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Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe explains the themes in Franz Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis.
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In The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, awakens one morning to discover he has turned into an insect-like creature.
As a traveling salesman, he is a reliable man and the key source of income for his family, and they are understandably horrified by his sudden change in form. Though his sister Grete attempts to care for him in his new incarnation, his father and mother both shun him.
His aging parents and sister are forced to take jobs and take in three demanding boarders to make ends meet as Gregor keeps hidden in his room by a mutual, unspoken understanding, spending his days reflecting on family.
Isolated in his room, he becomes increasingly depressed. Ultimately, his father throws an apple at him when he attempts to check on his mother, who has passed out at the sight of him. This sinks Gregor into a deeper depression and he loses the will to live.
Gregor’s death relieves the family and they treat themselves to a day in the countryside and begin to plan their future.
The Metamorphosis threads what might be taken as a simple horror story with observations about familial relationships and middle-class despondency. Though the main character is an insect, the story is profoundly human.
Jewish writer Franz Kafka is considered a master of 20th-century German literature, and The Metamorphosis was first published in 1915. However, the novella would not achieve popular acclaim until after his death. In fact, many of his unconventional stories were published posthumously against his wishes. Today the term Kafkaesque is used to describe the bizarre and fantastical.
The novella The Metamorphosis contains many powerful themes including mind and body, as Gregor no longer looks human, though his thoughts stay the same, revealing a disconnect between mind and body; alienation in modern life, as Gregor's transformation represents feelings of isolation; and family ties, as the emotions of Gregor's family range from love and compassion to resentment and horror. Important symbols include the woman in furs, vermin, and uniforms.
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