Through the interactive orals, my understanding of the cultural and contextual considerations of Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis deepened. I learned about Kafka’s life, the social structure of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late nineteenth century, as well as the interpretations of his work, which helped me understand the themes of oppression and alienation, and how it influenced Kafka’s writing of The Metamorphosis.
Although the novel is not a representation of Kafka’s life, parallels between Gregor and Kafka can be noted throughout the novel. The Metamorphosis may have been a metaphorical allegory written to expresses Kafka’s unvoiced antipathy with his life and authoritarian father. According to the presentation over Kafka’s biography, …show more content…
The Samsa family lived in luxury on Gregor’s salary, but Gregor’s inability to financially support due to his circumstances caused his family to depreciate Gregor. He was ostracized despite financially supporting them for so long. Kafka portrays a man’s sense of duty in his contribution to loved ones through Gregor who was the sole breadwinner of his family. Gregor took pride in providing a good life for his family, which motivated Gregor to continue living his unhappy and lonely life. However, the metamorphosis made it impossible for him to work and that in turn made him lose his purpose. Through Gregor, Kafka reveals that when an individual loses their purpose, life seems to be meaningless. The metamorphosis provided an escape for Gregor from his previous familial duties; however, it imprisoned him under his family. Despite being treated more cruelly than before, he tries to care for them despite his compromised state. Gregor begins to realize his mistreatment by his family, but he does not develop any resentment. As his family’s financial situation deteriorates, Gregor’s concern for his family grows and makes effort to not to be more of an inconvenience to his family than he already is. Gregor sought acceptance from his family, but they locked him away in his room and left him in isolation. “No plea of Gregor’s helped, no plea was even understood… his father merely stamped his feet more forcefully” (18). Gregor’s transformation kept him from expressing his emotions and needs to his family. Although Gregor is physically perceived as an insect, he has a human mind with the same emotional attributes of a human, but unfortunately, his family is incapable of looking beyond his exoskeleton and see Gregor for who he truly is. “The apple remained imbedded in his flesh as a visible souvenir… [that] reminded even