Kafka's Metamorphisis analysis
Franz Kafka wrote The Metamorphosis in 1912, it is one of the few books that were published in his lifetime. The Metamorphosis appeared in print in 1915. Kafka had a distinct style of writing that is shown in the metamorphosis. He often presented an impossible situation and then develops the story from there. The opening line of the Metamorphosis demonstrates this, "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect." (pg. 400) Immediately the story starts out with an impossible situation, a man becoming an insect. The story is then the events that happen after the man, Gregor Samsa, becomes an insect. My first impression of this was that of shock. I thought, why Kafka would turn one of his characters into an insect without any reason. In most story's, the fate of a character is the direct result of one of there actions. These actions are related to the reader so that the reader knows why this happened or the reader gains a sense of foreshadowing, something Kafka does not do. The shock of the first sentence leads the reader to know that he/ she is not going to be able to predict what happens next in the story, unlike others.
When Gregor turned into an insect, all his worldly obligations disappeared. He no longer had to go to work or worry about bills, but he still felt he had to. This is because he had other people around, who rely on him. Kafka brought up a good reason why people cannot just lock themselves in their room; other people rely on them. Gregor knew that his family needed him and that is why he felt guilty about his metamorphosis. This is something that other people have to realize and it is something that may motivate them to keep going. While doing research on The Metamorphosis, I stumble across an interesting article on the Internet. It told of the relation of the great Greek Tragedy, Oedipus Rex, and The Metamorphosis. As Gregor is looking out the window, he realizes that his vision is getting worse. He cannot make out the houses outside. This loss of vision is synonymous with the loss of vision of Oedipus when he gauges his eyes out. Oedipus does this because of the guilt he felt for the crimes he committed against his father. Gregor is doing the same thing. He is losing his sight because of the guilt he feels towards his father. He feels guilty because he has caused him more stress and forced him to go back to work. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, is a book that can be analyzed on many levels. It can be seen as a social commentary on American work habits, or an autobiographical story of Kafka. Depending on the reader, different meanings can be established. Even the same reader might be able to find different meanings at different times. This is an element of this story that makes it an excellent story and that is why the story is a classic. Another point that I found to be interesting was the reason for Gregor Samsa to have the type of work he has. Samsa is working for a man called "Chief', to whom is parents are in great debt. He keeps working for this man even though he does not like him because of this debt. If the family was in that great debt, why would they be able to hire a cook and servant girl and be able to live in what seemed to be a relatively large flat. Another point, brought out later, Gregor's father had some money left after the collapse of his business and money from Gregor's paycheck, but not all of it went to paying off the debts since all of it was not needed. Also, no one else in the family
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1591
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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