Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis Literary Analysis

"The Metamorphosis," written by Franz Kafka in 1912, follows several societal patterns that are frequently observed in Kafka 's other works. The idea of growth and degradation is one of these patterns. Another is the aspect of human nature that causes deception as a defensive device. Within "The Metamorphosis" these two key patterns come together to create a story that employs magic realism and dream logic to create a drama of illness. It is said in Roy Pascal 's book Kafka 's Narrators: A study of his stories and sketches that the abstract structure of the story "forces the reader to look beyond the surface network of the story for another symbolic meaning" (39). By taking a closer look at these two together, deeper meaning and insight is
The story itself is merely the working out of the climax. Unlike some of Kafka 's other stories, "the 'metamorphosis ' is not manifestly connected with any idea with any idea of punishment or self-punishment, but merely stated without explanation at the beginning; it is now on the punishment itself that Kafka dwells at length" (Luke 105). This punishment that Luke speaks of is that for "the unforgivable offense of self-assertion" (104) of which Gregor is guilty of when he takes over the role of breadwinner in the family. Gregor 's deterioration follows another commonly found pattern of Kafka 's stories: "the hero falls from corporal self-sufficiency to hunger and then to death and silence [...]" (Thiher 40). This pattern can also be observed in Kafka 's "A Hunger Artist" and in "The Judgement." Though at first the reader may want to interpret the metamorphosis as metaphorical, it is meant to be taken literally. The process of Gregor 's transformation and decline to death is clearly illustrated by the division of the story into three chapters, one for each of Gregor 's outbreaks (Greenburg qtd. in Dixon 400; Luke 103). The first chapter involves Gregor 's initial loss of power and influence in the family, which is mirrored by his father 's gain in power and authority as,
Even the other characters respond as if it were a natural event, such like that he had woken with a cold or measles. According to Luke, "[this] disparity can be described in psychological terms as a defense-mechanism involving reality-denial and affect-displacement [...]" (111). Thiher also acknowledges that the story is largely based on misrepresentations and deception (48). Gregor appears to have several delusions. Firstly, at the beginning of the story, he is delusional in that he thinks that his bugness is merely temporary (Kafka 377). Secondly, he views his reputation at work to be much higher than it actually is. With the arrival of the chief clerk, we, the readers, realize that he has not been as exceptional at work as he leads us to believe (Kafka 380-81). He has misrepresented his job security. He also is delusional with regard to his family 's social and monetary positions. He was under the impression that his family was unable to survive without him so when the family business failed, he assumed the position of breadwinner of the family, allowing his father to grow increasingly sedentary. As the metamorphosis progressed, all of these delusions and self-deceptions were revealed as the deterioration of Gregor advanced and the growth and metamorphosis of his family occurred. What in fact was later discovered was that his father had a sum of money stored away