Essays on The Metamorphosis

The short story of Franz Kafka “A Hunger Artist” is a vibrant masterpiece of classic literature. It penetrates deeply into the readers’ minds and sets a challenge to recognize a unique grandeur and understand a great mission of this text. In his “confession” story, Franz Kafka touches upon complex and serious themes of art, death, isolation, asceticism, spiritual desolation and disharmony of human and the world. Therefore, it triggers an exceptional interest on how the readers treat and interpret the text, what thoughts, feelings and emotions come into their mind, how they perceive the main character and what they ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Franz Kafka led a very complex life in the short amount of time he lived. A lot of critics love to make the probably true personal connections between Gregor and Franz in “The Metamorphosis,” but these critics always seem to forget two pertinent facts in addition, the work was first drafted well before he had any symptoms of tuberculosis, and during the beginning of the war, several revisions were made to the work before Kafka released it. The idea that his experience with TB has to do with the book in any way, usually the primary argument of literary ...

Franz Kafka led a very complex life in the short amount of time he lived. A lot of critics love to make the probably true personal connections between Gregor and Franz in “The Metamorphosis,” but these critics always seem to forget two pertinent facts in addition, the work was first drafted well before he had any symptoms of tuberculosis, and during the beginning of the war, several revisions were made to the work before Kafka released it. The idea that his experience with TB has to do with the book in any way, usually the primary argument of literary ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

One of the prominent stories written in the style of expressionism is a novel of Franz Kafka “The Metamorphosis”. The story embodies all the outstanding features of this modern trend in the world literature. The author does not try to point out the vices of the society but gives us the hints hiding them in grotesque and exaltation. "The Death of Ivan Ilych" by Leo Tolstoy describes similar changes of an ordinary man. But, unlike the novel of Franz Kafka, this literary work does not exaggerate the state of a person by transforming him into an insect-like creature. The ...

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 ...

The world of literature has always intrigued one and all with the sheer quintessence of art and aesthetics. The readers from all the corners of the globe have been immersed in the aesthetic charm and affective appeal of the literary works of the literary artists who have proved their genius though their unparalleled portraiture and content that have left an immortal mark in the very innermost core of thee hearts of the avid readers. The history of literature goes on to document the works of many such stalwarts who have left the readers stirred to the core. James Joyce ...

“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 ...

In the final discussion on the use of animalization in the literary classics will be on “Madness and Civilization” written by Michael Foucault. The piece is another poignant example, along with “Diary of a Madmen” and “The Metamorphosis,” of how writers have used the historical comparison of animalization in regard to mentally troubled individuals. I will compare and contrast how Foucault uses the concept of animalization in his writing compared to the writer of the other two stories. Foucault’s story differs greatly from the previous authors, as it takes the reader on a type of journey through the changes in ...

Introduction

Evolution is the change animals and species undergo over time to adapt to certain environmental changes and eventually produce multiple descendent species. Evolution and natural selection are often taken as complimentary to each other. However, evolution, by definition, is a historical process of change, while natural selection is merely a mechanism that results in this change. Advances in technology and biology has thrown light on several causes and consequences of evolution. Some of the deepest understandings of evolution come from understanding fossils and examining phylogeny and from the study of natural selection. Evidences suggest that when natural selection is strong, the rate ...

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 ...

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 ...

Metamorphosis is a book that takes us through various changes happening in the family. The biggest is however that of Gregg turning into an insect. This can be considered fiction as it is beyond possibility that a human can abruptly transform into an insect. The story however has a lot of symbolism of some of the unexpected changes that can transform a person’s life. Life is in itself is unpredictable and hence requiring that a person lives a day at a time. Some of the things we put so much hope in may become meaningless as they prove to be a passing wind. Some of the ...

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 ...

CLASSIC ENGLISH LITERATURE

Classic English literature The twentieth century ushered an era of myriad changes in the life of humanity. The spread of the industrial revolution boosted by technological advancements had phenomenal impacts on the social, economic, and political life in Europe, and the world. However, its impact on society is inevitable. During this period, modernization set the pace of transformation of society into a new form of civilization characterized by urbanization and high levels of technological development. Scholars in various fields recorded this happening, and their debates rage on as society incessantly undergoes astonishing changes. Europe is appreciated for the ...

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 wrote The Metamorphosis no so long after he had finished writing The Judgment. It must be noted that the two stories have a lot in common. After reading The Metamorphosis if a look is taken into the biographical and historical context of Kafka, it can be argued that this story that the author published in 1912 expresses not only his own sense of self-alienation but other various other aspects of his life. Like Kafka, the main character of the novel, Gregor Samsa is a German Jew living in seriously anti-Semitic times. Samsa’s metamorphosis into an abominable insect can be ...

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 ...

Classic English literature

This novella by Kafka appeared in 1915 just before the onset of the First World War. It falls under the broad genres of psychological fiction and allegory. Several instances of symbols that cascaded the plot justify this stance. The following themes are evident in the whole plot discovery. Mythology appears imminent which appears in the form of fantasy and illusions. Betrayal and guilt also reign among other eccentric allures of realism and punishment. Czechoslovakia appears to be the hegemonic place horizons that appear in the literary text. Metamorphosis is a complex terminology that depicts a change that is conspicuous and empirical. ...

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 ...

Introduction

Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis is a great novel which describes the way a human being is transformed into a gigantic insect very much in the manner of an actual vegetative state. One has to observe several factors in this transformation which can be linked to the way political activity becomes an intrinsic part of everyone’s lives Gregor’s transformation into a vegetative state is an essential part of the novel. The surrealism of it all appears to be intrinsically bound into everything and the novel really has aspects of it which show that it is rather disturbing in that sense. The ...