In Franz Kafka 's The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa and his family undergo a metamorphosis, that greatly affects the family 's daily life. Immediately after Gregor 's transformation into a "life sized vermin", the Samsa family appeared to be susceptible to change their actions, opinions and the hierarchy of power within the family, based on the actions of visitors of their home, specifically from Gregor 's office Manager and the three roomers, regardless of the classification of these characters as minor characters. Furthermore, in The Metamorphosis, Kafka emphasizes the significant roles that the minor characters play, specifically the Manager and the Three Roomers, through his usage of characterization, symbolism, and the motif of metamorphosis.
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In the novella, the Manager is portrayed as a symbol of the business world through his statement, reminding Gregor that Gregor 's job " '…is not the most secure '" (1088). The symbolic importance of the Manager is further exemplified with his cane. In the first section of the novella, the cane symbolizes the manager 's power, authority and confidence over others, which is exemplified when he leaves his cane "behind on a chair with his hat and over coat" (1092) as he screams "Agh" (1091) and exits the apartment on the preliminary view of Gregor, negating his former behavior and "friendly voice" (1087). After this scene, Gregor 's father seized "the manager 's cane" (1092) in his right hand and a "heavy newspaper from the table" (1092) in his left hand, allowing him to become the dominant figure as he uses the cane and newspaper to force Gregor back into his room and to close the door to Gregor 's room. The Manager 's cane as a symbol of power, authority and confidence shows that the Manager plays a significant role in the novella as it determines which character is the dominant figure in a set scene. The role of Kafka 's usage of symbols to develop the roles of the minor characters is further exemplified with the symbol from the newspaper. The newspaper, similar to the Manager 's cane, also symbolizes authority. The …show more content…
This is first evident in the development of the theme of family responsibility. Kafka 's use of the motif to develop this theme is apparent during Gregor 's Manager 's visit to the Samsa apartment after Gregor 's metamorphosis to the "monstrous vermin" (1084). In this segment of the novella, the reader learns that Gregor is the main source of income and care for the family, which is seen when Gregor is pleading to the manager of the firm with regards of keeping the employment position and he states that "[he] also [has] [his] parents and [his] sister to worry about" (1090). However, seen months after the incident with the manager, it is apparent that the position of income and care for the family has changed, transferring the role to Gregor 's father who was seen wearing, "a tight-fitting blue uniform with gold buttons, the kind worn by messengers at banking concerns" (1101). Although this implies an explicit change in the family responsibility, an implicit change can also be seen as initially during the visitation of the manager, the family seems to feel responsibility for Gregor 's metamorphosis and Gregor 's mother orders his sister, "Go to the doctor 's immediately. Gregor is sick. Hurry, get the doctor" (1089), which is then different in the scenes after the Manager 's departure where the
In the novella, the Manager is portrayed as a symbol of the business world through his statement, reminding Gregor that Gregor 's job " '…is not the most secure '" (1088). The symbolic importance of the Manager is further exemplified with his cane. In the first section of the novella, the cane symbolizes the manager 's power, authority and confidence over others, which is exemplified when he leaves his cane "behind on a chair with his hat and over coat" (1092) as he screams "Agh" (1091) and exits the apartment on the preliminary view of Gregor, negating his former behavior and "friendly voice" (1087). After this scene, Gregor 's father seized "the manager 's cane" (1092) in his right hand and a "heavy newspaper from the table" (1092) in his left hand, allowing him to become the dominant figure as he uses the cane and newspaper to force Gregor back into his room and to close the door to Gregor 's room. The Manager 's cane as a symbol of power, authority and confidence shows that the Manager plays a significant role in the novella as it determines which character is the dominant figure in a set scene. The role of Kafka 's usage of symbols to develop the roles of the minor characters is further exemplified with the symbol from the newspaper. The newspaper, similar to the Manager 's cane, also symbolizes authority. The …show more content…
This is first evident in the development of the theme of family responsibility. Kafka 's use of the motif to develop this theme is apparent during Gregor 's Manager 's visit to the Samsa apartment after Gregor 's metamorphosis to the "monstrous vermin" (1084). In this segment of the novella, the reader learns that Gregor is the main source of income and care for the family, which is seen when Gregor is pleading to the manager of the firm with regards of keeping the employment position and he states that "[he] also [has] [his] parents and [his] sister to worry about" (1090). However, seen months after the incident with the manager, it is apparent that the position of income and care for the family has changed, transferring the role to Gregor 's father who was seen wearing, "a tight-fitting blue uniform with gold buttons, the kind worn by messengers at banking concerns" (1101). Although this implies an explicit change in the family responsibility, an implicit change can also be seen as initially during the visitation of the manager, the family seems to feel responsibility for Gregor 's metamorphosis and Gregor 's mother orders his sister, "Go to the doctor 's immediately. Gregor is sick. Hurry, get the doctor" (1089), which is then different in the scenes after the Manager 's departure where the