“The Metamorphosis” is a short story written by Franz Kafka. The story shows how one’s work shapes their identity. In “The Metamorphosis”, Franz Kafka demonstrates how work can shape one’s identity by showing how Gregor Samsa’s job changed him into a cockroach. “The Metamorphosis” is a story about a man named Gregor Samsa. Gregor Samsa lives with his family, who is in debt, in a small, middle-class home on a low-income salary. His family completely depends on him and his job as a travelling salesman to make their ends meet. Gregor Samsa, however, despises his job and would leave it right away if he did not have to pay off his parents’ debt. As Gregor ponders over the thought of his job, he realizes that he has turned into a cockroach. He also realizes that he’s late for work. His parents and his chief clerk come to his room and knock on the door, wondering why Gregor did not go to work. At the same time, Gregor’s chief clerk tells Gregor and his family that Gregor had not been working well in the past few days. Gregor tries to open the door with his mouth, since he has no hands, and ultimately succeeds. The chief clerk runs away seeing Gregor’s state and his parents lock Gregor into his room. Days go on as Gregor’s sister, Grete Samsa, feeds him. Over time, Gregor starts to become a pest to the family. He …show more content…
Gregor works day after day trying to sell his product to people. In Part 1, it is shows that Gregor had never missed a single day of work. Gregor comes home after work, but still thinks only about his work. This is similar to a cockroach because they never have a day off their life. They continuously work hard to acquire their needs and necessities to live.Their “job” is their life. This once again shows how Gregor’s hard work during his job is impacting his identity to become that of a hard working
Having no opposable thumbs, he attempts to turn the key with this mouth. The manager hears Gregor opening the door and Gregor’s parents cheer him on. Gregor finally gets the door to open and everyone in the apartment looks in horror at the human sized bug that is in the apartment. Gregor tries to plead with the manager to defend him at work, but the manager just leaves in a hurry before the bug can explain himself. Gregor wants to stop the manager from leaving and falls down trying to catch up to him.
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
Losing Everything You Have Because You’re Lonely? In Franz Kafka's novella, The Metamorphosis, there are several themes interwoven into the text by the accomplished author. However, one theme seems to stand out amongst the others. Kafka brilliantly shows the audience how alienation impacts society.
Gregor’s family has expectations regarding his life in the firm, which can also relate to Franz’s contention with his family over his writing. Franz’s projection of his family life onto Gregor could be foreshadowing the future of Gregor’s relationship with his family. The mood is very frantic as the manager is leaving and Gregor is rushing to change his mind. This frantic feeling allows the reader to relate to Gregor 's hurried state and anxiety surrounding his
In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka warns us of the consequences that befall those who do not conform to the norms and expectations of the modern society. The 1914 novella tells us of the metamorphoses in the life of Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman who woke up one morning as a “gigantic insect”. Gregor Samsa’s physical transformation into a “gigantic insect” brought drastic changes to the dynamics of the household. However, Kafka’s in a matter-of-fact way of narrating made the piece seem like a light read, a disparity to the dark unfolding of events.
Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a pronounced German novelist and short story writer, he is very well known as one of the main figures of 20th-century fiction (Reference). His work, which vehemence elements of pragmatism and the imaginary, naturally features isolated characters faced by weird or surrealistic predicaments and unintelligible social-bureaucratic powers, and has been inferred as exploring themes of estrangement, existential concern, fault, and incongruity (Reference). The Metamorphosis is a novella by Franz Kafka 's (1916) describing a young salesman’s transformation from human being into giant creature and relating his consequent experiences within his family circle. "Metamorphosis," reflect a recognition on the part
Transforming and Romanticizing a Storyline The Metamorphosis, a novella written by Franz Kafka, attracted the attention of many of its readers due to the writing framework and shocking concepts. The story depicts a man named Gregor Samsa who has befallen the fate of a cockroach- literally. After being transformed into a large bug, Gregor goes through the struggles of misunderstanding, neglect, and loss of his family relationships.
Gregor, as the breadwinner and dominant male figure of his household, is committed to his job of traveling salesman. In fact, he awakes as a vermin and is immediately concerned about work. He even ventures to say, “The business worries are far worse than they are on the actual premise at home” (Kafka 77), when he has just turned into a beetle, illustrating just how important his position in the family’s social hierarchy is. He is the breadwinner, while the rest of his family is practically leeching off of his work. But, due
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
While Gregor’s daily struggle to earn money is understood from early in the novella, the roles of his father, mother, and sister are revealed to the reader as they begin to struggle with Gregor’s existence as an insect. Gregor was initially the sole provider for his entire family, but his sudden transformation thrust his three immediate family members into a monetary crisis. Gregor’s father, whom Gregor once perceived as weak and frail, was in fact capable of working without issue. Kafka writes that Gregor’s father was once a “tired man” who was “hardly able to stand up,” but somehow was “standing up straight enough” after earning a job at the banking institute. As for the women in Gregor’s family, his mother and sister, both were capable
1. 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.
Gregor, living under a couch for a few months look like a homeless person than a member of the family, so when the boarders see him they are rather surprised, and notify the owner of the house, Mr. Samsa. Gregor’s decision making skills have been greatly reduced due to his
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.
Gregor is a thoughtful and compassionate person. However, he lives a life he does not enjoy. Gregor hates his job. He thinks, “Oh God, what a strenuous career it is that I’ve chosen! (…) there’s the course of travelling, worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food, contact with different people all the time so that you can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them.”
After reading Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka I feel despite it being fiction it exemplifies certain similarities shared among its readers. For instance, to ensure the well-being of those that depend on us we spend most of our life primarily working. However, doing so sometimes causes us to lose our individuality by having to report to a job we are obligated to keep but dislike. This can be seen in how Gregor’s traveling sales job alienates him from his family and friends leading to his transformation from a man into an insect. Additionally, I feel that we have all felt an emotional void at some point in our life and the fact Gregors main role in life is to provide makes his metamorphosis a metaphor for how he is alienated from humanity and