Kafkaesque

I will be writing my term paper on Franz Kafka and the theme of how one’s spirituality transcends their physical concerns. Three of his works which display this theme are “The Metamorphosis”, “A Hunger Artist”, and “In the Penal Colony”. In Kafka’s works, often times a single, specific philosophy or message can be difficult to identify as a lot of his stories revolve around a disorderly universe, resulting in existential crises. These chaotic worlds Kafka places his characters in causes them to…

In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, Kafka writes in a way that connects his own life to that of Gregor Samsa, the main character in his novella, by illustrating that both suffer from alienation imposed from an outside source. The Metamorphosis explains the difficulties of living in a modern society along with the struggle for acceptance. This leads the main character, Gregor Samsa, to isolate himself from the world, dropping his self-worth leading to his depression. Franz Kafka also experienced…

In the Metamorphosis, Gregor immediately feels negative impacts from his transformation from human to bug. He loses his job, loses the respect and compassion of his family, and loses his ability to be independent. In the Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka uses Gregor’s transformation into a bug as an allusion to ableism in a capitalist society by the description of Gregor’s reliance on others, ostracization from society, and the derogatory tone in which others speak to Gregor. Gregor loses his…

Authors use many different literary devices to make their idea clear and concise or to enhance their novel or story. Moliere and Kafka are no different, their novels Tartuffe and The Metamorphosis, respectively, both use Deus Ex Machina to end their novel with a twist. Deus Ex Machina is when an author uses an unexpected power or events to save the characters or story from a seemingly impossible situation. It often used at the end of a story, novel, or play and to the reader it seems as if the…

Illness of a Loved One: The Truths behind it In the short story Metamorphosis, author Franz Kafka, describes a young man seemingly wheeling in a world of depression. By illuminating certain hardships of the protagonist in this story, Kafka shares what it is like to live life with an illness or disease. Specifically I will focus on Kafka’s depiction of alienation and how sick individuals are often shunned by loved ones. Additionally, I will look at the burden taken on by the family who must deal…

“Metamorphosis” is a novella written by Franz Kafka and published in 1915. It is about a story of Gregor Samsa, the protagonist, who awakes one morning from a dream and finds himself transformed into a gigantic insect. “Metamorphosis” is divided into three chapters: the first chapter is about the transformation and reaction of Gregor, the second chapter is about the family tries to accommodate him after his transformation and the final chapter is about the family ignores his existence until his…

Grete is shown to have a great relationship with her brother. However, no relationship is safe from hardships and this is nowhere as true as in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Kafka uses phrasing and word choice to memorably illustrate the gradual degradation of Grete’s relationship with Gregor. From the beginning of the novella, Grete is shown to have great respect for her brother. This is supported by the way she tries to get Gregor out of is room in chapter one. The way each family member…

A Man Called Ove A Man Called Ove begins with Ove (a fifty-nine-year-old man,) our main character trying to buy an iPad. After insisting time and time again that he must buy a keyboard and there is no way is comes with the iPad he begins to get angry and storms off out of the store. The dialogue between the two quickly shows both the generational disconnect and the crotchetiness of Ove. The story follows two narratives that are intertwined throughout the novel. One simply enough follows Ove…

In The Metamorphosis, a novel by Franz Kafka, the protagonist Gregor Samsa Wakes up to realize he is an insect. The tragedy of a working man that maintains his family and that later turns into a useless insect can symbolize the typical male figures worst nightmare, being unable to support his family financially. The figure of an insect can symbolize a similar “disease” that the protagonist on “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman was suffering from. In the “Gender and Pathology In…

English essay Symbolism behind objects and their importance in describing Gregor, Grete and their relation The metamorphosis is a novel written by Franz Kafka and published in 1915. In this novel the author tells the story of Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman who lived with his family, and sustained financially till the day we woke up to realize he had transformed into a "monstrous vermin" . Gregor ends up dying due to starvation and he is thrown to the garbage. The cause of death of…