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…
In the Metamorphosis,Gregor must work to support his family after they lost the company and lost all their money. One morning he wakes up and discovers he is a vermin. The first thing that occurs to him when he discovers this is how will he get to work and that his boss will come to his house and demand that Gregor come to work, meanwhile Gregor is locked in his room unable to get out of bed because he is a bug. Finally he is able to get out of bed, but the boss is gone the time he gets up. His family sees him and is disgusted and shocked by his transformatio. His sister brings him food and cares for him like no one in his family ever has, but even she becomes disgusted with him after a while. They all ignore Gregor. At one point Gregor is…
In Part I of Metamorphosis, Kafka ends the part by illustrating the rejection of Gregor by emphasizing that even before his transformation in an insect; a situation which forces him to hid away from others, Gregor has always been isolated from others. Due to his job as a traveling salesman, Gregor is unable to make any friends or stay close to anyone at all for that matter, turning him into a very reclusive person (though Kafka never states is Gregor has always been this way or if is simply the job that caused this). When we come to the end of Part I, Gregor is also in extreme anxiety due to the fact that he was supporting his family and is now unable to work. This effect Gregor so much that even after he has transformed into a bug, he is still trying to find ways to be able to work. This conflict causes Gregor to feel trapped, like a bug locked in a room, hidden away under the settee.…
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…
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.…
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 column, “ The Boys Fall into the Gender Gap” (2016), Suzanne Fields, a nationally syndicated columnists, argues that boys are falling behind in the gender gap and are reading less books, skipping pages while reading, and lack an interest in reading that is resulting in a slow decrease of male college graduates. Fields illuminates the cause by using studies form the Center for Education Policy, National Assessment of Education Progress, and several schools to exhibit the problem among boys. Fields exemplifies the growing reading problem among young boys in order to raise awareness to the situation — boys are falling behind. Fields’ references the audience as “teachers, classroom assistants, and librarians”, and uses a wary tone full of caution in order to express how crucial the situation is.…
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a novella. The theme in this story is that change in one character leads to positive and negative change in other characters. Gregor Samsa, the main character changes into dung beetle. His change affects his family deeply and they make both positive and negative changes to accommodate both his change and themselves. The family resents Gregor and sees him as a burden, which is a negative change, but previously the family had relied on Gregor as their source of income. This is where the conflict arises because now they have to learn to work for themselves instead of relying on Gregor for income, which is ultimately a great positive change.…
1. The word "metamorphosis" is defined as "a change in form or shape or change in character". Franz Kafka uses the word to title is work and it applies to what the story is about. The book starts off with Gregor Samsa waking up and finding "himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin."(3). Although Gregor is the only one who actually transformed, the title is not applying only to Gregor. Gregor's father is transformed not in a physical way but his character and attitude changes. As Gregor was chasing after the office manager, his dad "started brandishing the cane and the newspaper to drive Gregor back into his room."(18) like he actually saw Gregor as some vermin other than his son.…