Kafka\\\'s The Metamorphosis

Kafka's Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis: Transformations

The Metamorphosis as authored and offered by Franz Kafka in 1915 is often labeled as one of the more transforming, to use a pun, works in the history of literature of the last century or two, if not well beyond that. Anyone who reads the book should obviously take note of the fact that the points being made are more abstract and figurative but this does not mean they are not profound. As suggested by the assignment being completed in this report, Metamorphosis is a story of transformations and how these changes can lead to significant changes in perceptions and reactions even from the people and groups that embraced the changed person in prior examples and instances.

Analysis

People inevitably change as they grow older and experience more and more of life. However, sometimes such changes can be quite sudden and dramatic and this can lead to multiple levels of chaos and discord. As established early on in the Kafka text, this can even be manifested and rendered in a familial context. Franz makes this point by using the example of a man who is transformed into a hideous insect. Not only is his appearance completely changed overnight, his tastes and habits are changed immediately as well. For example, he used to love milk but no longer has a taste for it so his mother starts feeding him scraps and other food waste that humans would not normally ingest (Kafka, 2009).

However, changes can occur even amongst friends. The running joke with a lot of people is that family members are people that one would or should never associate with but they do because they are related by blood and/or marriage. However, friends usually gravitate to and associate with each other because they are likeminded with each other. Much the same is usually true of people that live together and this is explained through metaphor as well in the Kafka text. The boarders enter the house and their presence eventually leads to Gregor being sent over the edge and he ends up dead. Rather than being disturbed or grieving as a result of the death, the passing of Gregor comes as a point of relief to the residents. It would be different if the strange boarders and/or the housekeepers felt that way but this is actually true of the family themselves and they react by going to a smaller apartment and Grete develops to a point where she is ready and able to find a good mate (Kafka, 2009).

There are a number of clear corollaries and presumptions that can be made as to how the book compared to life of that day or even today. For example, children that grow into early adults but yet do not blossom into their own independent lives are often seen as a burden to the parents. Some parents of children embrace not being empty-nesters but the propensity and preponderance of this phenomenon in the modern day drives the point home quite well despite the century that has passed since then. Indeed, the natural order of things is for teenagers to change and transition into adults that can live on their own and be successful without their parents' assistance. Similarly, partners and mates can grow apart over the years and being together and/or supporting each other can become. Just like in the book, the end of that arrangement, whether it be death or one of the people simply leaving, can bring relief and a view towards a new day for each or at least one of the partners. Extreme examples of this would be situations where one of the partners is gravely or otherwise majorly ill, one of the partners is abusing the other and so on. Even some atypical arrangements can occur and cause relief and progress and over, not unlike Grete being the younger sibling of Gregor but the former was the caretaker of the latter (Kafka, 2009).

The vast wealth of literature in the public and educational forums is rife with examples of how Kafka's work The Metamorphosis has been interpreted and applied towards parts and dimensions of life such as religion, economic viewpoints and others. The work of Kafka has also clearly inspired and motivated other authors to proffer works to the reading public for their approval and recognition. Two such artists include Virgilio Pinera and Felisberto Hernandez. One source that points to these two also points out that the time of Kafka and before focused more on history as opposed to telling stories and creating analogies. However, Latin American literature has been identified as a forum where many Kafka-level analysis and analogies are established and taught through literature (Chichester).