The Castle And The Metamorphosis

from birth, we are taught to isolate ourselves from bad situations, while continuing the pursuit of happiness. The human mind is a marvelous, complex, and most of all an essential aspect of our lives. Our minds are capable of rational thinking, as well as irrational thinking. In response to the theme of alienation in Kafka’s two literary works; The Castle and The Metamorphosis, society criticized and mocked Franz Kafka for disfiguring reality. Blunt portrayals of despair and ludicrousness are not uncommonly associated with his literary works. Often times, within Kafka’s works, he would show isolation and alienation through the use of uncanny human transformations. In his two literary works, The Castle, and The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka subliminally
walks us through his life, skipping very few details.
Commonly considered as Franz Kafka's paramount literary work, The Castle explores alienation in the form of the interminable hindrances of K’s endeavors in support of nonconformity, while chasing an ineffective and unattainable ambition of feeling as if he as a person is valued by society.
Following his arrival in an unidentified village, a castle wall greeted him. An instant sense of bureaucracy overwhelmed K, as he spent the majority of his time struggling to overcome the government within the walls of the castle. K. is called upon as a land surveyor whose occupation requires him to abandon his family and relocate to a hostile, environment covered with a thick blanket of snow. His aspiration to reach the castle and gather information regarding his job seems sensible, however from his first meeting with the inhabitants of the village overseen by the castle, he grasps that his time in the village will not be as meek as he hoped. All of his attempts at communicating the castle are
ineffective, compelling him to linger in the village and await additional directions from Klamm, a castle official whom is told to supervise K. “The thought that he would much rather not be seen by Klamm in his present position touched him only vaguely as a faint disturbance of his comfort”(Kafka, Page 135). Here K. gives a glimpse of his affiliation with alienation and isolation. He has no ambition to be seen by Klamm, he would rather shelter himself away from the other castle residents. K. later ascertains that the villagers are at the mercy of the control that the castle holds over them. He eventually falls in love with a former lover of Klamm; Frieda. K.’s landlord, was extremely critical of their affiliation. As a result K. and Frieda must leave the inn where he is staying, without anywhere to flee. He later finds reasonable suspicion of there being a reason for his being sent to the village. His ambition to come in contact with the castle officials was continually increasing. From there, K. and Frieda find their relationship to be shaky. Their relationship eventually collapses and K. is forced to leave . An imperative letter from the castle, causes K. to be able to enter the castle and experience the wonders of the inside.
Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is a cesspool of differentiating interpretations of same the story. One in particular involves a literal alteration in the protagonist; a physical mutation from man to repulsive insect. This physical metamorphosis brings our focus to one of the major themes in the work, alienation. Today's society demands conformity to its norms and any individual who refuses to accept these faces alienation, isolation, discrimination, and in some cases, much worse. He uses literary techniques like this to portray his personal point of view on society. Although affective, such methods my or may not be ethical in today’s day and age. The blatant attempt at changing someone’s opinion generally isn’t handled well socially, because of social constructs set upon us by our family, media, and peers.
Before his abrupt transmutation from man to insect In Franz Kafka’s: The Metamorphosis, the main character, Gregor Samsa is not only alienated from his job, but also his family, and eventually his body. After his mutation, Gregor felt completely alienated from his home. The Metamorphosis, in some senses influentially criticizes the alienation brought about by the modernized social constructs and strata. During his formative years, Gregor discovered that he alone was financially responsible to support his family. “ ‘What a quiet life our family has been leading’, said Gregor to himself, and as he sat there motionless staring into the darkness be felt great pride in the fact that he had been able to provide such a life for his parents and sister in such a fine flat.” (Kafka, Page 93). His family influenced his feeling of obligation to provide them with luxury. Therefore, out of pure love for his family, he forced himself to alienate himself and work as hard as possible to provide for them. The influential opinion of his family mattered significantly. As he constantly felt obligated to seek loving, meaningful relationships comprised of heartfelt affection with another person. He felt it was feasible, that fathering children would bring true meaning to his desolate life. “ […] Casual acquaintances that are always new and never become intimate friends”(Kafka, Page 81). Gregor spent countless days and evenings traveling from one desolate motel to another as a textile salesman. In his own home, he locks himself in his bedroom, as if to force isolation upon himself. As a result, he finds it difficult, or even impossible to find friends. Gregor’s overwhelming need to alienate himself even more from his overbearing destitute lineage, as well as the rest of an overburdening society. Gregor is working for a company that keeps a close eye on his every move.
Sending the chief clerk to check up on Gregor in his home, when he neglected to show up to work (Kafka, 1946). Gregor's decided to resolve his quandary is to show very little concern over his conversion to a gargantuan insect. However, this alienates Gregor from his family even more than before. They begin to reject him, refuse to look at him, and most of all they exploit him. Gregor is forced to die isolated from his family and the rest of society, only to be thrown in the garbage by the maid the following
day.
Many of Kafka’s literary works revolve around the reoccurring theme of alienation. In both works previously outlined, it can be observed that the characters in Kafka’s stories, constantly experience heightened acts of alienation. For example, in The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa is forced to experience alienation in the way that he is shunned by his family following his uncanny transformation from human to insect. Society influences Gregor’s opinion of himself and others. He feels little repentance following his transformation. At first he barely noticed he had changed. In response to that, he was obviously feeling shunned by society prior to his metamorphosis. Afterward, he didn’t notice he had changed, because he was treated the same way he was when he was not mutated into a vomit-inducing, gigantic insect. Referencing Gregor’s discussion of his inability to find intimate friends. It seems to be a reoccurring concept in Kafka’s stories.
Also found in his The Castle, alienation serves as an important, yet not as abrupt theme of the work. In this story, alienation is seen during K.’s struggle for answers from the castle officials, as well as within his lack of determination to be a part of society. K. did not want to meet with Klamm to receive further instruction regarding his land surveying. K. was stubborn and refused to go in public and get the answer’s he needed. He alienated himself, and dragged Frieda along for the trip. Although what K. expected from the meeting with Klamm is not completely apparent, it sometimes seems as if his plans of action is to solve any possible problems that his relationship with Frieda; Klamm's prior lover. Have already instigated or may in the future. K., however, is constantly advised to leave the matter alone. Under the pretense that such as a high-ranking Castle official, Klamm could not conceivably pay any attention to what an alien like K. does.
The Castle and The Metamorphosis, through Kafka’s candid depictions of hopelessness and nonsensicalness have reoccurring themes of alienation. While the main characters of both experience a sense of isolation, whether self-inflicted or otherwise. His character’s hardships assist Kafka in his ability to project meaning within his literature. Kafka believes that life without literature is a life without meaning. That having been said, it can be seen from Kafka’s works that as an author, he subtly revolves his work around his personal life. Therefore, how can us as readers, determine what parts of his works or fictional, made up figments of his imagination, and what parts are truth?