis did have some realist elements as well. Before Gregor Samsa turned into an insect, he was a young traveling salesman who lived with and financially supported his parents and his young sister. Another realist element I found was that it is true that insects do not like the same food we eat. Gregor's food habits changed. Even though he was an insect, his sister still found the time to feed him, and when she fed him, she gave him bread and milk because that was his favorite. When Gregor went to eat it as an insect, he no longer liked the taste. He began eating scraps. He also liked staying under the furniture. All insects like to hide, and even though he went from a human to a bug, he is doing the things that an insect would naturally

Flora Danica B. AguonPaper #2 Final

LI–150 Sec. 02

Stephanie Farrier

April 30, 2015 "The Metamorphosis"

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka was first published in 1915, it portrayed a man named Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who is the sole income for his family. He awakes one morning to find out that he turns into a bug. Gregor, facing an unpleasant job leaves no time for himself. The pressure of time and intense monetary ambition of the economic driven world drives Gregor to feel alienated from himself, as well as his family, because of his commitment to provide for them. Gregor's removal from humanity transcends from his private life into the public realm by impacting his experience and social life.

Having awakened as a bug, Gregor...show more content... He isolates his family, himself, and his work by the pressures that society places upon his shoulders, especially within his family. Gregor's metamorphosis is when he transforms into a bug, but also represents his growing awareness of his isolation. Out of this understanding comes rage; Gregor's wrath is exposed when he becomes infuriated at the way his family neglected him. In addition to anger and despair is of his realization and his transitions into the phase of depression. Watching his family give more consideration to others, such as the lodgers, while he is given no care at all brings about a sorrow that engulfs him. Acceptance comes for Gregor at the final point in his life; he comes to a full recognition of his isolation with a sense of peace at the moments of his last breath. Gregor's death gave him the ultimate freedom from all of the pressure and alienation that had entrapped him for so long ("Gregor Samsa's Get

by Franz Kafka

In The Metamorphosis, Kafka establishes, through his religious imagery and gospel–esque episodic narration, the character of Gregor Samsa simultaneously as a kind of inverse Messianic figure and a god–like artist, relating the two and thus turning the conventional concept of the literary hero on its ear. The structure of the novel reflects that of the Gospel of Mark in that it is narrated in individual events, and in this it is something of a KГјnstlerroman – that is, the real metamorphosis is over the course of the novel, rather than just at the beginning, and that change is a heightened sensitivity to the world in an artistic sense. The motif of change is a rather theological one as well: we see it in a religious sense, in the form of...show more content...

Kafka reveals very little about Gregor's life prior to this incident: all we know of him is that he had been a traveling salesman who was constantly "busying himself with his fretsaw" and who "never (went) out in the evenings," instead spending his time "sitting . . . at the table quietly reading the paper or studying" (Kafka 12–13). This imagery of Samsa as a studious carpenter characterizes him as humble and, in this, somewhat unlikable to the toughest audiences. Even imagery as simplistic as this conjures the image of Gregor as a bookish, studious milquetoast. At the same time, the carpenter characterization connotes Christ, and thus immediately hints at Samsa's eventual heroism, even before anything significant has happened. So when the book's first "metamorphosis" occurs in the first sentence, Gregor's prior circumstances make him fertile ground in which a change in spirit can occur. Samsa even acknowledges the metaphysical change enacted in himself: when he tries to explain to his family and the head clerk why he cannot leave his room, his audience can "no longer (understand) his words, even though they (are) clear enough to him, clearer than before even" (15). It is as if he is in another dimension from them completely and therefore a sort of "immortal" at heart, before the knowledge is even imparted upon him in the form

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Analysis of The Metamorphosis

This story "The Metamorphosis" is about Gregor, a workaholic, who is changed into an insect and must then deal with his present reality. The hardest part of being an insect for him was the alienation from his family, which eventually leads to his death. In reading the short story "The Metamorphosis," (1971),one can realize how small the difference is between Magical Realism and Fantastic. This literature written by the Austrian, Franz Kafka, is often debated over.

The magical elements in this story are obvious like they should be in fantastic literature. It is not often that humans are turned into insects. Another magical element that is not as clear is the unconditional love that Gregor had for his...show more content... After someone accepts what he or she have become, that someone and his or her family must deal with it. The rest of the story depicts one's life after this turning point.

Like in all fantastic literature, the relationship between the magical element and the rest of the world causes a huge problem. The world as the characters know it does a 180 degree turn around that Rabkin mentions. The family was completely dependent on Gregor before the metamorphosis. Now Mr. Samsa has a job as a bank guard, Mrs. Samsa sews underwear, and Grete is a saleslady, and the family has nothing to do with Gregor. They turned on him when he needed them. This feeling of worthlessness kills him.

Kafka uses defamiliarization in his fantastic story even though it is a characteristic of magical realism. "Magic Realists use defamiliarization to radically emphasize common elements of reality" (Simpkins 150). Kafka uses defamiliarization through telling the story of Gregor. Gregor, a workaholic, who always tries to do what is best for his family makes himself miserable in a job that he hates. He always puts others first. This approach eventually leads to his loneliness when his family finds out what he has become due to his job. Everyone in this story goes through his or her own metamorphosis. Through defamiliarization, Kafka examines life,