Depression In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a short story about a man who wakes up one day to discover that he is a bug. However, many people believe that the story has much more meaning to it than that. In Metamorphosis, Kafka uses Gregor’s transformation into a bug as a metaphor for depression. Franz Kafka’s book, The Metamorphosis, was designed to be an extended metaphor that readers could connect to in any generation. Kafka most likely did not intend for the book to be taken literally, so readers are not supposed to believe that Gregor has actually transformed into a giant bug. During the current generation, Metamorphosis can very easily be viewed as a metaphor for depression. When Gregor first wakes to find that he has been turned into a bug, one of his first thoughts is of work. He is frantic about missing …show more content…
Even though he has no control over what happened to him, Gregor feels like it is his fault, much like people with depression feel like everything that goes wrong is their fault. His amount of panicking about missing work shows that he is under a lot of pressure, and we learn later that it is his job to support his entire family. It is pretty common knowledge that people who are put under a great deal of pressure are more much susceptible to depression. When Gregor decides he “[does] not relish the fresh foods, he could not even stand their smells,”(16) he eats only the rotten leftovers from his family 's meals. This symbolizes that he feels as if he does not deserve anything better than rotten food, and he later stops eating all together. People who suffer from depression usually feel worthless and undeserving, and usually have a significant
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a short story about a man who wakes up one day to discover that he is a bug. However, many people believe that the story has much more meaning to it than that. In Metamorphosis, Kafka uses Gregor’s transformation into a bug as a metaphor for depression. Franz Kafka’s book, The Metamorphosis, was designed to be an extended metaphor that readers could connect to in any generation. Kafka most likely did not intend for the book to be taken literally, so readers are not supposed to believe that Gregor has actually transformed into a giant bug. During the current generation, Metamorphosis can very easily be viewed as a metaphor for depression. When Gregor first wakes to find that he has been turned into a bug, one of his first thoughts is of work. He is frantic about missing …show more content…
Even though he has no control over what happened to him, Gregor feels like it is his fault, much like people with depression feel like everything that goes wrong is their fault. His amount of panicking about missing work shows that he is under a lot of pressure, and we learn later that it is his job to support his entire family. It is pretty common knowledge that people who are put under a great deal of pressure are more much susceptible to depression. When Gregor decides he “[does] not relish the fresh foods, he could not even stand their smells,”(16) he eats only the rotten leftovers from his family 's meals. This symbolizes that he feels as if he does not deserve anything better than rotten food, and he later stops eating all together. People who suffer from depression usually feel worthless and undeserving, and usually have a significant