Franz Kafka College Essays Samples For Students

Essay Proposal of “The Metamorphosis”

The novella, “The Metamorphosis,” is written by Franz Kafka. The conflict between Gregor’s body and mind makes a tremendous change in his life, as it is a second change after he becomes a cockroach. His mind has to adjust to the requirements of his new body and new life as a gigantic insect. He recognizes the limits of his new body. He starts hating milk that he likes when he is human. He gets personal feelings for his sister, feeling of guilt, and feeling sorrow when he hears his father discussing the family’s financial condition and plight.

Gregor’s transformation ...

Value of Community: Gregor’s Father vs. Van Helsing

Dracula was a Gothic horror novel that was written by an Irish writer named Bram Stoker. In the novel, Van Helsing is portrayed as a monster who had a desire to hunt for evil. It is believe that Van Helsing was becoming an ultimate threat to humans. But in the novel, The Metamorphosis that was written by Franz Kafka, there was a character named Mr. Samsa. Mr. Samsa was Gregor’s father, who is portrayed as a father who did not care about anything. When his son turned into a monster, it had no impact at all on him. The only thing that bothered him ...

The Hunger artist in Franz Kafka’s short story “The Hunger Artist” on the surface suffers from pangs of hunger from not eating. But his real suffering is deeper, and it is the cause of him being a hunger artist in the first place. The protagonist’s worldview is of his own making, and because of it his is unable to adjust to the normal world and instead is trapped in both a mental and physical cage.
The hunger artist at times cares about what the onlookers of his art think, and at other times he seems greatly concerned about ...

Franz Kafka is the author of the famous anthology, The Metamorphosis. He was born in 1883, in Prague which is Czech Republic’s capital. He was brought up in a moderate Jewish family. After pursuing law in the University of Prague, he secured a job in the insurance field and wrote during the evenings. He later moved to Berlin in 1923 to carry on with his writing. However, he developed tuberculosis and died afterwards. He was the only son in a family that included three daughters since his two brothers died during infancy. He never had a smooth relationship with his mother because ...

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a short story about a man who turns into a vermin. His family, the Samsas, instead of trying to help him, treats him cruelly and ostracizes him because of his uselessness and appearance. Kafka shows a dysfunctional family that exploits Gregor for its economic stability. The paper will try to analyze the text using the tenets of existentialism and how Kafka used them to portray Gregor and his society.
Gregor Samsas, the protagonist of the story is a travelling salesman, who wakes up in his bed to find that he has metamorphosized into a large insect. He is ...

One of the most complicated questions to answer in human behaviour is how a person becomes who he or she is. In this context, the main problem is in identifying the difference between inborn inclinations of an individual and subsequent influence of the surrounding environment of living. From one point scientists argue that the answer to who we are is in our genes and DNA chains, and we cannot go beyond what our DNA has programmed us to be capable of. From another point of view, we are what are made by totality of factors. Among these factors are our ...

Many authors have written significant and fascinating works about people in isolation; this isolation is often used to showcase their alienation from society (and subsequent subjugation). In Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” a timid housewife is prescribed a rest cure by her physician husband, involving her sequestering herself away from the rest of the world, diving into inaction. She experiences both tremendous psychotic episodes and incredible feministic tendencies and desires, echoing the frustrations that women in the 19th century had given their restricted autonomy and the forcefulness of their husbands. Meanwhile, Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis tells the horrific ...

Introduction

The hunger artist by Franz Kafka was first published in 1924. The hunger artist expresses the feeling of loss of identity, pervasiveness, guilt and the sense of evil that permeates the sense of ruling powers. It also expresses the unease that Kafka went through during his lifetime. Kafka’s Prague was a civilized cosmopolitan city in Europe but very hostile to Jews. As a Jew in Prague, he distrusts the authority (Kafka 1952). Kafka was segregated from the mainstream society and lived in a ghetto. The hunger artist symbolizes the sufferings that Germans were going through under the reign of Adolf Hitler. ...

A comparison between two ‘black sheep’

A Hunger Artist and Bartleby 2
Abstract
There are certain people with strange behaviors that are usually out of conception for others in their vicinity. There are two short stories- A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka and Bartleby, the Scrivener by Herman Melville which depict the stories of two peculiar characters. Both were stuck with something painful or strange in their lives and refused completely to behave normally or in any compliance with the society. Both the characters had their reasons. And hence, no one could try reasoning with them successfully. This short essay illuminates the comparison ...

Introduction

Women have been displayed in fiction novels to have influential characters that change the course of the narrative. Even when they are not the protagonist, the role they play gives them the ability to give the story a new meaning and even change the original perception that people had in predicting how the story will end. In this discussion, we shall be looking at the role of female characters as we focus on three books, chronicle of a death foretold by Gabriel Garcia, Bluest eye by Toni Morrison and Metamorphosis by Franz kafka.
In the chronicle of death foretold, the ...

The creative world or the world of one's fantasies is inevitable connected with its author - the person that creates it, on whose experiences and personal perceptions it is based on. In this context, creation of everything requires the presence of the author, and it depicts part of the author's personality within the creation itself. Thus, it can be argued that personality of the author is present in all of his creations. On the other hand, some works are more descriptive of author's perception than others. This phenomenon can be explained either by the degree of author's participation in ...

Spider-man has become a symbol of the ultimate underdog around the world. The 12-cent comic book has helped to create an empire of Marvel comics, tv shows, movies, toys and a culture that celebrates superheroes. The writer of the comic book (Lee, 1962) was able to witness the success a lot of his superheroes, as they became symbols of hope after World War 2 and during the very height of the Cold War (O’Neil, 2016). When it comes to this one character, Spider-man, the idea of a man being transformed into an insect was not new. It can ...

Austrian writer Franz Kafka came in the German-language literature in the 20th century and became one of the most famous writers of his age, one of the most recognized literary innovators. Like all his generation, which has entered into the literature on the eve of the First World War and the subsequent revolutionary upheavals in Russia and Germany, Franz Kafka was living with the constant feeling of deep hostility of soulless, mechanical and bureaucratized world to man, to human nature. All of Franz Kafka's prose can be called a great essay about fear, about the state of the lonely ...

Franz Kafka wrote the short story, The Metamorphosis. The novella has been studied in different universities and colleges in the Western world. The story is about Gregor Samsa’s transformation from a human being to a monstrous creature. The Metamorphosis starts with the main character Gregor waking up only to find that he has been transformed into a huge insect-like outrageous and verminous being. As a result, he has to adjust to his new look because he does not know the reason why he was transformed and this traps his life. Gregor became a burden to his family who ...

First of all, it should be stated that Oxford Learner`s Dictionaries web-site suggests the following definitions for the word “process”:
The flow, course, progress of a phenomenon. The set of sequential actions, aimed at achieving a certain result.

The active development of a disease.

The procedure of trial in a court and administrative proceedings.
At the first glance, the third meaning of the word, namely “the trial”, seems to be more in line with the content of the novel. However, there are two more meanings, and if you think well, you will find even more. Moreover, at the last page of his novel, ...

“There is reason that all things are as they are” (Stoker). In the written works of Dracula and The Metamorphosis, the authors use two very different styles to portray horrifying fantasy. In Dracula, Bram Stoker uses realism in the form of journal entries, letters, ships’ logs, and newspaper articles to tell the story of the vampire Count Dracula. In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka uses surrealism in the form of third person narrative, to tell the story of Gregor Samsa, who wakes one day to find he has been transformed overnight into a huge, disgusting bug. Although the authors employ different ...

Literature has the capacity to delve into varied themes and portraitures as per the perspective and vision of the literary artists. Thus, literary works can differ from one another in content and presentation only to enhance the scope and appeal of the field of art in general. As such, one can take into reckoning the short story, The Metamorphosis, penned by the stalwart literary artist, Franz Kafka that delves into the thematic content of existentialism. Again, the famous poem I wandered lonely as a Cloud (Daffodils) penned by the famous Romantic poet, William Wordsworth can be taken to be ...

Dr.

Comparison Contrast Essay

A Comparative Analysis of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” and Franz Kafka’s “A Hunger Artist”
There are both similarities and differences between the short stories A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings and A Hunger Artist, but it is certain that these two stories can be compared on several levels. Every man deserves to be treated with respect in spite of being different than most people. Both of the stories have the main characters who do not fit in the society, who are different and deserve to be accepted for who ...

“The Hunger Artist” is a short story that was written by Franz Kafka that was initially published in 1922. The main character of the story is a hunger artist who remains faithful to his craft and who fears that the people who watch him completely misunderstand him. There is the insight that crowds used to appreciate this kind of “performance”, but that during this time, people refuse to believe in such anymore.
One might say that the main idea of this short story is the alienation of many artists from society. The artist has a very troubled relationship with ...

The idea of metamorphosis – a full or partial transformation of a person into a creature – is often met in various books and films and appeared long ago. In course of time, the notion of metamorphosis has changed and gained new meanings and forms of expression that can be traced on the examples of Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis, that is dated back to the year 1915, and a quite modern film Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi. But, unfortunately, these changes and alterations in the human are not always acceptable by the society.
Metamorphoses usually consist in acquiring characteristics, ...

English

In the story “A Country Doctor” by Franz Kafka, it depicts a waking from a dream. the piece is a short story that uses different aspects of a dream, as interpretation of the circumstances that surround a doctor’s life. It shows his helplessness in his situation and outlines the fact that he is unable, or unwilling to change it. He was afraid of being exposed to the villagers and have his competency questioned. Based on his dream, cold, naked and confused, he is a picture of confusion and incompetence. The doctor is secretly having passionate thoughts about his servant girl, who worked with him ...

Life is a journey that meanders as one grows old with all the experiences. With time and understanding, people come to ascertain their respective goals in life that work as a guiding force for them. Every person should know where to reach by the end of the journey as a journey without any knowledge of the destination would be nothing but meaningless. The vision of life works as the driving force as it guides the individual to go ahead braving all the odds that come in his or her way. In my own case, I gave it quite a ...

The novel "The Trial", written by Franz Kafka, analyzes the classic problem of the modern society - the confrontation between man and bureaucratic system. The novel tells the story about Josef K. who is arrested in the morning of his 30th anniversary without being told the reason for arrest. However, Josef continues to live his life as he does it before because the organization that has arrested him is not afraid of his abscondence. He is invited to the court, is visited at home and at workplace, is pursued by servants of justice. All this time he is trying ...

If death is really true, based upon the animistic quality of our five physical senses, then how do we know that we are truly alive and breathing and not in a dream? It has been proposed that people who are aware of the existence of their surroundings mostly rely on their five senses, which may cause illusions. The ethereal yet grounded theory of existentialism provides the landscape for a more positively-identified pathway which reaches across the separation that exists among humans.
           When thinking about the quote ‘existence precedes essence’, the concept lends room for credibility that Morrie was right ...

1- "My World of the Unknown"--background

- What sorts of background information might (Western) readers need to make sense of Rifaat's story?
Some helpful background information might include some scaffolding about the role of the snake in different mythologies as well as its role in the culture under study. While many cultures view the snake as a source of temptation, it is fairly clear that the snake here is a positive sign, as the sheikh calls its appearance a blessing and the snake spirit has the only fulfilling relationship with the woman that she has ever found – no wonder Aneesa didn’t want to leave!
...

Introduction

Since its inception some twenty thousand years ago, human civilization has grown enormously and has spread all over the entire globe in past few centuries. The vastness of human civilization is managed through institutions – the institutions of education, state, law, religion, family, marriage etc. These institutions are all interrelated. Stability and order in the society are primary purposes of these institutions. The functioning of all these institutions is based on certain principles and the central to these principles is the principle of infinite value of human life. Killing of a human life stands in opposition to the principle of infinite ...

People are so absorbed with the peculiarity of the unknown in that some people strive to become artists specializing in these trades just to become famous. Franz Kafka, in his short story, A Hunger Artist, successfully satirizes the cycle of people’s waning curiosity and interest in the mundane and the subsequent artists who do these things for fame. Kafka’s story shows a critical ridicule of this cycle in an act contradictory to the purpose of a way of living through the hunger artist and his act of fasting.
The intention of distinguishing oneself from his peers has ...

It needs to be reckoned that literature goes on to mirror the society and the culture. Innumerable examples can be cited where the authors have delved into the socio-cultural or socio-economic factors of the world around in their texts through their creative eyes. Now, after the Second World War, the literature of the world saw the responses of the creative artist catering to the needs of the post-war era that encompassed human existence with all its surmounting effect. One can take into consideration the works of the stalwart poet, T.S. Eliot, who engaged in exploring the socio-political dynamics during ...

Responsibility in Kafka’s Metamorphosis

Kafka’s Metamorphosis deals with a lot of issues concerning the modern society. It can be read as a rebellion of the protagonist against the conventions of society or the dehumanizing nature of everyday work. Although Kafka also tackles issues of isolation and inferiority the theme of responsibility too is a main thread that runs throughout his work. Gregor, the protagonist is the responsible son and brother providing for the family, but when he ceases to be responsible and gives in to his disillusionment, his family fail to take the responsibility of looking after him. Responsibility (towards other people) ...

Franz Kafka, in his novel The Metamorphosis writes about a travelling salesman called Gregor Samsa. He one day wakes up to find himself transformed into a huge bug to the surprise of not only himself but also his family and everyone living around him. The novel is primarily about the thoughts, actions and feelings of Gregor in regards to his environment (Bloom 64). Environment and all that happens around a person therefore play a crucial role in shaping up or influencing a person both in thought and in action just as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels put it in his writings, The Communist manifesto. ...

Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis is considered one of the greatest pieces of absurdist horror fiction in the 20th century, telling a horrific tale of dehumanization and philosophical malaise. Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, suddenly finds himself having turned into a bug-like creature, the very nature of his self having been irrevocably altered. Of course, one of the most horrific aspects of the story itself is not the bug he becomes, but the setting he inhabits. The setting of the Metamorphosis, Samsa's room in his home, becomes symbolic for his deep and significant ennui about his own life and his feelings of entrapment.

The ...

Franz Kafka focuses on how important it is for an artist to obtain public appeal and the levels that he is willing to go to acquire the attention. The hunger artist is a vivid representation of the troubled relationship that other artists have with a society that does not understand them well. In the end, the hunger artist separates himself from the entire world mirroring a separation between public will and the artistic ego. Only, an artist comprehends the essence of his accomplishments and ambitions. The public just comes in for the excitement or prospects of a good show. ...

As notions of “self-care,” (that is, of prioritizing one’s personal health) become increasingly common, the challenge of mental illness remains stigmatized if not least because it is generally invisible. Both in life and in literature, we can often glean understanding not only from what can be observed in narrative, but also through its gaps and disjunctions. In the case of Kafka’s “A Hunger Artist,” the protagonist’s extended fasting is not a direct concern of mental illness, but one of spectacle with his audience “marveling at him as he sat there pallid in black tights, with his ...

There can be no denial of the fact that literature has always been the mirror of the world society. The creative artists have always delved into the intricacies and subtleties of human life and existence so as to portray them in the literary works. The quintessence of portrayal and the aesthetic as well as affective appeal go on to leave a lasting mark in the hearts of the readers who can only revel at the sheer genius of the creative works. Now, one can very well take into reckoning the works of Charles Dickens, Charlotte Bronte, Franz Kafka, and ...

Franz Kafka, a German novelist is regarded as one of the artists that made great contributions and impacts in literature. His book A Hunger Artists, is the last one that he wrote before his death. The book has varieties of thematic messages. Some of them are art, isolation, spiritual poverty, personal failure, and futility. Kafka’s main agenda when he compiled the book is still not well identified. The story has always proven difficult to interpret even by professional reviewers. It revolves around one character, the hunger artist who is also the protagonist. This paper will give an overview of ...

Kafka’s “The Hunger Artist” is an unusual and thought provoking short story. The author’s choice of setting, rather than providing readers with a point of reference, serves only to highlight the story’s themes of isolation among eccentric individuals and the question of what constitutes art.
“The Hunger Artist” doesn’t provide readers with much detail in terms of precise geographical or sequential matters, but it is made clear that the hunger artist and his boss look for European cities in which to stage their performance. The facts regarding the act and the spectators are so general ...

1- Humor?

- Is the “The Metamorphosis” ever funny?  If so, where?  How?   Why?  How does the story resemble (and differ from) the family situation comedies we’re all familiar with?
When “The Metamorphosis” is funny, the humor is dark and wry, the sort of joke that you grimace at instead of grinning, let alone laughing out loud. The interaction between Gregor and his family is as pained as the interaction between Chris and his family on the show “Family Guy” when Chris has acne that keeps growing and growing – and one of the zits takes out a gun and threatens ...

Bartleby and Gregor Samsa are outcasts but in different ways because they cannot deal with th societies they belong to. The alienate themselves from the role which they are supposed to play. It becomes too much for them to hande which is why they give up on participating in life. There are both similarities and differences between the ways they cope with the pathology that affected their lives and they cannot put up with what they are unable to change.
Both Bartleby and Gregor change themselves because they cannot change the society. Bartleby alienates himself from the world, while ...

It is always the desire of each person living to have a fulfilled life where they will live free of worries and anxieties. The steps towards such accomplishments are followed by various actions including working hard in life and even being nice to people. Everybody is usually looking for a secret towards success and once it is unveiled, everything will be done to ensure they get there. However, the definition of success defers from one person to the other and the level of hard work and commitment is not always the same. In an effort to achieve what somebody else has ...

THE TRAMP VERSUS JOSEPH K.

The protagonist in Charlie Chaplin’s tramp is known more famously as the tramp. The protagonist in Kafka’s the trial is known as joseph k. Being protagonists these two characters have a lot in common. There are certain tributes and clichés attributed to protagonists in almost all literary works. These characteristics and attributes are meant to make the protagonist easily identifiable by the audience. These characteristics are also meant to endear the protagonist to the audience. Despite being both protagonists joseph k and the tramp are very different in terms of their characteristics and individual traits. The following ...

Psychology

Sexuality in the Movies: No Strings Attached (2011)

Introduction

Sexual behavior raises several questions about a person’s personality. Every person may express similarities or variation of sexual behaviors depending on their personal preferences and that of their partner. Sexuality encompasses a particular behavior. However, sexual behaviors are nevertheless highly influenced by factors such as the mainstream media. In this regard, sexuality in the media will be discussed to explore the portrayal of sexuality and analyze the actions depicted by the characters in the movie. For this discussion, the 2011 movie entitled “ No Strings Attached” will be the subject of analysis determining ...

Exhibiting an understanding of "Slipstream" literature as part of this course requires using three particular stories incorporating subjective selections from the three pieces exemplifying the thesis as follows. These three stories include Jeffrey Ford's "Bright Morning", Benjamin Rosenbloom's "Biographical Notes to a Discourse 'On the Nature of Causality, with Airplanes'", and Howard Waldrop's "The Lions Are Asleep This Night". The following discourse explores and defines a personal and subjective understanding of Slipstream as literature asking the reader to look at the world in a strangely different and often possibly legitimate manner through the eyes of the authors - whether the reader agrees ...