The Metamorphosis Marxism Analysis
Marxist Criticism of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis follows the psychological downfall of a travelling salesman, Gregor Samsa, who loses everything but his subconscious after transforming into a vermin. The novella is the epitome of ontological magic realism, where Gregor’s surreal metamorphosis is described in a flat, matter-of-fact tone; but a reading through the lens of Marxist literary criticism reveals Kafka’s social commentary on capitalist societies. Kafka uses the metamorphosis as a symbol of Gregor’s succumbence to familial and social pressure, as it removes his responsibilities and his spine and takes away his ability to work. Hence, Gregor’s gradual undoing illustrates the results of a worker’s inability to work in a society of stratified social classes: alienation and death.
Gregor Samsa is forced to labour as a traveling salesman, and is burdened with his parents’ debt along with having to financially support his family. In the opening stages of the novella, Gregor comments on his
…show more content…
Gregor’s death is a metaphorical one. It symbolises the eventual results of a proletariat’s inability to labour in the capitalist society. Gregor’s death, to his family’s relief, removed him from the role of being a financial burden. His father said, upon hearing the news, “Well… now we can thank God!” (Kafka, 52). Finally free from the economic burden of supporting Gregor, the family leave the home to enjoy the warm sunshine. They do not reminisce about their lost son, and instead, discuss the economic benefits of his death and of their future financial plans. This is particularly clear in Grete’s “metamorphosis.” Having “blossomed into a good-looking, shapely girl,” Grete becomes a valuable asset, as she can find a husband who will replace Gregor as the labourer or the proletariat of the family (Kafka, 55). What the family cares about is not the growth of their daughter, but the economic benefits that her future husband would bring
Gregor's Transformation Rhetorical Analysis
233 Words | 1 PagesGregor’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
Gregor Duty To His Father
507 Words | 3 PagesHe 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.
An Analysis Of Gregor Samsa's The Metamorphosis
968 Words | 4 PagesGregor delivers for his family in much the same way as a creature would offer for its nest or store. He expenses almost all aspects of fun, and does not desire to do anything but work. Eventually, his income becomes less of a substantial act, and more of an anticipation. His family 's existence rests solely on his shoulders, just as a queen bee relies on the worker bees. Gregor’s metamorphosis is representative of this commodification of man.
Identity In Ovid's Metamorphosis
1857 Words | 8 PagesKafka’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
Gender Roles In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
1047 Words | 5 PagesGregor Samsa’s transition from human to vermin was not the only shift that happened through the duration of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. The novel is centered around Gregor who wakes up as a vermin, presumably a cockroach, which catalyses a series of emotionally traumatic experiences for him and his family, culminating in Gregor’s death. Yet the most significant change is, in fact, the gender role reversal seen both with Gregor and Grete, his sister, as Gregor becomes more effeminate and Grete becomes more emasculate, directly correlating with their societal and emotional transformation due to Gregor's physical change. From the moment, Gregor wakes up he has transformed. But not just as a vermin.
Theme Of Cruelty In Frank Kafka's Metamorphosis
535 Words | 3 PagesIn The Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka cruelty is what stemmed Gregor’s change into a large bug and subconsciously motivated him to end his life. Gregor’s new form was a depiction of how he already felt in his household, trapped, voiceless, and small. As Gregor’s metamorphosis developed so did the characters cruelty which affected both the perpetrators and the victims. The Samasa family’s cruelty was demonstrated both physically and mentally by Gregor’s father driving him back into his room, throwing apples at him and by Grete’s use of the word “it”.
Gregor Exposed In The Metamorphosis
741 Words | 3 PagesMuch like the Jewish community, he is mistreated and disowned by his father who is a symbolic representation of society’s ideals in the early 1930s. He begins to be isolated by his family mainly his sister/mother who remove materials from his room while leaving him inside showing the comparison to Nazi soldiers who robbed Jews of their valuables and money. This shows the isolation created for Jews as they are looked at differently and mistreated as innocent human being. Lastly, the apple stuck in Gregor’s back shows the suffering that Jews had to go through carrying the burden and pain along as they are discriminated
Cruelty In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
777 Words | 4 PagesThe Repercussions of Cruelty Cruel actions lead to cruel endings. Gregor Samsa, the protagonist in Franz Kafka’s novella The Metamorphosis, is turned into a bug from the mental and emotional abuse by the hands of his own family. The cruelty in the Samsa household is apparent from the beginning of the storyline. Their neglect and lack of compassion for Gregor's condition immediately sets the dark and miserable mood of the novella. Gregor’s whole existence has been about caring for his family and making sacrifices for their well being.
Gregor In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis
2045 Words | 9 PagesGregor’s apathy towards his new form shows not only that he cares deeply for his family, but also that the initial stress caused by his transformation is nothing compared to what he endures in his day to day life. Gregor’s
Mr. Samsa In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis
616 Words | 3 Pages1. 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.
Feminism In The Metamorphosis
795 Words | 4 Pages" His sister, who at seventeen was still a child, and whose lifestyle up to that point consisted of dressing herself neatly, sleeping late… taking part in a few modest pleasures, and above all playing the violin” (407). Grete is viewed as innocent and incapable of doing things independently, but roles switch between the two and, instead, is the one who makes the decisions within the family and by using Grete’s reactions after Gregor’s transformation to reveal the boundaries that limit growth in a society with specific gender roles. (To be
Power In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
1112 Words | 5 Pages(Kafka 34). Grete has learned in order to go up, one must go down, and what better person to go down than her now incapable brother. She exploits the fact that Gregor can’t work, and proves her usefulness to her parents, depicting how in Capitalism one can easily be replaced if they unable to achieve their expected
Examples Of Dehumanization In The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka
753 Words | 4 PagesThe narrator describes a recently hung picture, “The picture was of a woman clad in a fur stole; she sat upright and held out to the viewer a thick fur muff into which her entire forearm disappeared” (Kafka, 2013, p. 112). The protagonist displayed, this picture in his room to symbolize his search in finding love and a true meaning in life. Therefore, depriving Gregor from having a social life affected his mental
Economic Drive In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
1504 Words | 7 PagesKafka 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
Critical Analysis Of The Metamorphosis
1168 Words | 5 PagesTo management, workers like Gregor become disposable at the slightest infraction. Indeed, Gregor is dispensable to even his own family. When Gregor first found success at work and brought money to his family, they had been “astonished and delighted” (Kafka 27). However, their wonderment soon fades as “they had just gotten used to it” and “the money was received with thanks and given with pleasure, but no special feeling of warmth
More about The Metamorphosis Marxism Analysis
Gregor's Transformation Rhetorical Analysis
233 Words | 1 PagesGregor Duty To His Father
507 Words | 3 PagesAn Analysis Of Gregor Samsa's The Metamorphosis
968 Words | 4 PagesIdentity In Ovid's Metamorphosis
1857 Words | 8 PagesGender Roles In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
1047 Words | 5 PagesTheme Of Cruelty In Frank Kafka's Metamorphosis
535 Words | 3 PagesGregor Exposed In The Metamorphosis
741 Words | 3 PagesCruelty In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
777 Words | 4 PagesGregor In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis
2045 Words | 9 PagesMr. Samsa In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis
616 Words | 3 PagesFeminism In The Metamorphosis
795 Words | 4 PagesPower In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
1112 Words | 5 PagesExamples Of Dehumanization In The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka
753 Words | 4 PagesEconomic Drive In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
1504 Words | 7 PagesCritical Analysis Of The Metamorphosis
1168 Words | 5 Pages