Frank Kafka's Metamorphosis

Frank Kafka’s disease, unsupportive and insensitive parents influence his abnormal literature. Born on July 3, 1883, in Prague, capital of what is now the Czech Republic, writer Franz Kafka grew up in a middle-class Jewish family with five other siblings. Tragedy soon struck him and his family when his two brothers died in infancy. Kafka was an intelligent individual who excelled in writing while also having a law degree in 1906. He did all of this while suffering from tuberculosis.

After having his degree for a while, Arbeiter-Unfall Versicherungs Anstalt offered him a job that gave him free time in the afternoon. This was good as his tuberculosis made it difficult for him to stay up during the day due to it giving him extreme
fatigue. He continued to do most of his work at night. Frank’s disease caused him to have several disorder and health problems throughout his life. Some of these setbacks to his health are: insomnia, furunculosis, asthenia, constipation, as well as neuro-vegetative disorders. To gain treatment, he went into a crude vegetarian diet. His lungs were dramatically affected and made it harder to breathe. Frank’s nerves were practically dissipating away from his body, causing him constant, and painful headaches. On August 9, l917, tuberculosis was clearly evident, becoming manifest with haemoptysis. This became so bad that at one point he even messaged one of his friends saying he almost tried to kill himself. Most of his works reflected large amounts of his personality. Especially with his most famous story, “Metamorphosis”, that shows a man sick with many medical issues just like Frank had. While working on the book, “Metamorphosis”, he often wrote deranged things in his diary that likely influenced what he wrote in his book. Two of these excerpts are, "I would stand at the window for long periods, and was frequently tempted to amaze the toll collector on the bridge below by my plunge.". This shows a man weighed down by his unstable diseases and illness that made him have the desire to kill himself. His book, “The Trial”, was influenced by his disorders and illness by the way it used dark exploration of anxiety, paranoia, and persecution.

Frank Kafka did not have a great relationship with his parents.
His parents either had different views on what he should he do or did not understand what he wanted to do. Frank was always an intellectual and creative kid. This is probably why he had such a great success with his literature. However, his dad did not believe in his impractical ways to get a successful career. The reason Frank Kafka decided to switch from a chemistry major to a law major in order to eventually receive a degree in law was because he seeked his father’s approval. He often wrote metaphors in his works about overcoming an overwhelming force which is compared to him wanting his dad’s approval. He always thought that he was a disappointment to his father. His book ,“The Judgment”, shows the reflection of how he believes his dad thinks about him; not only in the title, but also in the story. With Frank’s timid personality, he was never really able to stand up for himself and often seeks forgiveness. He literally wrote a whole book about searching for grace and forgiveness called, “The Castle”. His mother did not have the same particular problems with his career, but was not as intelligent as her son and did not understand the path that he wanted to take. Frank’s mom did not have as much of an impact as his father to his dream because his dad was a more brute individual that ruled the
house. Frank Kafka was an intellectual with many talents and short stories. Some of his short stories were published and gained fame after he died on June 3, 1924. This was not the case for all, with a talent such as he gave a vivid era of literature. He overcame many challenges to become the man he was before he died at a young age. These challenges, including a deadly disease and judgmental parents, are the reason he was able to come up with such creative stories.