The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - Book Report/Review Example

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka The ic novel “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka shows how this society acts toward humans in term of loneliness and isolation. It is a representation of the indifference towards the members of the society who fail to cope up with the norms that had been set by the influential groups. The novel draws different ways of interpretation but the analyses of various critics are intersecting on the point that it focuses on estrangement and alienation. The article, “Kafka’s Metamorphosis” by Stanley Hill clearly shows how one’s life becomes useless when the state of a family member such as Gregor is the main cause of the pain. When a member is the root of alienation that can result to the alienation of the family by the society, saving one’s self became more important. This can be attributed to the fact that the members of the family are just human and they tend to judge and alienate like every member of the family (Hill 161-62). On a personal note, there are various specific scenes in the novel that clearly demonstrate and express the estrangement and alienation. One of the events is the scene after Gregor became a gigantic insect and his family started treating him differently. He became treated less as a person and more as the insect he is. They started forgetting he exists and go about their daily life trying to ignore him and in time gradually putting him out of their daily activities (Kafka Part 3 p.33-34). One turning point that can be considered as evidence is when his room turned as storage of old things from the other rooms and parts of the house. Another is when his sibling influenced his parents to try and forget that Gregor is human to be able to move on with their life because the society is condemning them of taking care of an insect. This event can be considered as the escalation of alienation for Gregor when his family not only tried to avoid him but also planned to harm him. The lack of concern and change of lifestyle of the family after the death of Gregor is also another evidence of the alienation of the family (Hill 161-62; Kafka part 3 p.30). Based on the story line, there are different points that can be analyzed. When the story started with Gregor being transformed into a giant insect, it can be inferred that there are underlying problems in the lifestyle of the main character. One point is that Gregor can be considered as a representative of the members of the working population in teams of having high pressured lifestyle due to the demands of the family, the peers and the society. In the main character’s case, the main reason is the pressure of wanting to please his father and consequently gain his respect (Kafka Part 1 p.1-5). According to the author Stanley Hill mentions, "The Metamorphosis" is the tale of Gregor, a traveling salesman who finds his work loathsome and meaningless. He woke up one morning and found he has turned into a "gigantic insect" (Hill 161). It seems that his transformation probably has started from the inside and earlier since as a kid. Kafka wants to emphasize that Gregor’s father always told him to follow his ways which is a different direction from what he believed. The author used metaphor of himself for the main character Gregor. He is the unhappy salesperson and only motive for him to do the work regardless of his will was because of his position in the family being the one who has to support their every need from housing to all the living costs. He is described just as a working machine without any emotions. He started to get feelings about estrangement from he was doing and that is why he started to mutate into an insect form. In addition, he could not blame his family but has to express how he feels about this whole situation in life into another way, which was, in the story, to become a gigantic disgusting monster. It may be that he wanted to test if that estrangement does not exist within his family. Gregor believed that his transformation will change around what he has done for his life and will make him to start everything over again. The family members including his sister, Grete, started to feel awkwardness about having this creature in the house. The gigantic insect never got warm welcome in the house from his family although it was really Gregor, the son and a member of the family. Gregor probably have believed that the family will still care about him with love. He was not expecting to experience expressions of disgust, hate and shame. He realized the change brings disaster to his family. Hill writes their torment is too much for Gregors sister to bear, and she says: "We must get rid of it ...”. Later, she continues, "You must try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor [...]. If this were Gregor, he would have realized long ago that human beings cant live with such a creature [...]" (Hill 161-162). All the misery has begun in the family because now Gregor is useless for the family. Suddenly, all he has done for the family was nothing. Although he still wants to show them and tries to prove that it is still the same son and brother to his family, all efforts had been futile so he thought only his absence can be the answer. When things got worse, his alienation just increased. This specifically occurred when his father’s debts increased, his mother’s health problems occurred, and his sister’s violin career was put on the line. Inside he felt betrayed. If his own family reacts in a negative behaviors to their blood, he wondered about the reaction of the society and how other people would perceive his condition. The society perhaps would treat him as trash, unwanted figure, disease, and not as a living individual. This is one of the issues that the society needs to take into consideration in terms of perceiving people with difficulties in their lives. Kafka is trying to show how people with disabilities are casted out from society because they are different. The differences can cause these people their chance to have a normal life. They are treated as an outsider and even their family and friends can turn their backs on them. From the novel, the appearance for sure made Gregor a total stranger from the house. There is an emptiness and estrangement in Gregor’s heart. After the death of Gregor, his family has realized that their lives can be better and it is the time for them to work for living. The death of a family member only last certain time, which means that everybody move on to the next stage of their lives. This is another example of estrangement and alienation. This can be the reality of our lives and Kafka wants to point out that human lives are full of loneliness and emptiness. The author Hill stated that when Gregor died and a charwoman disposes of the corpse, an expression of the lack of care from his family. Now the family is rejuvenated, and the husband and wife suddenly notice "their daughters increasing vivacity". She has "bloomed into a pretty girl with a good figure" (Hill 162). How can the family rejuvenate after the beloved son’s death although he has turned into the monstrous creature? Even the people with closest relationships and strong attachment like the family members can be very judgmental about their own family members’ shortcomings. They should have craved for Gregor’s return and yet they are seemed even happier about his death. What a good example of showing isolation and separation. It seems true in many ways in this society. Kafka is trying to make a strong point that estrangement and alienation exit inside of everyone at some point in their lives. In conclusion, Kafka’s expression about estrangement and alienation clearly takes the main theme about this novel. He stressed points regarding the reality of alienation and indifference that can be inflicted by the society to the people who are considered different and not following the norms. As it can be said that the odd man is usually out. The treatment of the society to these people can be considered to have significant effects to their existence, well being and attitude. Alienation and indifference often lead to abnormal development of social and emotional faculties of a person. For that matter, by presenting stories that portray the effects of the behavior of the society toward a particular person lessons can be learned. This can be attributed to the fact that literary works are meant to teach lessons in life. It is significant for this society to accept the reality of alienation to be able to undertake actions to resolve them. Family and mainly the society have to demonstrate that people with disabilities, special care, and diseases should not feel the alienation or any kind of isolation. Works Cited Hill, Stanley. “Kafka’s Metamorphosis.” EBSCO Publishing, 2003. Kafka, Franz. “Metamorphosis.” The Penal Colony Stories and Short Pieces. New York: Schocken Books, 1961. Read More