Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka Guilt Essay
Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”: A Story of Alienation and Guilt Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” is a short novel highlighting a Gregor Samsa’s struggle to make ends meet for his family, his struggle to overcome lonely feelings, the loss of his job, and his struggle of waking up one morning as a giant bug. This short story explores the themes of man’s self imposed alienation, alienation imposed by others, and the guilt imposed upon him when he realizes that, as a gigantic insect, he cannot work and support his family. This work of short fiction is highly acclaimed for its outright uniqueness, and the insight that it provided into the psyche of a working man, with obligations that rarely, if ever benefited him. I picked this short story because of a literature love affair with Kafka, as well as the fact that it
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Gregor Samsa is a traveling salesman, selling textiles, and slowly working off his family’s debt to the company clerk. He spends most of his time on trains or in hotel rooms, in absolute solitude. This occupation, which was chosen for him by his indebted parents, rarely provides him with the opportunity to interact with the outside world. Gregor goes on to tell us that he barely even makes appearances at the offices, where he is regarded as an outsider, and only judged by the number of orders he puts in, and not his character. This leaves him in quite a lurch for personal connection outside of work, seeing as he works long hours. When he gets home he “never goes out in the evenings; he’s been here the last eight days and has stayed home every single evening. He just sits there quietly at the table reading a newspaper or looking through railway timetables” (Kafka, 75-76). This is evidence of the alienation that he imposes upon himself, as well as the constant struggle he lives in, with obligations to provide for his family, he has no time to start a family of his
Gregor Samsa is a traveling salesman, selling textiles, and slowly working off his family’s debt to the company clerk. He spends most of his time on trains or in hotel rooms, in absolute solitude. This occupation, which was chosen for him by his indebted parents, rarely provides him with the opportunity to interact with the outside world. Gregor goes on to tell us that he barely even makes appearances at the offices, where he is regarded as an outsider, and only judged by the number of orders he puts in, and not his character. This leaves him in quite a lurch for personal connection outside of work, seeing as he works long hours. When he gets home he “never goes out in the evenings; he’s been here the last eight days and has stayed home every single evening. He just sits there quietly at the table reading a newspaper or looking through railway timetables” (Kafka, 75-76). This is evidence of the alienation that he imposes upon himself, as well as the constant struggle he lives in, with obligations to provide for his family, he has no time to start a family of his