The father-son relationship in "The Judgment" and "The Metamorphosis" is a rather complex depiction of the struggles one faces in an estranged relationship. After reading Kafka 's life story, one could say that the filial relationships portrayed in Kafka 's stories share a certain resemblance to his own relationships. The father-son relationship in Kafka can be fully described by a mixture of realism and fantasy. Kafka uses anti-realist elements such as the metamorphosis of Gregor and the sudden change in Georg 's father to portray the emotional turmoil between the father and the son in a real situation. In this paper, I shall argue that the father-son relationship is partly dynamic and partly static in nature. I shall argue that the father …show more content…
The degree to which the son is affected by his father 's harsh remarks is the main difference in the father-son relationship between the two stories. After calling Georg a "veritable fiend"(Pg 49), George 's father sentences him to "death by drowning"(Pg 49). "The Judgment", is an appropriate title since we see the father 's judgment actualize itself at the end of the story. On hearing his father 's remarks, Georg "felt himself expelled from the room"(Pg 49) and went on to drown himself. His suicide illustrates the power of the father 's words and how his father 's judgment dawned upon him. It could also suggest the shift from a realist mode to an anti-realist mode. In symbolic terms, this suicide would be a depiction of the latent power of the father over the son.The father 's word was the final one for Georg, who did not think about his fiance before committing suicide. Gregor on the other hand, deals slightly better with his father 's harshness. I would say that Gregor 's situation was worse, since not only did he have to listen to the harsh comments, he was also physically abused by his father when his father threw the apple at him. However, I would argue that Gregor balances his father 's severity with his affection towards his mother and sister. His affection is seen when he becomes desperate to see his mother while she and his sister were moving the furniture from his room. He also tried to tell his sister to play the violin in his room; No one rewarded her music as much as he. Whether his love for his sister was the brother-sister love or something else is subject to interpretation. Thus, although Gregor dies at the end, the presence of filial feminine affection partly heals the damages caused by his father. It could be argued that such an affection did not exist since Grete decisively rejects Gregor at the end of the story. However, I would say that the mere presence of Grete is what gave Gregor the motivation to endure his
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
There are hundreds of works of literature out in the world, many of them are great, and some are not as great. What makes them great is the truth behind them, the true feelings, and what it truly meant to the author. Many great works of literature are influenced by several different things, in the case of “The Metamorphosis”, it was influenced by the life of Franz Kafka, the author, and his real- life experiences. The Freudian concept help explain why “The Metamorphosis” contains symbols and clues that can be used to compare certain relationships throughout Kafka’s life, one being with his father, and the other with woman who entered his life. Franz Kafka was a German man who worked as a lawyer who worked at the workmen’s Accident Insurance
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
The narrator said, “During the first fortnight, Gregor’s parents could not bring themselves to enter his room…” He has been disconnected from his family to the point where they’re emotionally unstable and unable to treat him as he deserves with affection and comfort to help him cope with his metamorphosis. The narrator shows this disconnection before the mutation,”Gregor later earned so much money that he was in a position to cover the expenses for the entire family…” He later described the exchange not “particularly warm”. Gregor feels alienated by his parents because of the lack of affection for him providing for them.
After Gregor’s metamorphosis the cruelty his family showed him changed. He was now not just confined to his house but his bedroom with very little human interaction. His sister Grete who seemed to show Gregor the most compassion in the begining changed and in the end was the one to say “it has to go”. Grete’s sudden change of heart towards Gregor triggered his death as he crawled back to his room and died at 3
The apple is lodged in a painful place and causes pain every time he moves, but he gets used to it. In my opinion, this is trying to convey how dealing with severe depression is. Gregor is clearly depressed because he is cut off from his family. “ Gregor’s serious wound, from which he suffered for over a month (since no one ventured to remove the apple, it remained in his flesh as a visible reminder), seemed by itself to have reminded the father that, in spite of his present unhappy and hateful appearance, Gregor was a member of the family, something one should not treat as an enemy, and that it was, on the contrary, a requirement of family duty to suppress one’s aversion and to endure-- nothing else, just endure”(Kafka
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
“When the wind blows, some build walls while others build windmills. ” This quote was incorporated to demonstrate the different emotions and reactions people have towards change. Change can be both negative and positive and while some people embrace it, others are frightened by it. In collection 3, it can be inferred that many of the stories such as, The Metamorphosis, Life After People, The Starry Night, and The Lord of the Flies, show how change can negatively affect someone 's life, a groups lives, or in extreme cases, the world.
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
Growing up in a community with an unequal view of women, Grete has been influenced by the idea that her knowledge is of no importance. Grete had been looked down upon by her family for her lack of a stance and her position in society. However, Gregor’s transformation forces Grete to make up for his shortcomings, pushing her out of her comfort zone as well as her ideal gender role. Given the circumstances, Grete gives up her simple, easy lifestyle to make up for the loss of Gregor. In the beginning, Gregor depicts Grete using degrading terms to explain his sister, which suggests that her role as a female falls below his status as a male.
His death marks a new, brighter future for the rest of his family. The Oedipus Complex The Metamorphosis can be interpreted in terms of Freud’s notion of the Oedipus Complex. As an insect, Gregor’s
He tries to keep himself separated from his family and others, but that fails after a while. His family cannot take the sight of what he has become, except for his sister who becomes the one to look after him. In the story, Gregor’s family feels that he cannot communicate with them, but he still can understand everything they are saying. So, they lock him inside of his room away from the world. Gregor’s mother and father feel that Gregor will eventually get better, and turn back normal.
They start out with a very close relationship and slowly drift apart, until Grete wants Gregor totally out of her life. The changes Gregor went through are too much for Grete to deal
Yet, she is actually exercising her authority over both her mother and Gregor. As Gregor’s mother reasons as to why not to remove Gregor’s furniture, Grete “did not let herself be swerved from her decision by her mother” (Kafka 34). Her conviction to deprive Gregor of the pieces that represent his life as a human reveals the process of her own transformation into a figure of power. Finally, Grete’s most significant show of power is her convincing of the family that the insect is not Gregor. She announces to her family that they “have to try to get rid of it” (Kafka 51), and upon hearing this Gregor retreats to his room and dies.