Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka

Who is the author of Metamorphosis?

Franz Kafka

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What is the genre of Metamorphosis?

Existentialism, Absurdist Fiction, Modernist LIterature

What is the setting of Metamorphosis?

The cramped, middle-class apartment of the Samsa family

• Shows how Gregor was already physically confined before he became confined in his bug body. It also shows how Gregor "trapped" his family; the only time the story leaves the apartment is after Gregor dies, when his family finds more contentment outside the apartment.

When does Metamorphosis take place?

Early 20th century during the height of the Industrial Revolution, reflecting the anxieties of modern capitalism.

What is the main conflict of Metamorphosis?

Gregor (Individual) vs Circumstance (Vermin transformation)

What perspective is Metamorphosis in?

third-person limited; the narrator is not a character from the story but tells the events from a knowledgeable place

• Allows readers to get in the character's head and see what happens outside his room

Symbols in Metamorphosis - Vermin

• Vermin is a vague description of the grotesque transformation the main character, Gregor, undergoes

• Vermin represents the degration and dehumanization of life/work does to an individual

• Vermin is a manifestation of his misery

Symbols in Metamorphosis - The Woman in Furs

• Advertisement of a woman that hangs in Gregor’s room

• Symbolizes Gregor’s connection to his former human form that could feel sexual urges

• Gregor clings to the portrait as a way of attempting to retain his human connection

Symbols in Metamorphosis - Mr. Samsa’s Uniform

• Polished with gleaming gold buttons

• Pre-transformation: Mr. Samsa rarely left the house and was lazy

• Post-transformation: Mr. Samsa seems to also transform himself to take Gregor’s place and provide for his family

Symbols in Metamorphosis - Spring

• When Gregor dies, warm fresh early SPRING air wafts into the room

• Hope and renewal for the Samsa family

Symbols in Metamorphosis - Apples

• Forbidden fruit of knowledge

  • In the Bible, when Adam and Eve eat the fruit, they are given knowledge with the cost of sinning and are expelled from the knowledge

• The apple lodged in Gregor's back symbolizes his permanent exile from human society and his family's love

• Ultimately contributes to his death as it remains lodged in his back and begins to rot

Themes in Metamorphosis - Alienation in Modern Life

• The 20th century work force was devoid of happiness

• Gregor Samsa worked as a travelling salesmen

  • had to deal with stress such as worries of train connections, constant contact with diverse people, and foreign foods

• Gregor gets “the break” he needs from this life through the vermin transformation

Themes in Metamorphosis - Mind & Body

• OUTSIDE POV: Gregor looks like a disgusting vermin that horrifies the family

• INSIDE POV: Gregor’s thoughts still retains a sense of his former humanity and the reactions of others such as what his boss might think when he’s late to work

  • But this humanity slowly gets stripped away from him as he slowly starts to gain more insect-like behaviour

    • Using his limbs to hang from the ceiling

    • No longer enjoying his favourite human drink (milk); now preferring spoiled foods

Themes in Metamorphosis - Family Ties

• Gregor plays both parts of a caretaker and peace maker to provide for his family

• Post-transformation: still worries about how his aged parents will support themselves & how Grete will ever go to a conservatory for violin

• Gregor feels guilt for not being able to provide for them as he did pre-transformation, but at the same time begins to resent them for dehumanizing and ignoring him post-transformation