Franz Kafka s Metamorphosis An Interpretation - 958 Words

Franz Kafka’s â€Å"Metamorphosis†: An Interpretation The very first line of one of the most famous novellas of the 20th century, Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, is puzzling. It tells us that the main character awakes one day and finds himself turned into â€Å"ungeheueren Ungeziefer† (Gooderham par. 4). It has proven difficult to translate the line into English, as there is no precise translation. Meaning some â€Å"enormous or monstrous kind of unclean vermin† (Gooderham par. 7), it denotes â€Å"something nasty, but not specific† (Robertson 2:31). The meaning of the whole story remains similarly uncertain, and numerous readings of it have emerged in literary criticism. In our paper, we will make an attempt to give a possible interpretation of the novella, supporting it with some arguments, and then we will discuss the story’s ambiguity further. In our opinion, â€Å"Metamorphosis† can be understood as a metaphor for the great weakness and disease of the elderly. Only here, the disease comes suddenly and harshly, and all the changes following it are also rapid, much stronger and more obvious. When Gregor turns into the creature, his family quickly forgets about all the good he has done. They lock him in his room, and all of his human features are forgotten. The only person who visits the protagonist is his younger sister, who has accepted the responsibility of cleaning up after him and feeding him. She does her chore quickly, feeling disgusted. Gregor’s family mainly sees him as a useless andShow MoreRelatedThe True Metamorphosis.. Franz Kafka Owns A Part Of The1448 Words   |  6 PagesThe True Metamorphosis. Franz Kafka owns a part of the human emotional spectrum, which the world can now call the Kafkaesque, a term for someone who exhibits nightmarish qualities of Kafka’s fictional world (Franz Kafka). Kafka’s twisted world is in no way pleasant, very Kafkaesque. It feels like a nightmare, and yet it is a place where many people, if only for a moment, will end up. Kafka’s most appreciated piece of literature, â€Å"The Metamorphosis,† creates an extension of Kafka’s life throughRead More Mental Isolation in Franz Kafkas The Metamorphosis Essay1428 Words   |  6 Pagesin Franz Kafkas The Metamorphosis The metamorphosis very possibly was written by Kafka as an outlet for his feelings of isolation and helplessness. In it, the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, awakens one morning to find himself spontaneously transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin. The story continues from there in a most realistic fashion: his family rejects him, and he stays cooped up in his room until he dies. Although interpretations of the story differ, my opinion is that Kafka wroteRead MoreThe Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka Essay1496 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The metamorphosis,† is a story by Franz Kafka, published in 1915 is a story divided in three chapters: transformation, acceptance, and the death of the protagonist. There are many interpretations that can form this tale as the indifference by the society that is concerned with different individuals, and isolation pushing some cases to the solitude. Some consider The Metamorphosis as an autobiography of the author, which tries to capture the lonel iness and isolation that he felt at some pointRead MoreFranz Kafka s The Metamorphosis Of My Existence1096 Words   |  5 PagesThe Metamorphosis of Franz Kafka A picture of my existence... would show a useless wooden stake covered in snow... stuck loosely at a slant in the ground in a ploughed field on the edge of a vast open plain on a dark winter night†. — Franz Kafka The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung 1912), Franz Kafka’s best known short story, is a master work of incredible psychological, sociological and existential malaise. Although his points are simple and straightforward, this richly layered and texturedRead MoreAnalysis Of Kafka s The Metamorphosis 1166 Words   |  5 PagesKafka is ranked among the most important writers of the twentieth century for works that express modern humanity s loss of personal and collective order. His writing describes the situations of psychological, social, political, and physical instability and confusion that defy logical explanation and which typify Kafka s conception of humanity s absurd relationship with the universe (Kafka, 2013). Although Kafka s work has elicited various critical interpretations, he himself characterized hisRead MoreAnalysis Of The Metamorphosis1501 Words   |  7 PagesBeveridge, A. (2009). Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Advances in psychiatric treatment, 15(6), 459-461. This brief article is written from the psychiatric perspective, pointing out that Kafka has always been of great interest to the psychoanalytic community; this is because his writings have so skillfully depicted alienation, unresolved oedipal issues, and the schizoid personality disorder and The Metamorphosis is no exception to this rule. While this writer tends to think that psychiatrists shouldRead More The Metamorphosis Essay1716 Words   |  7 PagesThe Metamorphosis The longer story The Metamorphosis, first published in 1971, was written by Franz Kafka. He was born in Prague in 1883 and lived until 1924, and he has written many other stories along with The Metamorphosis. The Metamorphosis appears to be a fantastic piece. After reading The Metamorphosis, I do believe that there are many similarities between magical realism and fantastic literature. Kafka showed many fantastic issues in The Metamorphosis. While reading The MetamorphosisRead MoreThe Trial And The Metamorphosis2538 Words   |  11 Pagesand The Metamorphosis are the two foremost works Franz Kafka has ever written. By doing this, Franz makes the similarities and differences very obvious, yet each text is complex in their own way. In The Trial and The Metamorphosis, Kafka uses unique aspects to compare the characters in each novel. Each character is being forced by anonymous forces. They both go through loneliness to find the meaning behind their suffering. Each similarity and difference in The Trial and The Metamorphosis, come alongRead MoreThe Cherry Orchard By Anton Chekhov And Metamorphosis2447 Words   |  10 Pageswas written by Anton Chekhov and Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka. As a class we first read the plays and then explored these plays through a series of workshops and as a result this helped deepen my understanding of the plays and help develop and strengthen my acting skills. Social Cultural Historical and Political The Cherry Orchard Social: Social change is one particular theme that is mentioned throughout the play. In one workshop we looked at Ken Johnson s idea on status to deepen our understandingRead MoreAnalysis Of Franz Kafka s Life1811 Words   |  8 Pagesphilosophy that is often analyzed through literature. Franz Kafka is a key example of the limitless nature of this theme as his many works are divisive in how they connect with existentialism. Kafka is a unique storyteller and his stories have captivated generations since their publications. His background is important in understanding his seeming detachment from his writing. Kafka’s life is described by Ritchie Robertson in â€Å"Biography of Franz Kafka† as â€Å"strikingly ordinary† with the only notable commentary