Overcoming Alienation In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

English Essay Overcoming obstacles is one of the many adventures people experience, it allows for the development of new experiences and knowledge about oneself. Nevertheless, some people move forward in life while other people are hindered by these problems, financially, socially, or even emotionally. In the magic realism story of Franz Kafka’s, The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa struggle against isolation due to his family, and the feeling of lack of acceptance. Due to Gregor’s situation, he has multiple epiphanies where he acknowledges his own self-awareness. Ultimately, Gregor succumbs to the alienation that he deals with and thus dies an altruistic death. Initially, Gregor is unable to develop social relations due to the constraints put …show more content…
Since he was a traveling salesmen he had no time to talk to his family, and no time to create lasting relationships with other people. For Gregor turning into a bug it means that he will have a lot of free time since he is now unable to work and thus becoming a burden for his family since he cannot provide for them anymore. Essentially, because of Gregor’s family’s financial status, Gregor is incapable of developing connections to people due to work taking up most of his time, contributing to Gregor’s inability to create lasting intimate relationships with people, or his family thus enhancing Gregor’s feeling of alienation from people. Additionally, Gregor’s struggles against isolation when his family dehumanizes him. This feeling creates a larger gap in the already weak relationship Gregor has with his family. When Gregor’s sister and mother are deciding to take away the furniture from Gregor’s room he says, “Did he really want his warm room, so comfortably fitted with old family furniture, to be turned into a naked den in which he would certainly be able to crawl unhampered in all directions but at the price of shedding …show more content…
Through multiple instances Gregor achieves a state of self-awareness which grants him knowledge of his situation, his family, and the general atmosphere of his household. The first epiphany he experiences is one that he realizes that he hates his current life, and has no freedom, but when he transforms into a bug he is freed from the shackles of work. The second epiphany is a battle within himself to succumb to his natural tendencies of a bug, or try to maintain the human aspects that he still has left, resulting in his dehumanization. The third epiphany is Gregor having no regrets in passing away for his family, and the last is the realization of what his family household has become, something lifeless and mundane. Eventually, Gregor could not bear all the guilt he was experiencing, and the burden of it on his family. As someone who was completely entitled to family duty, Gregor makes a self-sacrifice for what he believed was the greater good for his