Franz Kafka And Metamorphosis Themes

There are a number of famous writers in the 20th century. George Orwell, an English novelist, illustrated a dystopian world of fascism. Anne Frank, a German-born diarist and writer, created the basis of Jewish victims of the Holocaust in many films. And, there was Franz Kafka, a Czech-born writer who wrote novels and short stories with enigmatic themes. In many of his work, a protagonist experiences peculiar events. For example, in “A Country Doctor,” the protagonist, a doctor in a small village, is stripped naked and lay next to his patient, and the patient’s family sings a religion-like song. On the other hand, in Metamorphosis, a protagonist, Gregor Samsa, turns into a large insect. In both stories, there is a theme that features the protagonist’s …show more content…
He established a new model of fiction for the modern age. This achievement came from the ambiguous relationship between his writing and his life. One of the critical commentators says that his writing and his life is well expressed in Pietro Citati’s biography: “All the people who met Franz Kafka in his youth or maturity had the impression that he was surrounded by a ‘wall of glass.’ There he stayed, behind that very transparent glass, walking gracefully, gesticulating, speaking.... The more he participated in the destiny and sufferings of others, the more he excluded himself from the game” (Aldiss). This quote suggests that Kafka was pretending that he is involved with people, but he was actually looking at them through “the glass.” As has been noted, it is safe to say that the protagonists from both stories have some aspects that relate to the writer himself. Furthermore, there are some scenes in both stories, which can relate to Kafka’s own …show more content…
I shake my head; I feel sick in the narrow confines of the old man’s thoughts; that is the only reason I turn down the drink” (3 A Country Doctor). Even though the man who gives a glass of rum is not the protagonist’s father, it implies that the protagonist has a negative feeling about an old man, which is somewhat similar to Kafka. The story does not tell why, but the relationship between Kafka and his father slightly suggests that the protagonist is told to become a doctor by someone like a father. On the other hand, in Metamorphosis, there is a father who is somewhat similar to Kafka’s father. When the narrator describes how Gregor’s father look like, the narrator says “But now he was standing up really straight, dressed in a tight-fitting blue uniform with gold buttons, like the ones servants wear in a banking company. Above the high stiff collar of his jacket his firm double chin stuck out prominently, beneath his bushy eyebrows the glance of his black eyes was freshly penetrating and alert, his otherwise disheveled white hair was combed down into a carefully exact shining part” (36 Metamorphosis). This quote implies that Gregor’s father seems strict and serious. It sounds like there is no kindness, which slightly suggests that Kafka did not realize why his father was strict to him if Gregor’s