Sophie Artery Topics in Literature Mrs. Carty 30 January 2023 Dehumanization of Human Society In literature authors commonly portray life problems through their characters. Although Kafka further refuses to admit the true meaning of his story The Metamorphosis it can be seen as a metaphor for how human society commonly treats men. In The Metamorphosis Kafka uses Gregor to illustrate the dehumanization of men in society. The beginning aspect of the dehumanization Gregor faces is Gregor is seen as being useful for work and nothing more, alike the stereotypical view of many men in today’s society. Very similar to the bee, as they are seen to work for the queen and not much more. Gregor dedicates his life to providing for his family, and never …show more content…
After reading author Kafka’s letter to his father it can be seen how the treatment of Gregor reflects the treatment Kafka endures in his home. Gregor’s family slowly begins to treat him more and more like an insect, he is forced to listen to his family from afar. “At first, whenever the conversation turned to the necessity of earning money, Gregor would let go of the door and throw himself down on the cool leather sofa which stood beside it, for he felt hot with shame and grief” (Kafka 27). Again, Gregor is left feeling that his only position in the family is making money. Now as he is unable to work he feels that he no longer belongs and has left his family in trouble. This reflects back to the letter Kafka wrote to his father in which he describes “you do charge me with coldness, estrangements, and ingratitude.” These three words describe exactly how most humans would treat any pest found within their vicinity. Gregor’s metamorphosis into a beetle reflects how Kafka undergoes dehumanization every …show more content…
He loses all connection with his family and is seen as an outsider. In the beginning, Gregor has one hope, his sister Greta. As the book progresses Gregor begins to lose hope in his sister, and his sister begins to lose feelings for him as well. Gregor’s transformation causes his mother to faint resulting in Greta erupting in anger. “‘You, Gregor!’ cried his sister with raised fist and piercing eyes” (Kafka 34). Gregor realizes that no one has spoken to him since his transformation, though he has heard his family talk about him. Grete’s words, spoken in disgust and anger, represent the first direct contact a family member makes with him since transforming, revealing the growing lack of human connection with Gregor. Now that Gregor is a burden and no longer working for the family, his family has all turned against him. The last one he had hope in was his sister, and now she has given up as well. This further proves the everyday aspect of men’s dehumanization. Grete has lost all love for Gregor due to his transformation and now treats him as he looks. The raised fist and piercing eyes are the common human responses to spiders, proving Gregor is no longer seen as human, by
Even though his family has assumed the world and thought that their dear son and brother had been turned into a monster. Gregor still looked out for them, was extremely selfless, and still cared deeply about his family. Even in his isolated, depressed state, he spent hours working on a way to make it so Grete didn’t have to see him. “One day he carried the sheet on his back to the couch this job took four hours” (29). Even after being essentially ignored by his family he still puts himself through strain to make sure that they are taken care of in whatever way he can.
He is willing to take on anyone in order to support his family, which plays into the theme of family duty. Also, Gregor’s determination and military experience (pg 12) is displayed in his plan making and strategizing to capture his manager. The loyalty to his family, displayed by working and trying his best to keep a job he doesn’t want, gives insight into Gregor’s character. The unhealthy relationship Gregor has with his family is very common for a character in Franz Kafka’s book. His own tumultuous relation reflected onto his characters lives.
Through this, we know that Gregor holds no ill will towards any of the members of his family during his time as a bug, even when we see them brutalize and neglect him. “His thoughts went back to his family with tenderness and love” (Kafka 125). The love for his family is the only part of his old human life that he can reasonably keep intact, though his family would rather he didn’t. Every single one of them wants him gone, especially his dear little sister Grete. When she finally locks him in his room she cries, “At last!”
Gregor is extremely affectionate with his family and without a doubt loves all of them unconditionally. Even as Gregor is slowly dying on his bedroom floor, “He thought back of his family with emotion and love.” Gregor’s family is a big part of Gregor’s identity, and if they refuse to accept him and no longer view him as part of the family, a piece of Gregor’s individuality dies. If he is not Gregor of the Samsa family, he is just another man that is not unique from the rest. Gregor doesn’t want to believe that his family doesn’t reciprocate his unconditional love for them.
While Gregor begins are the all mighty, male provider, he regresses into an effeminate state as he no longer can perform his tasks for work. As his transformation into a vermin worsens, he no longer can perform any action and further conforms to the true identity of a bug. Grete, on the other hand, picks up the male provider role that Gregor could no longer perform, but then, as she becomes tired with the work and as Gregor identifies with an “it”, goes back to her female role. Gregor's physical change forces him to degenerate to death, but allows Grete to thrive, growing into a
Franz Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis, utilizes language to define the identities and influence of two characters who represent growth in a traditional society. The attempts at rebellion by Gregor and Grete lead to the erosion of their societal influence. The rich language depicts how Gregor manages the stress of being his family’s sole financial provider and also capturing his desire to break away from monotony. The style the short story is written in also reveals Grete’s social inferiority. The language signifies Gregor and Grete’s social identities and the diminishment of their power.
Gregor began to resent his father for throwing household items at him, squashing him like a bug. Even his beloved sister Grete began irritating Gregor by removing all of his belonging from his room, leaving him with nothing. The cruelty performed on Gregor by his own family sends him into a dark pit of despair. With nothing to live for he began to slowly end his life, making one final sacrifice for the ones he loves
"The worst cruelty that can be inflicted on a human being is isolation. " - (Sukarno). Many would think a surreal experience would be the reason for the change in human characterization. Still, in the case of Gregor Samsa, the cruelty inflicted by those closest after the event destabilized Gregor's mental state. The Metamorphosis, written and told by the 20th-century author Franz Kafka based on strange and perhaps bizarre events that Gregor Samsa must undergo and overcome, a man turned into a mere insect.
Even though the begging of Part II alludes to the notion that Gregor has been completely severed from the humanity concept, because he woke up at twilight, there are numerous events at the end of the chapter that substantiate the belief that he is more human than his family. First, his remembrance of his sister’s ability to “play movingly” on the violin suggests a sense of humanity in him because he not only recalls the proud feeling of watching his sister play the instrument, but also is willing to invest his own earnings in fulfilling his sisters’ dreams. Second, when his mother’s few words enter his body, first time after his astronomical transformation, he once again is reminded of his humanity as he makes an emotional connection to that moment. Third, him instantly protecting the framed picture hanging on the wall yet once again symbolizes his link with humanity because it acts a medium out of alienation; furthermore, the glass that separates him from the picture represents humanity in that though it seems out of reach, it still is reluctant of leaving him. Finally, at the end of the novel, when Gregor seems to garner enough courage, he puts his self-interest before his consideration for his family, yet once again alludes to him being more human because he yearns for freedom, which is a humanistic concept.
In Metamorphosis, Gregor’s love for his sister, Grete, is what brings him happiness and the ultimate reason why he stays alive. His love for his sister, is what allows him to continue living as a transformed bug, but once his sister rejects Gregor saying, “He must go… this creature
Gregor is the main provider within the family for the amount of income he brings, and is idolized for his role. Being raised in the 20th century, Gregor 's view on women had been the same as any other male during this time period and looked down upon women as inadequate, and, in most societies, the man provides and the woman maintains; however, this viewpoint alternates once the unexpected change in their life occurs resulting in a switch of leadership within their household. "Gregor felt very proud that he had been able to provide such a life in so nice an apartment for his parents and his sister. (21)" After his mysterious modification within his physical form, his mentality also weakened.
Franz Kafka is a German novelist who wrote “The Metamorphosis.” In the story, he uses a third person point of view narrative. The novel uses absurdum, which exaggerates and dramatize the absurdity of modern life. The protagonist, Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, struggles with an external factor of transforming into an insect like creature. The transformation was not under his control and now struggles with a new identity.
Kafka uses diction and symbolism to convey the family’s dissatisfaction and the deterioration in their family ties. Each family member acquires a job to compensate the loss of Gregor’s salary. Kafka writes: “They were fulfilling to the utmost the demands the world makes on the poor: Gregor’s father fetched breakfast for the petty employees at the bank, his mother sacrificed herself for the underclothes of strangers, his sister ran back and forth behind the shop counter at her costumers’ behest... And the wound in Gregor’s back would begin to ache anew when… Gregor’s mother…would say: ‘shut the door now Grete’; and Gregor was left in the dark again” (Kafka
He loathes that as a vermin, he is a burden to his family. Under the couch, Gregor is “(…) in a state of worry and murky hopes, which led to the conclusion that for the time being he would have to keep calm and with patience and the greatest consideration for his family tolerate the troubles which in his present condition he was now forced to cause them.” (Kafka 11). Gregor’s family, on the other side, never accepts his new condition and are not capable of adapting psychologically to the sight of a their son/brother as
Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis is the tragic story of young travelling salesman Gregor Samsa who becomes alienated by his family after he transforms overnight into a giant insect. The Metamorphosis, while open to various interpretations, clearly depicts Kafka’s own views of the suffocating capitalist socio-economic structure and the struggles for power that occur within one. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka illustrates the incessant oppression that occurs as a result of a rigidly capitalist society. First, Kafka illustrates the expendability of workers in a capitalist society with the role of Gregor at his workplace and within his family. Gregor is a traveling salesman, utterly unimportant to the company to which he dedicates his life.