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“The Metamorphosis”

The Metamorphosis chronicles the transformation process of the main character, Gregor, from a human being into insect. The metamorphosis story is renowned for its exclusive ability to inspire different interpretations by readers. The metamorphosis of Gregor can be viewed as a parable about how his family dealt with his disability. The story has been considered one of the most famous enigmas of among modern novellas. Kafka is praised for his powerful ability to portray the theme of alienation and metamorphosing a human being.. Gregor's transformation is a wish-fulfillment and an extended metaphor as he deeply resents supporting his family.

The narrator of the story is an anonymous figure who recounts the plot of the story in a neutral tone. He focusses primarily on the feelings and thoughts of Gregor’s behaviors. The events of the story are described in regard to Gregor’s images and what he sees. The flat unchanging events gives an exceptional plot that gives readers the anxiety to outlandish in a neutral fashion. When Gregor find himself transformed to what the author terms as a giant bug, he tries to handle the situation but in the process, he finds it difficult to accommodate his changes. Unable to handle the consequences, his family attacks him by removing all evidence of his humanity.

Gregor’s transformation is defined from the pressure to provide for his family. Before his transformation, his obligation to provide for his family limited him from engaging in romantic relationships. Instead, he chooses to prioritize his family’s needs before anything else. He later transforms into a Christ-like figure when he chooses to die for them to have a better life. At this point, Kafka presents this metamorphosis in a religious picture by linking Gregor’s death to that of Jesus. Throughout the metamorphosis, Kafkauses his imagination to show the consequences of people’s actions through their life challenges.

In a bid to support his family, Gregor changes into a parasite. The complete reliance of his family on him is ironic to his transformation in entomological fact. The metamorphosis falls on his family as they learn to be independent. The transformation equally applies to Gregor’s sister who passes from girlhood to womanhood. Gregor’s transformation is evaluated as an extended metaphor, focusing on abstract ideas to reality concepts. He is trapped in low profile job which makes him isolated from people around him. He thinks of himself as an insect, and by others, he comes one.

Alienation

Franz’s thematic presentation in the metamorphosis focuses on the symbolic and metamorphic nature of the story. While interpretations of the story differ, many analysts find the theme of isolation and alienation central. Gregor’s transformation makes him an insect in the eyes of human beings around him. He is further isolated with his inability to communicate. Perhaps, this is the greatest transformation that Gregor undergoes around his family. Before , his family identified him with his hard work and treated him well by, giving him the valuable things in the house. However, when he becomes a burden to the family and unable to support them financially, they long to free from him.

Gregor starts to feel alienated and even refers to the change as his “imprisonment” (Kafka 146). This transformation forces him to lock himself in his room. He does maintain contact with others around him. When her sister, Grete, tries to spend some time with him in his room, he takes the couch to hide and refuses to interact with her. Gregor feels that he is trapped in a room alone which Kafka refers to as "the noise headquarters of the apartment" (Bloom 74). Kafka uses Gregor as an exaggeration since he could not move out of his room to escape his family members’ abuse. His inability to communicate literary separates him from interacting with others. Gregor’s transformation alienates him from human beings and makes him think he is an insect. Moreover, the author does not mention Gregor’s interaction with friends or a romantic partner. Essentially, he is isolated from others including his caring family members. His metamorphosis can be viewed as an extension of the isolation and alienation he experienced.

The Disconnect Between Mind and Body

When Gregor becomes accustomed to his body, his mind and thoughts begin to change due to his physical needs. He is not in a position to reconcile his mind and body and starts to behave like an insect. He begins to crave more foods and prefers darker and smaller places to hide from others. His behavior of crawling on floors and the ceiling further makes him look like an insect. This is evidence that his physical needs directed his mind and thoughts. As a result, Gregor begins to feel conflicted about his humanity. He is caught up in a mid of confusion in deciding what is good for him. His family members make a move to help change his behaviors by moving all the furniture out of his room. He, however, does not resist and feels that the empty room will create more space for his physical needs: he will be able to crawl any place he pleases. However, he realizes that he has to make a choice: to be either physically or emotionally comfortable. As a result, his mind and body feel conflicted, and he chooses emotional comfort as he clings to an image of the woman in fur.

Limits of Sympathy

Gregor’s family struggle with sympathy towards him after his metamorphosis. His mother feels revulsion towards his son as she understands that some aspect of humanity in his son remains despite his changes. His sister decides to be close to him and even tries to find what he likes after his change. She asks him what kind of food he likes and even begins to regret moving his furniture from his room since she hopes that his brother will return to his human form (Kafka 93). Despite his father’s little care towards him, he chooses to let him stay in his house. He even shows compassion towards his son by allowing the rest of the family members to care for him.

Eventually, however, the burden caused by Gregor’s change wear down the compassion and sympathy hold by his family members. Even the most caring members, the mother and his sister, find a limit. The fact that Gregor is unable to communicate with any of them worsens the situation as they find him to be more of an insect and not close to returning to his human form. His inability to communicate freely with others around him draws away his family’s compassion towards him and eventually, he is left alone. His sister, Grete, who was among the caring members suggests that they must free from Gregor.

The metaphor and Gregor’s thoughts make the novella relate to modernity. Kafka presents a man frustrated with modernity and a picture of a woman in fur. It is these objects that open doors to a relationship between a primal man and modernity. The object of a woman in fur is used to remind Gregor and the readers about the primal intimate relationship that is yet to be discussed in modernity. Kafka broke from traditions through the metamorphosis’s expectation of each object. Thus he was able to explore modernity by simply manipulating that which is basically to their medium.

“The Metamorphosis” is one of Franz’s best literary works. The flat unchanging events gives an exceptional plot that gives readers the anxiety to outlandish in a neutral fashion. The story shows the challenges experienced in the modern world and the difficulty that people face in accepting other people’s needs. Kafka directs negative concepts of life through the relationship between Gregor and his family members. “The Metamorphosis” also presents a resemblance between humanity and extinction imagination in amid to show modernity in today’s society. The physical and emotional torture Gregor experiences in the story shows the struggle that many people face in helping others. Gregor is abused by his family members and disappointed. Their behavior shows the challenges families have in the modern world. Kafka transforms Gregor into a bug to express his feelings towards life problems.

Works Cited

Bloom, Harold. Franz Kafka's the Metamorphosis. Chelsea House, 2007.

Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Floating Press, 2008.