Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

Franz Kafka was an Austrian-Czech writer who was born in Prague. Kafka comes from a Jewish background and happened to be around during the time Hitler was in power. He had a larger family, consisting of three sisters, whom died during the Holocaust, and his parents. One of the issues he dealt with throughout his life was his rocky relationship with his father. Another issue he faces throughout his life is that he struggles with pursuing a career as a writer and conforming to society’s expectation of having a wife, children, and a typical life (“Franz Kafka”). He always felt like an outsider – “a German speaking Jew among Czech-speaking Christians (Puchner, 1202).” Most of his stories show his inner struggles, including his popular story The Metamorphosis. His story, The Metamorphosis, is a story about a man who turns into a cockroach. As elementary as a story with a plot like this sounds, the way that Kafka delivers the story, along with the themes, make the story a memorable literary work with a meaningful underlying societal critique. There are six main themes: man versus animal, existence, family, isolation, identity, and social class (Shmoop Editorial Team).
“Man versus animal” is a very clear and obvious theme in the story (Shmoop Editorial Team). A great philosophical question many people ask is, “What makes humans …show more content…
Even before Gregor realizes he has become a cockroach, while he is complaining about his job he says, “new people all the time, no continuity, no affection. (The Metamorphosis, 1205).” Ironically enough, Gregor slowly becomes more and more isolated as the story progresses even after he is forced to stop travelling for his job. The family forces Gregor to be hidden and even ensures he is locked in his room. This makes Gregor’s feeling of loneliness deepen until he eventually dies