Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis - Essay Example

The Metamorphosis Analysis Franz Kafka had one particular intention when creating the plot of the novel. The main plot revolves around the character of Gregory Samsa. Gregory transformed into a giant insect or vermin for a reason the author does not explain to the reader (Kafka 1). The author uses the character of Gregory to create a plot that remains significant in the novel. After his transformation, Gregory is unable to return to his normal life as everything around him becomes a guest. At one point in the book, Gregory is given his best meal, bread and milk. He realizes that his tongue finds the meal tasteless and he seeks an alternative meal. His sister, Grete, feeds him with rotten food of which he finds sweet and it becomes his favorite meal (Kafka 3). Additionally, his family is very uncomfortable with his bodily changes and only his sister finds him friendly. He has several violent encounters with his father one ended with him being severely injured. On the other hand, his mother cannot bear the sight of him. On numerous occasions she fainted just on the sight of him (Kafka 3). On the day of his transformation, Gregory had a visit from his employer who came to find out why he was late for work. On noticing his bodily change, he rushes out of their apartment showing complete displeasure with Gregory’s physical appearance. This changes in his interaction and social life makes him lonely and sad. He turns to climbing on walls as a way to cheer up. As time passes his sister gets tired of taking care of him. This makes his room untidy and unbearable. His family gets tired to housing and taking care of him. For this reason, they decide they cannot take of him anymore and he is given the right to walk away by his father. At the same time, the landlord of their apartment saw the condition their home was in due to Gregory’s condition. He is forced to evict them without paying rent due to the deteriorating condition the apartment is in. however, Gregory dies before they could leave (Nabokov 78). His family is rather pleased with his demise and they are relieved from the difficult responsibilities they had. The family leaves the city and travels to the country side. The family results to marrying of Grete as their only option for their survival. Accepting change From the book, one could easily point out that the ancient societies had a difficult way of accepting significant change. The novel is set in the 1915 age. In an argument by Harrison White, change in the past societies was analyzed in a very uncomfortable way (87). The author further points out that change was regarded with so much sensitivity to cause separation and a person being cast from the social settings (White 88). This can be attributed to the fact that the society was not versatile enough to incorporate guest personalities into social circles. However, family members of the affected person may be willing to incorporate the change but the society denies them the opportunity to live a normal life. This can be seen in The Metamorphosis where Gregory’s family is segregated from the society due to the condition of their son. The society could not accept the physical change experienced by Gregory. This can be proven by the fact that his employer hastily ran away from their apartment after seeing the changes experienced by Gregory. One could point out that, the case could have been different in the modern century. Tony Watson points out that the modern century is amazed and interested in change and they find numerous ways to deal with the change (55). Additionally, they try and cope with change in order to find the cause of transformation. In his creation of change, Franz Kafka had in mind a correctional way of changing the society. He wanted to enlighten the society on the positivity of accepting change. For instance, if the society had accepted the physical change in Gregory, he could not have lost his job. This also could have been helpful to his family who would not have been struggling t survive in the city. The negativity of the society not to accept change has negative effects on the society itself. Over reliance on one source of income Another perspective approach on the novel could be based on the fact that most families in the past centuries greatly relied on the expertise of one person. There was great limitation with the number of personnel the society was exposed to. The few existing personnel were held with much regard and a lot was expected from them in the family, corporate and social setting. This can be attributed to the fact education was not embraced with much regard and this greatly affected the sector in terms of quality and accessibility (Nabokov 23). Additionally, the society did not have much regard to modernization and industrialization. The society was content with even the slightest source of income regardless of the nature of the source (Watson 46). This argument can be proven in the case of Gregory. The morning he experienced transformation he was late for work and this attracted attention from not only his employer but also his family members. They knew his significance as source of finance in the family and his employer realized he was worth asset in his organization (Nabokov 34). They all wondered why he was skipping work since they knew the consequences. Gregory could not go to work and the effects of this move were significant in the family setting. There are complaints from his family on how they could sustain taking care of him and also finance the family needs. He was the only person in the family responsible for the family finances and generation of income. If other family members were aligned to corporate responsibility, the situation could have been different. The difference could have been significant since Gregory could have survived the transformation without much change in the family setting (Nabokov 45). In an argument by Vladimir Nabokov the in the early 19 century over reliance on one bread winner greatly limited the growth of these societies in terms of both financial and social growth (89). To further analyze the disregard of Gregory’s family to modernization, the family decided to marry off Grete in order to find another source of income. In the modern century, empowering the girl child with education would be the most suitable option as people have realized the importance of every person in the society regardless of the gender or any other factor. Conclusion From an analysis of the plot by Kafka, one could easily point out that the author had an intention to bring about change in the society he dwelled in. He realized the need for the society to be more versatile in terms of accepting change and situation regardless of the sensitivity or significance of the issue. The author effectively highlights the effects of the disregard of change. For instance, the marrying off of Grete since the family could not sustain themselves without a source of income. Additionally, the migration of the family to the country side after the demise of Gregory showed that they could not afford the life in the city. A society should embrace change and empowerment through the available options. This enhances the social connection of any society and productivity level. Kafka however, based his novel in an ancient setting which bore the characteristics displayed in the literature piece. Works cited Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Munich: Kurt Wolff Verlag. 1915. Print. Nabokov, Vladimir. Lectures on Literature. New York: Harvest. 1980. Print. White, Harrison. Identity and Control. How Social Formations Emerge. Princeton: Princeton University Press. 2008. Print. Watson, Tony. Sociology, Work, and Industry. London: Routledge. 2008. Print. Read More