The Metamorphosis
The use of Marxist ideas is very prominent within Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Kafka represents and highlights socialist ideas within the text by using characterisation and other techniques. Samsa can be seen as a symbol of the alienated worker, Gregor’s father as the oppressive Bourgeoisie and finally how the story can be seen as a critique of the industrialised society of the early 20th Century.
Looking at Karl Marx's theories of worker alienation, Gregor Samsa highlights the “deadening of the soul” of the worker during the crescendo of the industrial revolution. Reading The Metamorphosis, it can be seen that, satirically, Gregor Samsa transforms in a physical sense, but mentally Gregor had always been a creature designed to work and by changing …show more content…
“It’s a queer way of acting, too, this sitting on high at a desk and talking down to employees, […] Once I’ve saved enough money to pay back my parents’ debts to him – that should take another five or six years – I’ll do it without fail” (Kafka 4). This shows that even though Gregor instinctively knows it’s wrong, like humans naturally know that this is wrong, he still has a small amount of free thinking. However, his ‘free’ thinking could be seen as stressing the theory that the worker is always dreaming of the future instead of living in the present (Theory 29/10/14)
Gregor has given himself over entirely to a system intent on destroying the key components of humanity; simplicity, control over personal thoughts, love in the heart and gratitude (Components26/10/2014). Kafka here is hitting home to the reader about how humanity has given in to the same system, Samsa knows this in others: “The porter …show more content…
In terms of Gregor’s role in the family he is useless. He is a 0 profit machine as he will only eat food and sleep in the house without contributing anything. So in the sense of social household class he is useless hence why he is now no longer suitable for sacrifice. Even though he still has a working mind and a soul, this is not considered important therefore is unfit to sacrifice himself (relating to ungeizheifer) and is ultimately killed. This is very much an emphasis on the alienating cycle of capitalism as the purpose of being is only to produce and follow the system instead of provoking new and free thinking. “Individuals become estranged to themselves in the quest to stay alive, where they lose their true existence in the struggle for subsistence” (Axelos, 1976: 111). The capitalist corruption means that to live externally to the system they must be wealthy enough to provide for themselves, and to be wealthy in the capitalist society one must maintain the status of
Looking at Karl Marx's theories of worker alienation, Gregor Samsa highlights the “deadening of the soul” of the worker during the crescendo of the industrial revolution. Reading The Metamorphosis, it can be seen that, satirically, Gregor Samsa transforms in a physical sense, but mentally Gregor had always been a creature designed to work and by changing …show more content…
“It’s a queer way of acting, too, this sitting on high at a desk and talking down to employees, […] Once I’ve saved enough money to pay back my parents’ debts to him – that should take another five or six years – I’ll do it without fail” (Kafka 4). This shows that even though Gregor instinctively knows it’s wrong, like humans naturally know that this is wrong, he still has a small amount of free thinking. However, his ‘free’ thinking could be seen as stressing the theory that the worker is always dreaming of the future instead of living in the present (Theory 29/10/14)
Gregor has given himself over entirely to a system intent on destroying the key components of humanity; simplicity, control over personal thoughts, love in the heart and gratitude (Components26/10/2014). Kafka here is hitting home to the reader about how humanity has given in to the same system, Samsa knows this in others: “The porter …show more content…
In terms of Gregor’s role in the family he is useless. He is a 0 profit machine as he will only eat food and sleep in the house without contributing anything. So in the sense of social household class he is useless hence why he is now no longer suitable for sacrifice. Even though he still has a working mind and a soul, this is not considered important therefore is unfit to sacrifice himself (relating to ungeizheifer) and is ultimately killed. This is very much an emphasis on the alienating cycle of capitalism as the purpose of being is only to produce and follow the system instead of provoking new and free thinking. “Individuals become estranged to themselves in the quest to stay alive, where they lose their true existence in the struggle for subsistence” (Axelos, 1976: 111). The capitalist corruption means that to live externally to the system they must be wealthy enough to provide for themselves, and to be wealthy in the capitalist society one must maintain the status of