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Identity In Ovid's Metamorphosis

1857 Words8 Pages

Franz Kafka, heavily influenced by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, devises the character Gregor Samsa in order to portray a detailed experience of an individual’s metamorphosis. Kafka’s narration style differs greatly from Ovid’s, in that, the narration begins with a first person perspective and changes to a third person narration, which remains consistent to the end of the novel. Unlike the stories within the Metamorphoses, there is a clear contrast in the portrayal of Gregor’s transformation. Ovid and Kafka’s depiction of a metamorphosis incorporates the concept of identity in the individual’s transition, however Kafka emphasizes the family dynamic and the hostility Gregor feels. Gregor’s family’s inability to look past Gregor’s exterior appearance …show more content…

Through the help of the other characters in the novel, Gregor’s metamorphosis becomes more vivid and the change in perspective provides insight that would not have been apparent without the various perspectives. The exclamations are as follows, “’Did you understand a word?’ the manager was asking his parents. […] ‘Go to the doctor’s immediately. Gregor is sick. Hurry, get the doctor. Did you just hear Gregor talking?’ ‘That was a voice of an animal’” (12). Through Gregor’s perspective, one may assume that his response to his manager was heard loud and clear and the only modification to his identity is the physical change he has undergone which highlights the importance of Kafka’s change in perspective. Although Gregor believes himself to be in control of the situation, the third person narration as well as the other character’s remarks reveal quite the opposite. Kafka’s narration style provides different perspectives of the same situation in order to reveal how one may misinterpret the actions of others if the perspective comes from an external viewpoint. The variety in the narrative is essential to the development of Gregor’s character because through the eyes of the other characters his metamorphosis becomes undeniable and ultimately forces Gregor to conform to his new identity due to the way he is treated by his

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Gregor's Transformation Rhetorical Analysis

233 Words | 1 Pages

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

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Both Kafka and Gregor were tormented characters facing the absurdity of their complicated situations, which brought both of them to their ruin, one by death, and the other by escaping into literary fantasies. Throughout the story I deduced the resemblance between the author, Kafka, and the main character, Gregor. There are many similarities that can be seen between both as shown above, it is as if Kafka projected his problems onto Gregor and discarded them into a fictional

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Metamorphosis Franz Kafka Euphemism Analysis

747 Words | 3 Pages

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1047 Words | 5 Pages

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Cruelty In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

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The Metamorphosis: The Negative Effects Of Change

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The Meaning Of Life In Kafka's The Metamorphosis

797 Words | 4 Pages

In fact, Kafta mentions Gregor’s transformation in the first sentence of the story. “One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin”. Kafta does not specifically mention how or why Gregor transformed into a monster like figure, but implicitly indicates that Gregor’s absurd life is imminent. Moreover, the transformation of Gregor illustrates the absurdity of himself as a human being. The existence of Gregor as a monster-like creature brings extreme disruption to the household, in which Gregor’s parents begin to work due to the lack of income.

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753 Words | 4 Pages

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1504 Words | 7 Pages

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Surrealism In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

821 Words | 4 Pages

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1168 Words | 5 Pages

Otherwise how would Gregor have missed a train? That boy has nothing on his mind but the business’” (Kafka 10). Evidently, in normal circumstances, Gregor is a diligent and punctual employee; however, his boss claims the opposite. He threatens and berates Gregor in front of his entire family saying that Gregor’s “job is not the most secure” (Kafka 11) and his “performance of the late has been very unsatisfactory” (Kafka 12).

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