Alienation In Kafka's The Metamorphosis

Gregor’s initial reaction to his transformation shows his preoccupation with work. His confusion over his radical transformation does not last long, quickly becoming concerned with work and disregarding that he woke up physically transformed into a monstrous vermin. Immediately after realizing he had transformed, Gregor explains, “Well, I haven’t given up hope completely; once I’ve gotten the money together to pay off my parents’ debt to [the boss] that will probably take another five to six years… But for the time being I’d better get up, since my train leaves at five” (4). The quick transition of Gregor’s thoughts from the initial shock to his economic duties reveals his ironic nonchalant attitude towards his nonsensical transformation and

“The Metamorphosis”, written by Franz Kafka, takes place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the city is unspecified. The protagonist, Gregor Samsa, is turned into a giant bug and struggles to regain his harmonious life as a traveling salesman. Gregor goes through both a physical and emotional change throughout the novel, from turning into a bug and then being unable to provide for his family because of his condition.

In The Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka cruelty is what stemmed Gregor’s change into a large bug and subconsciously motivated him to end his life. Gregor’s new form was a depiction of how he already felt in his household, trapped, voiceless, and small. As Gregor’s metamorphosis developed so did the characters cruelty which affected both the perpetrators and the victims. The Samasa family’s cruelty was demonstrated both physically and mentally by Gregor’s father driving him back into his room, throwing apples at him and by Grete’s use of the word “it”.

1.Gregory doesn’t like his job because he is only doing it to help his parents get out of debt. In his terrible dreams he only thinks about the traveling salesman job that he hates.

Do you think outsiders are misjudged or misunderstood? What is an outsider? An outsider is a person who doesn’t belong to a particular group. In this case, outsiders are both misjudged and misunderstood. Most people judge outsiders by the way they dress, how they look, and who they hang out with or talk to. In the story “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, Gregor, was a boy who was turned into some sort of bug in the beginning of the story. As the story went on, Gregor's family started to isolate him for everything that they did. Towards the ending of the story “The Metamorphosis” Gregor’s family started caring less about him, especially his sister who was trying to help him.

To some, being an outsider could be preferred, and to some it could be a bad thing. Imagine you are the primary source of your family's care and living, but all of it comes to a stop because you all of a sudden become a cockroach. This is an what happens to Gregor Samsa and because of it, he is forced to be an outsider by society. In the story “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka we meet Gregor Samsa, a successful business man who wakes up as a cockroach one morning. Because of Gregor's change, he is treated with care from his sister, but the bond starts to erase when Gregor's family members see him as a disgusting being and a waste of space, so they move away from thinking the giant bug in the apartment is Gregor. Remember, Gregor had no factor on whether he changed form or not. It just happened. In “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, Gregor samsa is forced to be an outsider from society.

For a moment he had forgotten all about the general manager.” This is not the only case in which Gregor chooses his family over work. He also makes a reference to this when he states, “For the time being, all such worries were assuredly unnecessary. Gregor was still here, and abandoning his family was the farthest thing from his thoughts.” He is willing to sacrifice anything in order to make his family happy, including himself.

Kafka portrayed Gregor to be a symbol of all mankind for those who felt alienated. Alienation means “the state or experience of being isolated from a group”. Gregor felt alone and isolated even before becoming a bug. He had to go to a job he hated and not be able to enjoy his life because he had to work hard and pay off his parent’s debt. His parents ignored him and didn’t show any love towards him, they used him. Throughout reading the first chapter we learn that all Gregor wants to do is quit his job and be free from his family obligations. When working he had so much devotion to work and support his family that it caused him to become alienated in society. Gregor because of this has lost all his social ability and longs for a lasting relationship.

Kafka’s, The Metamorphosis, brings to light the realities of what many face in everyday life. In life, it is natural for people to expand their horizons and grow to develop a persona unique to themselves. However, all too often the process is interrupted and eventually destroys itself and all the potential that comes with it. In the story, the reader sees Gregor and his mutational life slowly disintegrate into his later demise. Here, the idea of self-worth and acceptance plays a major role in Gregor’s life and his transformation into a bug.

Experiencing the tragic reality of war on ones own life. In the novel Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo, Joe is a victim of the true reality of war and he is left forever changed by it physically, mentally, and spiritually. Through Joe, it is seen what the true price of war is. In “The Metamorphosis” by Kafka, we witness Gregor after he has experienced a physical change and because of this change the world around him becomes an unsupportive place to be.

Gregor Samsa’s transition from human to vermin was not the only shift that happened through the duration of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. The novel is centered around Gregor who wakes up as a vermin, presumably a cockroach, which catalyses a series of emotionally traumatic experiences for him and his family, culminating in Gregor’s death. Yet the most significant change is, in fact, the gender role reversal seen both with Gregor and Grete, his sister, as Gregor becomes more effeminate and Grete becomes more emasculate, directly correlating with their societal and emotional transformation due to Gregor's physical change.

Cruel actions lead to cruel endings. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist in Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis, is turned into a bug from the mental and emotional abuse by the hands of his own family. The cruelty in the Samsa household is apparent from the beginning of the storyline. Their neglect and lack of compassion for Gregor's condition immediately sets the dark and miserable mood of the novella. Gregor’s whole existence has been about caring for his family and making sacrifices for their well being. However, his family never realizes these sacrifices and takes Gregor for granted, ultimately leading to his painful demise. Gregors perpetual devotion to his harsh family represents the unconditional love one feels for their own flesh and blood no matter how wicked they may be.

In Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents, Freud states that the definition of happiness is dependent on the individual and is influenced by choices the individual makes (Freud 54). On the other hand, in Kafka’s ¬Metamorphosis, Kafka does not explicitly state what happiness is but shows it through the life of Gregor, which allows for a single interpretation of happiness. Using Freud’s outline of happiness, one can study and understand Kafka’s interpretation of happiness from Metamorphosis and realize that both interpret happiness in the same way. Both Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents and Kafka’s ¬Metamorphosis shows that happiness can be found through love, but can be interfered by how one’s body is and from relations to other

Quote- "In a kind of obstinacy, the father refused to take off his attendant's uniform at home; and while his robe dangled uselessly on the clothes hook, he would slumber in his chair, fully dressed, as if always on duty"(Kafka 166).

Almost from the very beginning of Gregor’s metamorphosis, Mr. Samsa has been unwilling to accept Gregor as his son. Furthermore, Gregor’s transformation into an offensive form of an insect, constantly reminds Mr. Samsa of the grotesque, feeble, and pathetic aberration that he has fathered. Consequently, now that Gregor has genuinely revealed himself in all his audacious behavior, his cruel father is driven to destroy him. In his eyes, Gregor has become everything loathsome to him—scrawny, parasitic, and futile—not the kind of son this once successful and ambitious storekeeper could be proud of. Hence, as Mr. Samsa returns to his house in a position of strength and authority, he unfortunately witnesses the sight of his stricken wife down