metamorphosis

A detailed Summary of metamorphosis

Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis could not have a more appropriate title than it dons now. Virtually every round character in this extraordinarily poetic story takes on at least one, sometimes several transformations throughout the course of the writing. Every member of the family is changed in some aspect: physical appearance, temperament, lifestyle, and role in the group. Indeed, even the state of the group, or family is altered. These transformations are due to an inner dissatisfaction with the current situation.

The opening line of the story, "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect," reveals the primary and most basic metamorphosis of this piece of literature. Kafka attempts to show the reader Samsa's discontentment with what he feels is the lack of control in his life by spontaneous transformation of a human being into an insect. Humans are at the top of the food chain in the world, and thus are in complete control. In contrast, insects have almost no control over their own destiny because they are small, unintelligent creatures that can be squashed between a human's thumb and forefinger or destroyed under the sole of a stepping shoe.

The most obvious dimension of the insect's representation is that of loneliness and isolation. While his family and everyone around him were shaped in the form of human beings, Gregor, alone, is an insect. Not only is Gregor's appearance unusual, so is his speech, or more correctly, his eventual lack of speech. These are merely a metaphor for Gregor's feelings of loneliness while he was the lone source of income in his family. Since he had worked hard enough to obtain the position of travelling salesperson, Gregor earned enough money "that he was able to meet the expenses of the whole household and did so. They had simply gotten used to it, both the family and Gregor" (326). This quotation already gives the reader a sense of the separation between Gregor and his family. As the line continues, however, the reader becomes much more aware of Samsa's emotions concerning the matter: "the money was gratefully accepted and gladly given, but there was no uprush of warm feeling" (326).

Initially, Gregor is preoccupied with typical male attitudes. In dealing with work, he was going to make it to the office in any condition. It does not matter to him that he had taken the shape of an insect. He expected his sister to attend to him like a proper younger sister should to her older brother. He wants her to find out his likes and dislikes and to bring for him an adequate selection of food. When she starts to neglect his feeding and regular cleaning, Gregor becomes hostile. He begins to whine in a stereotypically female fashion: "but not only did she retreat, she jumped back as if in alarm and banged the door shut; a stranger might well have thought that he had been lying in wait for her there meaning to bite her" (328). As for Grete, she begins to gain, from Gregor, some the deference that is usually reserved only for males. She decides what Gregor will eat. Gregor must hide under the sofa so as to hide himself from her. In this way she has grown to be more male.

The insect is Gregor's "underlying self." It refuses to be further subjected to the miserable life he has led in his concern for money. Finally, this persona has manifested itself into Gregor's life. It will not be chased

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1492
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English