It is VERY important that you read the article I linked you to in the Comprehension Questions post before you write your essay. In this essay you need to familiarize yourself with Kafka's life and use this knowledge as well as information from the article to answer the question.
In The Metamorphosis, Kafka examines the value society places on people and success. Since Kafka was Jewish, he experienced societies prejudices throughout his life. How do you think this shaped the way he viewed society? Consider the cockroach as a symbol of a certain group in society, ie Jews, as well as the Biblical symbol of the apple, and the interpersonal relationships of the family members.
Your essay is due by midnight on Friday the 15th and should include information from the book as well as the article. You do not need to tell Kafka's life story, but your essay should demonstrate an understanding of it. Good luck and let me know how I can help!
3 comments:
The prejudices shaped his view tremendously.
The metamorphosis is almost a biography of Kafka’s life. The way that Gregor becomes transformed into something repulsive aligns to his own life and when he was infected with tuberculosis. Not only was his disease a problem, but he suffered from clinical depression, social anxiety, migraines, constipation, stress, strains, and boils, to name a few. He tried treating his tuberculosis through a vegetarian diet, & large consumptions of unpasteurized milk, but his state worsened to the point where he could not eat, because it was too painful for him, much like Gregor in the book. The way the Jew’s were prosecuted by other countries and groups, whom the Nazi Party had called, "insects like lice and cockroaches, that generate general disgust among all humanity." The apple that was lodged into Gregor’s body was Kafka’s way of portraying his own existence as sin. Kafka also portrayed his family into the book or at least his father, who in real life was critical and did not appreciate him for the most part. The relationship between the family members, is not the most loving relationship, in Kafka’s own life and the book. In the Metamorphosis, Gregor’s parents live off his work and enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. His sister is an example of a kind of caring figure at first, and than becomes the most oppressive and first one to suggest “getting rid” of Gregor. The mother believes she cares for him but when they are moving the furniture “for” him she faints the minute she sees him. The father is elderly, but oppressive and does not like the way Gregor appears, and the first time he sees Gregor, he backs him into his room, and the second time he sees him he throws apples at him and injures Gregor. The reason this was like a biography is that Kafka obviously viewed himself as a Jew, (symbol; cockroach) who is repulsive, (tuberculosis) and very existence a sin (symbol; apple). So Kafka was paralleling his life into what was actually a very sad story.
Daniel Malouf
Mrs. Severson
English
February 15, 2008
Injustice
In “Metamorphosis,” Franz Kafka cleverly portrays one form of affliction that both nations and individuals have endured over the course of history. He illustrates his point using a simple little cockroach. Through the eyes of the cockroach, Kafka masterfully exhibits his personal views of society. Gregor the cockroach is ostracized because of his reviling exoskeleton. Others, including his own family, look only as far as his hideous shell, and are blind to what lies within. After financially supporting his family for years, Gregor becomes a pariah in his own home. In some ways, Kafka’s life closely resembled Gregor’s. Both Gregor and Franz Kafka experienced society where selfishness and injustice were common values.
The cockroach portrays the plight of the Jews and Franz Kafka at the same time. Even though Gregor was transformed into a cockroach, his “essential identity had not changed; he did not begin to change in his heart until other people's attitudes toward him changed as a result of the metamorphosis of his appearance.” It wasn’t the fact that Gregor was a cockroach that repulsed him; it was others’ opinion of him that led to his eventual death. Even his own family could not bear the sight of his revolting exoskeleton. The apple Gregor’s father threw at him does an excellent job of displaying the fact Gregor is no longer valued. The apple represented original sin as depicted in Genesis. It relates to Gregor’s circumstance because it shows the reader that Gregor’s very existence has become a sin in the eyes of his own family. Israel’s nationhood reminds me of the situation in which Gregor found himself. Jews do not have a problem being Jews. It is the anti-Semitic attitudes of people that causes them unnecessary hardship and pain. Many countries abhor even the idea of Israel existing as a nation. Instead of recognizing Israel as a fellow nation, they despise its very existence. These countries remind me of the indifferent characters in the book; they hang around like vultures waiting for the death of the unwanted cockroach. Eventually he died because of his lack of desire to remain alive. If Kafka had been a Christian, I wonder if a character in the book would have displayed a redemptive attitude and therefore saved Gregor. If we interpret Gregor’s death as symbolic of Israel’s death, Kafka erred. The Bible foretells of a day when the world shall unite and marshal its military forces for the sole purpose of destroying Israel (Ezekiel 38&39). When all hope appears to be lost, according to the Bible, Israel’s enemies will be miraculously destroyed. It appears that Kafka may have held little hope for the continued existence of the Jewish religion. The death that Gregor went through is somewhat prophetic of Kafka’s own miserable death. His health, like Gregor the cockroaches, went slowly downhill resulting in his untimely death.
In “Metamorphosis” Gregor seems to reflect the way Kafka felt about his own life. Strangely, even though Franz Kafka was Jewish, he was never serious about it. He was more of a born Jew than a practicing Jew. Simply being an unreligious Jew helped him to observe the injustices Jews had endured for centuries. Franz Kafka’s life was one of emotional turmoil. As a boy of six he had moved five times and two brothers had died. These events must have given him a sense of instability from a young age. His relationship with his domineering father was shaky and never close. As a young man his schooling situation was extremely stressful for him resulting in him being a nervous wreck. While holding a job at an institute, his father still expected Franz to personally oversee his business with his free time. This not only took up most of Franz’s free time, but he loathed working for his father. As time went on, Franz’s father leaned more heavily on Franz to manage his business. When the business went financially downhill, his father blamed Franz for the failure. Throughout Kafka’s life, we consistently see pain and sadness continually pop up like an erratic graph. His frail health only compounded his problems. Interestingly Kafka’s novels depict characters that find themselves in adverse situations Feeling’s of hopelessness and loneliness permeates his writings. The inspiration for his short novels appear to come straight from his personal experiences. In “Metamorphosis,” Franz embodied his views regarding society through his character Gregor. On the inside, Kafka felt like Gregor, a crushed and broken soul encased in his sickly body. Because Gregor contributed heavily to the family’s comfortable lifestyle, this new development caused them to turn on him. When Gregor became a liability to his family, his father promptly turned his back on Gregor. After all that Gregor had done for his family, they ignored him. His father no longer valued his son because he could not “bring in the bacon.” Franz Kafka was in a similar pinch with his father’s business (which he managed) going downhill. Franz’s domineering father promptly blamed his son for this ill-fated turn of events. Franz must have viewed society as cruel and full of injustice. Kafka’s novels all seem to reflect the internal unrest he himself was experiencing. The reason this novel is so compelling is because Kafka was in a sense writing a story about his own life through Gregor.
Ever since Adam and Eve ate the apple (original sin), sin has infected all of humanity. Many people choose to look at the surface of a person, and judge them based on physical appearance. Without giving thought to the internal qualities, which truly define a person. Franz Kafka depicted this in the life of his character Gregor. Kafka captures the prejudice which Gregor lived with until his tragic death. In some ways Kafka could relate to Gregor. Kafka’s father showed no appreciation for his son’s efforts in aiding the business. In “Metamorphosis,” it appears that Gregor’s father had no appreciation for what his son had done by supporting them for years. When he became a cockroach he turned his back on his faithful son. If people insist on judging people based on their appearance, they might very well miss out on a shining star.
The prejudices shaped his view tremendously.
The metamorphosis is almost a biography of Kafka’s life. The way that Gregor becomes transformed into something repulsive aligns to his own life and when he was infected with tuberculosis. Not only was his disease a problem, but he suffered from clinical depression, social anxiety, migraines, constipation, stress, strains, and boils, to name a few. He tried treating his tuberculosis through a vegetarian diet, & large consumptions of unpasteurized milk, but his state worsened to the point where he could not eat, because it was too painful for him, much like Gregor in the book. The way the Jew’s were persecuted by other countries and groups, whom the Nazi Party had called, "insects like lice and cockroaches that generate general disgust among all humanity.” The apple that was lodged into Gregor’s body was Kafka’s way of portraying his own existence as sin. Kafka also portrayed his family into the book or at least his father, who in real life was critical and did not appreciate him for the most part. The relationship between the family members, is not the most loving relationship, in Kafka’s own life and the book. In the Metamorphosis, Gregor’s parents live off his work and enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. His sister is an example of a kind of caring figure at first, and than becomes the most oppressive and first one to suggest “getting rid” of Gregor. The mother believes she cares for him but when they are moving the furniture “for” him she faints the minute she sees him. The father is elderly, but oppressive and does not like the way Gregor appears, and the first time he sees Gregor, he backs him into his room, and the second time he sees him he throws apples at him and injures Gregor. The reason this was like a biography is that Kafka obviously viewed himself as a Jew, (symbol; cockroach) who is repulsive, (tuberculosis) and very existence a sin (symbol; apple). So Kafka was paralleling his life into what was actually a very sad story.
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