Physical Appearance In Kafka's The Metamorphosis

In Beastly, Kyle Kingson is a pampered, popular, and superficial high school student who bullies anyone he deems inferior to him. His narcissism is propelled by his physical appearance and social status, which further motivates him to tyrannize his classmates. One person Kyle humiliates is a witch, and she gets revenge on Kyle by transforming him into a beast as unattractive as his personality is. In Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Gregor wakes up on a peculiar morning to find out he has shockingly transformed into a creature as well, a cockroach. The Metamorphosis and Beastly both have main characters who undergo an irrational transformation, which displaces them from their former lives. Their newly transformed appearance causes the main characters to fear judgment from society.
Both Kyle and Gregor experience an unusual transformation that secludes them from their prior worlds. Kyle is turned into a person with immense scars, tattoos, and …show more content…
People feel ashamed if they do not meet the expectations deemed by society. In this case, Kyle and Gregor’s physical appearance did not meet society’s norm, so they let their transformation displace them from their lives because they are ashamed of the way they look.
Judgment from society is a shared fear between the two main characters. Kyle shows he fears judgment from society when he stops communicating with his former friends and avoids making his appearance known in public. Kyle remains hidden so he can avoid judgement from his former friends and classmates. When Kyle very rarely goes out in public, he covers himself with long pants, long sleeves, and a hoodie. He walks with his head down as a sign of mortification for the way he looks. Kyle metaphorically disappears off the face of the earth to protect himself from society’s