“The Metamorphosis” was written during the Modernism movement, by Franz Kafka, in 1912. Kafka felt that his creativity was finally taking a definite form in 1912. “The Metamorphosis” would be one of a very few works Kafka would publish in his lifetime. He actually turned down an offer to publish it in 1913; it is thought that he was saving it for a book that he was planning to call Sons. Finally, in 1915 “The Metamorphosis” appeared in print.
The novel took Kafka some time to write and would turn out to be the longest work he would ever complete. “The Metamorphosis” is said to be an autobiographical. The novel is about the conditions of his life, mostly his family life, and his family interactions are played out in the novel.
Kafka’s stories …show more content…
One major theme in the story is the meaning of humanity, and Gregor experiences a sense of exclusion from human connections. The protagonist’s thoughts are relayed as, Gregor is being used; he has been made to take a job his hates in order to pay off his families debt. Even before he transformed into a bug, he already felt like his family did not understand him. Once he becomes a bug he loses his ability to speak; although he is able to still think, he is unable to express his thoughts. When he turns into an insect, Gregor’s lack of communication when he was a man becomes a reality. Kafka wrote, “[His sister] came in on tiptoe, as if she were visiting someone seriously ill or perhaps even a stranger.” (Kafka, 2.7)
Kafka said “The terror of art” is that “the dream reveals the reality.” The dream that he speaks of, is that Gregor’s reality, sheds light on the intolerable nature of his former life. Looking into his professional like we learn that it is mechanical rigidity, personal rivalries, and a threatening suspicion of anything normal. Gregor is a part of this world, this is shown when he fawns on the chief clerk and tries to manipulate him by criticizing the …show more content…
The comedy of Gregor trying to use his new insect body underlines the sense of his exclusion and broadens the novella’s appeal. We have all felt like an outsider before, but Gregor’s transformation makes him really an outsider. There are times in the story that his attitude reminds you have a sullen teenager and at times a terminal patient who has become a burden to his family. Kafka wrote, “It hardly surprised him that lately he was showing so little consideration for the others; once such consideration had been his greatest pride.” (Kafka,