The Metamorphosis Short Story Analysis

Do you think outsiders are misjudged or misunderstood? What is an outsider? An outsider is a person who doesn’t belong to a particular group. In this case, outsiders are both misjudged and misunderstood. Most people judge outsiders by the way they dress, how they look, and who they hang out with or talk to. In the story “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, Gregor, was a boy who was turned into some sort of bug in the beginning of the story. As the story went on, Gregor's family started to isolate him for everything that they did. Towards the ending of the story “The Metamorphosis” Gregor’s family started caring less about him, especially his sister who was trying to help him.

In The Metamorphosis, Gregor, who has transformed into a vermin, has ignored his transformation and worries about not being able to aid to his family financially. One could say that Gregor’s primary role is to fulfill the role of the financial provider in his family, as he is the only one that works. The father, however, chooses not to take this role and expects Gregor to fulfill this role. When Gregor does not meet up to this expectation, it frustrates the father, as he must begin working. This shows that the father has always been able to work, but would rather not burden himself with this task, and when Grete starts to work afterward it proves this. Afterward, Grete, Gregor’s sister, starts to work independently and realizes that Gregor

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. But, it is his sister Greta that implies that they should get rid of the furniture in his room. She starts to feel that she does not recognize her brother anymore. Gregor tries numerous times to get his families attention so, they could maybe try to understand more what was happening to him. With every attempt, he tried he failed and was injured by his father in the process. Which caused him to stop eating and drinking water. The Last attempt to get his families attention, he ran off the tenants that rented out the room. His sister insisted on getting rid of him in her eyes, he was causing the family to be held back from greater things and was being a burden for the family as well. The last moments of his life he tried to crawl back into his room, but his body was lifeless he had no energy to go anywhere. He finally took his last breath and laid there and died. His family felt sad at the same time it was a sense of relief for the

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

In beginning of the novel Grete is submissive younger sister, who listens to her parents and does not voice her opinions. Upon finding out about Gregor’s metamorphosis she originally is reduced to tears, for her family has keep her sheltered from society, thus Grete was just an innocent young girl. However as the chapter progresses Grete turns into the only person in the family who is willing to tolerate Gregor in his insect form, Grete grows assertive protecting Gregor and continuing to treat him as her brother. As Grete continues to care for Gregor their parents begin to see Grete as a proper independent and competent woman; however, once Grete is required to work as a shop girl while also maintaining her studies her patience and fortitude begin to dwindle. Grete finally cracks when Gregor ruins her violin concert by showing the tenants his true roach form. After this incident occurs Grete no longer can tolerate Gregor, she denounces him as her brother. The climax of Grete’s character development occurs when she strongly declares that Gregor should be disposed of like the true pest he is. In the beginning of the novel Grete is living in a fantasy world, where she thinks she can care for Gregor and maintain a comfortable lifestyle; however, as Gregor becomes more of a burden Grete begins to hate him to the point where her whole attitude changes on the situation, leading to the death of

Gregor shows that he cares for his 7 year old little sister, Boots. When Gregor and she had fallen through a grate in the laundry room of their apartment building, Gregor went to go find her sister. Before Boots and Gregor had fallen through the grate, Gregor’s mom had told him to watch his younger sister. Gregor started to panic

While Gregor begins are the all mighty, male provider, he regresses into an effeminate state as he no longer can perform his tasks for work. As his transformation into a vermin worsens, he no longer can perform any action and further conforms to the true identity of a bug. Grete, on the other hand, picks up the male provider role that Gregor could no longer perform, but then, as she becomes tired with the work and as Gregor identifies with an “it”, goes back to her female role. Gregor's physical change forces him to degenerate to death, but allows Grete to thrive, growing into a

Gregor’s isolation and loneliness begins to toy with his composure, he becomes unpredictable and frightening to his family. Although, Gregor’s slow transformation from man to bug eventually becomes beneficial to Gregor. For instance, Gregor’s bug-like appearance allows him to be released from his family's high expectations. As for his developing bug-like qualities helps him to register his inner anger he feels towards his father. Gregor now realizes his father shows no sympathy towards Gregor and instead punishes him for something he has no control over. 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

" Physically: Gregor literally crawls into his room, lays down on the floor, and takes his last breath. Mentally: Gregor's family alienates him and is ultimately responsible for Gregor's death through their negligence. Clearly, the bug is Gregor, but Mr. and Mrs. Samsa and Grete treat 'it' as if he was scum." They were treating him as though he was invisible. They would literally walk past his room every day and attend their family dinners without saying anything to Gregor at all. They just didn’t acknowledge his presence at all and that was ultimately the reason for his downfall.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said “What lies behind you and what lies in front of you, pales in comparison to what lies inside of you.” “In a Good Man is Hard To Find” the Grandmother expresses herself as a lady of upmost standards. In actuality she lives as a Grandmother from the old South whose mouth runs on its own. The Metamorphosis includes Gregor a self-proclaimed family man who tries to take on most of the responsibilities. His way of living seems great for everyone, but at the same time does not seem necessary. In A Good Man is Hard to Find” and The Metamorphosis, The Grandmother and Gregor despite being completely different, also share very similar qualities. They differ in values but in the same way they are irresponsible and nuisances to

Symbols are all around us. Whether it be something like a stop sign or an object like a wedding ring, symbols are everywhere. Things can be symbols of good and symbols of evil and even the gray area between. In the story “Young Goodman Brown,” symbols of good and evil are present. The pink ribbon is a symbol that represents purity, innocence and gaiety as well as Goodman Brown’s wife and his spirituality. The staff shaped like a serpent is a symbol of the devil and evil. Goodman Brown knows that as he walks into the forest, he is walking with evil and is leaving his faith behind. Although he does not choose to take the devils offer he still turned his back on his faith, and as a result he becomes an old, bad-tempered, untrusting man.

Particularly, in The Metamorphosis, the power simply shifts from one person to another. As previously discussed, Gregor became the breadwinner of the family after his father’s business crashed, illustrating the transfer of power from Mr. Samsa to Gregor. After Gregor’s incapacitating transformation, Grete begins to gain authority in the house. She takes on the job of feeding Gregor, a task that even his mother is afraid to do. Additionally, Grete removes furniture from Gregor’s room, which on the surface may seem like a benevolent gesture to allow Gregor to move more freely. 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. Grete’s words alone hold so much power that it even leads to Gregor’s death. However, the power that Grete holds is not of her own. She only

In Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents, Freud states that the definition of happiness is dependent on the individual and is influenced by choices the individual makes (Freud 54). On the other hand, in Kafka’s ¬Metamorphosis, Kafka does not explicitly state what happiness is but shows it through the life of Gregor, which allows for a single interpretation of happiness. Using Freud’s outline of happiness, one can study and understand Kafka’s interpretation of happiness from Metamorphosis and realize that both interpret happiness in the same way. Both Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents and Kafka’s ¬Metamorphosis shows that happiness can be found through love, but can be interfered by how one’s body is and from relations to other

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. Hence, as Mr. Samsa returns to his house in a position of strength and authority, he unfortunately witnesses the sight of his stricken wife down

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