Preview

Frank Kafka's Metamorphosis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
699 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Frank Kafka's Metamorphosis
Frank Kafka’s disease, unsupportive and insensitive parents influence his abnormal literature. Born on July 3, 1883, in Prague, capital of what is now the Czech Republic, writer Franz Kafka grew up in a middle-class Jewish family with five other siblings. Tragedy soon struck him and his family when his two brothers died in infancy. Kafka was an intelligent individual who excelled in writing while also having a law degree in 1906. He did all of this while suffering from tuberculosis.

After having his degree for a while, Arbeiter-Unfall Versicherungs Anstalt offered him a job that gave him free time in the afternoon. This was good as his tuberculosis made it difficult for him to stay up during the day due to it giving him extreme
…show more content…
His parents either had different views on what he should he do or did not understand what he wanted to do. Frank was always an intellectual and creative kid. This is probably why he had such a great success with his literature. However, his dad did not believe in his impractical ways to get a successful career. The reason Frank Kafka decided to switch from a chemistry major to a law major in order to eventually receive a degree in law was because he seeked his father’s approval. He often wrote metaphors in his works about overcoming an overwhelming force which is compared to him wanting his dad’s approval. He always thought that he was a disappointment to his father. His book ,“The Judgment”, shows the reflection of how he believes his dad thinks about him; not only in the title, but also in the story. With Frank’s timid personality, he was never really able to stand up for himself and often seeks forgiveness. He literally wrote a whole book about searching for grace and forgiveness called, “The Castle”. His mother did not have the same particular problems with his career, but was not as intelligent as her son and did not understand the path that he wanted to take. Frank’s mom did not have as much of an impact as his father to his dream because his dad was a more brute individual that ruled the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” is a nightmarish tale with a very straightforward, matter-of-fact style, and this style enhances its nightmarish quality. An example of this is found in paragraph, which states, “His many legs, pitifully thin when compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked.” When describing this scene, the narrator definitely uses illustrative words, but does not have the disgusted tone one would expect from a story like this. The narrator speaks in an emptier way, which helps magnify the eerie feeling of the work. Both it and Gregor act very removed from the events, not how a normal human would react. Another instance of this is, “So then he tried to get the top part of his body out of bed…

    • 239 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Who was a more influential force in Frank's life: his mother or his father? Be sure to describe the effects of such influence in your response.…

    • 548 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In “The Metamorphosis” By Franz Kafka, the style enhances the nightmarish quality of the work in many ways. This quote from line 304-306 can be used to illustrate this when Gregor says, “I’ll open up immediately, just a moment. I’m slightly unwell, an attack of dizziness. I haven’t been able to get up.” These lines from the text show that Kafka describes this nightmare in a simple style. Gregor has completely transformed from a human into a vermin yet he treats the situation as if it could happen to anyone, and he still attempts to complete his normal responsibilities. Gregor thinks his transformation is simply a cold, and Kafka describes it very blankly, leaving it open to interpretation by the reader which in turn shows how horrifying the…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kafka shows how humans will adapt to fit their roles in society without any complaints, which was also shown in the Stanford Prison Experiment. Kafka shows this by having his characters fit into roles that they were assigned by physical features. In “the Metamorphosis,” Gregor is turned into a bug, and his transformation slowly begins to affect more than just his physical appearance. Within the story, we can see Gregor begin to change first with his acquired tastes for rotten food (26.8-27.4) to his newfound interest in crawling around all over the room (32.8). Kafka does a similar role fulfilling in the story “In the Penal Colony” with the condemned man. In this story, the condemned man is chained up like an animal and is even described as…

    • 233 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The nightmarish quality of “The Metamorphosis,” by Franz Kafka, is enhanced by the straight forward -almost academic- nature of the writing. One such example of this occurs on page 93, reading, ““What’s happened to me?” [Gregor] thought. It wasn’t a dream. His room, a proper human room, although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar walls.”(Kafka) From thereon, he abandons the description of his transformation to describe the room and previous night. As the audience reads this, they are thrown by the sudden shift of topic, still wondering what has happened. The fact that most works put an emphasis on the “why?” makes the reader expect an answer, developing their panic as it becomes less and less likely that there will…

    • 330 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As with any great literary work, there must be a purpose behind the story. Kafka’s short story was written for a few main reasons. He wanted to exemplify the absurdity of life, show that there is often a disconnect between the mind and body, and that there are limits to society’s affection for its servants. I found that all points appeared to be both relevant and accurate while maintaining the fantastical appeal of the strangeness of Gregor’s sudden transformation. I believe this contributes to why “The Metamorphosis” has made a lasting impact across the globe.…

    • 95 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Statistics show that 1 in 10 Americans have suffered depression, depression often being a result of isolation and alienation from society. In the short story “Metamorphosis”, Franz Kafka utilizes point of view and anthropomorphism to develop the theme of alienation.…

    • 305 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In The Metamorphasis, Kafka’s treatment of Gregor’s transformation demonstrates how beyond human control the natural world is. The human turning back into nature demonstrates a relationship between man and the environment. Throughout the novel there is, however, much talk of the cure and of acceptance, yet nature goes on unrelated to all talk of ways to change the situation.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A compare and contrast Analysis of Frank Kafka’s, The Metamorphosis and The Things They Carried.…

    • 1069 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ever thought about getting turned into a bug? Well, in the novella The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka the main character, Gregor gets turned into a bug. The hard working family man wakes up to find himself as a grotesque vermin. His whole life changes when his family discovers him in his nauseating state. They keep him locked up in his room and can hardly stand to look at him. Not only Gregor is inflicted by this awful, sudden change. His family, without the life-support and money from Gregor’s job they can not pay rent. A sudden change like this can happen to anyone, it unexpectedly changes not only the person going through the change but also their loved ones. Most of these changes are often not for the better.…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a novella. The theme in this story is that change in one character leads to positive and negative change in other characters. Gregor Samsa, the main character changes into dung beetle. His change affects his family deeply and they make both positive and negative changes to accommodate both his change and themselves. The family resents Gregor and sees him as a burden, which is a negative change, but previously the family had relied on Gregor as their source of income. This is where the conflict arises because now they have to learn to work for themselves instead of relying on Gregor for income, which is ultimately a great positive change.…

    • 797 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Franz Kafka is said to have based most of his works off of his own life. Consequently, in one such work, Metamorphosis, the characters, and their struggles parallel those of people present in Kafka's life. Metamorphosis tells the story of a man, Gregor, who leads a prominent lifestyle until he wakes up one morning transformed into a bug; from the moment that he takes his first breath in his transformed state, Gregor's life goes downhill. Because Kafka's work reflects his life, his state of mind is revealed through the fact that he chooses a bug in peril to represent himself. Kafka's purpose for writing Metamorphosis was to alleviate his hardships by providing himself an escape through writing.…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The last paragraph of Kafka’s reading metamorphosis discreetly suggests that the family’s emotions aren’t as they read, but they will travel to the edge to find a successful prospect to lead for the future. The opening sentence reads “then the three of them altogether left the flat,” pg. 241 this section of the sentence has a deeper meaning than the Samsa’s just taking off from their home and going to the park as the sentence follows up . As I read this opening sentence the word “flat” stands out to me. Flat stands out in sentence because it is used in a very untraditional way that makes me believe it has another meaning besides the description of the flat land they are on. When defining the word flat I think of a smooth, even surface without any lumps or indentations. When defining flat in an emotional context, I would define it as a lacking of interest or emotion, perhaps dull and lifeless. The context of “flat” in this first sentence of the last paragraph I would say speaks to Gregory family’s emotions after him not being present. I envision an insect or a cockroach, I always see them crawling up a wall perhaps a flat surface. Which becomes ironic to this situation as Gregor is an insect and has struggle being mobile on the flat surface which they refer to as home. In this opening sentence flat may speak of the family's emotions not just a state of the land. This word…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Kafka's Metamorphsis

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Kafka writes in part two “Did he really want the warm room, so cozily appointed with heirlooms, transformed into a lair, where he might, of course, be able to creep, unimpeded, in any direction, though forgetting his human past swiftly and totally?” This is the point of the story when Gregor starts to come to terms with his new life as an insect. He has not completely and totally let go of human emotions, but he has started to accept his new body and embrace his new abilities. Gregor starts to feel torn between the choosing the insect life and the human life, as he still has a desire to help provide for his family, and into part three his desire turns to shame when he realizes that he financially and mentally burdening his family.…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Franz Kafka was born on July 3 1883, into a time under threefold prejudice; the Czechs felt oppressed by the Austrian-Germans and, in turn, oppressed the Jews(Sulkes). Franz, being non-Czech, non-Austrian and a Jew, had to grow up in a time where no one could have treated him fairly and this comes through in his book. Joseph K. awakes in his bedroom and is told that he is under arrest(The Trial 1). His wardens act unprofessionally and the interviewer is vague in his answers, as if he was only told…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays