Kafka's Self Worth Portrayed In The Metamorphosis

A detailed Summary of Kafka's Self Worth Portrayed In The Metamorphosis

Kafka's Self Worth Portrayed In The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis is Kafka's portrayal of the negative mental and physical aspects in his life. It is clear that Kafka's low self-esteem stemmed from the lack of acceptance from his family, especially his father. The relationship between Kafka and his father can be seen in the relationship between Gregor and Mr. Samsa. This paper will use various texts to show that The Metamorphosis is a story about the impact of his negative father-son relationship on his self worth.

Kafka's relationship to his father was parallel to that of Gregor and his father. In Kafka's younger years, his father constantly criticized him, especially about his physical appearance. His father would brag about his awesome strength and would say something derogatory towards Franz because of his frail like body. In Crawford's biography about Franz Kafka, it is told that by the time he was six, he was convinced that he was a weakling: his own fathers attitude did this. (17) An example of his fathers attitude is portrayed in the Metamorphosis when Gregor turns into a diseased bug. The depiction of turning into a bug is a display of Kafka's subconscious. It is how he felt about himself based on the treatme

Kafka did understand why his mother couldn't do more to alleviate his miserable relationship with his father. Just like Franz, his mother was a victim of Hermann's cold manipulation. Although Kafka very much admired his mother, he understood that she could not fix his feelings of isolation because of her position in the family. The feelings of isolation continued to haunt him throughout his entire life. He had to face feelings of severe isolation which forced him to become introverted but put on a facade in order to be accepted. The mental scars left from his father and the inability to relate to his family is what shaped the rest of his life. It was the feelings of inadequacy that made Kafka the creative writer that he was.

re family depended on him for support. Gregor was expected to get up everyday and go to a job that he hates, just to support his family. He felt used and taken advantage of. But when he transforms, he begins to think about he let his family down because he can no longer work to pay for the debts. These events are exactly the same as what Kafka went through with his family and their financial situation.

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I agree with this articles point that the failure of both parental empathy and positive interaction can effect the way a child's self-esteem develops and that the more you nurture and instill confidence in a child, it helps build the foundation on what he or she will become. Kafka's writings were clearly that of abuse - abuse that was suffered right from the early age of 6 initially starting with his father. Hermann Kafka was a hard and cold man, who couldn't find the good in anything. He grew up in a strict family quite like what he displays in his own home life. It is safe to say that Hermann's upbringing started a chain reaction of how things were to follow once he had a family of his own. Because of this, Franz suffered for it both emotionally and physically. Constant criticism and bickering with his father made who Franz Kafka was, including what made his self-esteem the way it was.

Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. New York: A Bantom Book, 1915.

The first generation of Franz Kafka's critics has construed The Metamorphosis, like his other enigmatical takes, diversely as a fusion of naturalism and supernaturalism, or of realism and surrealism; or as an allegory, or as a mere psychotic projection. Gregor Samsa's metamorphosis into a bug serves, if supernatural, to magnify his natural anguish or despair; if surrealistic, to illumine the categories of self, of the absurd, or of nonentity, if allegorical, to figure the reincarnation of Christ, the isolation of the artist, neurotic illness, or alienation at large. If, finally, it expresses literally Kafka's own view of the world, then its significance is autobiographical rather than artistic. (Binion 7)

The Baker article points out that physical appearances and the sense of bodily integrity are an important component of the sense of self both in childhood and adult life. Kafkas lack of bodily integrity is symbo

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Approximate Word count = 2106
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Science