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Surrealism In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

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What does the term “family” actually refer to? Growing up, we notice that we are never taught what a family means, but rather we realize it as time passes. It is hard to admit a fact, where your own family could turn their back on you anytime; one we refuse to believe, but after reading it Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” you realize that it could. “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka is a novella that deals with the dehumanization of its protagonist, Gregor Samsa, after his absurd transformation into a gigantic insect, by his family. Kafka’s writing style is unparalleled, with surreal as his genre; using the stream of thought to reflect the slow, but steady, change in the psychological mind state of its protagonist. Kafka continues to dismember the limbs of Gregor's family to prove that even a family can deny your existence, in the chase of a perfect and stable life, also known as capitalism. Kafka's surrealism becomes a broken reflection of our dreary reality that leaves us, readers, wondering …show more content…

Upon his death, a great sense of relief roams his family; a feeling that is not obtained in such situations normally. Ever since childhood, we automatically associate loyalty with family, yet little did we know that a capitalistic society and its way of thinking could get between these two terms, particularly the latter. Kafka reflects that, realistically, his odd fiction narrative can become a reality, when cornered by such society. Even Grete, the only one that took care of Gregor, seems to resent her brother after facing poverty and blames him for their current financial status. Kafka demonstrates that society's norms have the power to adjust normality, according to its desires. Readers might have identified Kafka’s novella as a classic example of surrealism, but the fact that a genre reflects a clear image of a reality we live in is to be

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