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Kafka Essays

25 samples in this category

Fatality of Conformity Through Complete Submission to External Norms in Franz Kafka's ‘The Metamorphosis’

In ‘The Metamorphosis’, Franz Kafka depicts Gregor Samsa and his acceptance with the the psychological and mental repercussions of an inalterable physical transformation. The local segregation that Gregor faces within his household parallels to the seclusion of the cultural ‘other’, who lies on the outskirts of societal norms. Throughout history, minority groups have been oppressed by dehumanizing stereotypes and stigmas for conditions of religion, race, gender, or sexuality. Gregor throughout his life has been a nuisance to his surroundings; however...
2 Pages 893 Words

Comparative Analysis of ‘The Metamorphosis’ and ‘In the Penal Colony’ by Franz Kafka

There is no doubt that writing is a way to demonstrate our deepest feelings and beliefs; therefore, it is important to comprehend the background of our writing in order to understand and analyze diverse situations. The purpose of this essay is to develop a comparative analysis between the different works written by Franz Kafka: ‘The Metamorphosis’ and ‘In the Penal Colony’. Both readings are considered literary classics, and from my humble point of view, they cover complex issues like the...
3 Pages 1234 Words

Excessive Materialism and Inferiority of Society in Franz Kafka's ‘The Metamorphosis’

Have you ever felt out of place in your workplace or community? Society as a whole has several negative aspects with the main being that people are very hollow. One prominent writer such as Franz Kafka laid out some of these critiques in his novel. In ‘The Metamorphosis’ by Kafka society is shown to be extremely materialist as a whole and value external appearances in excessive amounts. In the novella ‘The Metamorphosis’, society and more specifically Gregor, are shown to...
1 Page 623 Words

Human Vermin: Self-Image and Parental Alienation

The masked anxiety in Kafka’s ‘Metamorphosis’ is a rooted trauma from parental alienation which transforms Gregor’s self-image from human to bug. The behaviors in the narrative are mirror images of the author’s life and are reminiscent of his feelings towards his father. This parental alienation experienced during Kafka’s interactions with his father is further demonstrated by Gregor’s parents in the text. The self-neglect Gregor faces while being a dutiful slave-like character who is treated like vermin by his family literally...
3 Pages 1180 Words

Thoughts and Feelings after Reading Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’

‘The Metamorphosis’ by Kafka it gives us a story about transformation, abandoned by parents, relationship with sister. Instead of receiving love Gregor is an outcast and trying to find his way to a human again. One would normally think of the home and family as a sanctuary; however the evidence is true for Gregor Samsa in Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’. Instead of receiving love from his family, Gregor is mistreated. Gregor transformation into a bug started into his room waking...
2 Pages 690 Words

‘The Metamorphosis’: Masks, Strangers and the Existential Anxiety

‘I am separated from all things by a hollow space…and I do not even reach to its boundaries” – Kafka‘s diaries. It is no wonder that Kafka felt such a hollowness between himself and everything around him, considering that he existed within a monotonous, traditional, patriarchal and a habitual society. Such anxiety and separation from meaningfulness in life has not only been utilized by Kafka to practice self-reflection within his own stories but has also been a focal point of...
4 Pages 1804 Words

Franz Kafka's Portrayal of the Irrational World in ‘The Metamorphosis'

In ‘The Metamorphosis’, Kafka portrays the world as an irrational place through an abrupt and unexpected opening to his book. Without explanation, Kafka utilizes ‘In Medias Res’ to immediately place his audience in the middle of the story with Gregor’s transformation into a pest. Through his use of this device, Kafka introduces an impossible situation and bizarre characters, which bring forth a sense of confusion from his audience to express the existentialist idea of the irrational world. To portray the...
1 Page 489 Words

A Personal View of Franz Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis'

This year, last May, my family and I visited the Czech Republic, specifically the city of Prague. It was an amazing experience, during which we learned very much about it’s past and present history. We admired the beautiful Romanesque architecture, we walked along the famous Charles Bridge, and we were able to watch the amazing astronomical clock and many places more, all of them full of beauty and interest. One day, exploring the Jewish Quarter, we came across one of...
1 Page 643 Words

The Story and Character Development of Gregor Samsa in ‘The Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka

‘The Metamorphosis’, by Franz Kafka, is story about Gregor Samsa who is a traveling salesman forced to keep his job in order to pay off his father’s debts and to support his family. There is a great change in the character’s physical appearance considering he wakes up as a giant insect. Gregor goes through many challenges and unusual situations in the story but seems as if he only cares about being able to work for his family, and almost completely...
3 Pages 1184 Words

The Theme of Alienation in Franz Kafka's ‘The Metamorphosis’

Alienation is the state or experience of being isolated from a group or an activity to which one should belong or in which one should be involved. Alienation is a central theme that Franz Kafka discusses in his story ‘Metamorphosis’ from the beginning all the way to the end when the main character, Gregor, dies alone in his room. Gregor’s guilt, being a work alcoholic, and the rejection from his family feed off the central core of alienation. There seems...
2 Pages 1080 Words

The Similarities Between Jorge Luis Borges and Franz Kafka

Human nature continues to evolve and change over time. But how do we define human nature? Human nature is how we define ourselves, such as how we feel and what we think about certain things. Kafka and Borges focus on human nature of the character. It can change quickly or steady. Both authors had religion, Christianity, involved in their stories. Each of their characters focuses on their personal views of the world. In “Before the Law”, this story is vague...
2 Pages 814 Words

The Comparison between Franz Kafka's Trial and Thomas More’s Utopia’s Effects on Society and Individual

Abstract This study focuses on the literature novels written by Franz Kafka and Thomes more. Firstly, I will try to focus on corruption and deterioration on society within both books Utopia and Trial. This corruption in society leads to the new words ‘Utopia’ and ‘Dystopia’.Secondly, I will focus the meaning and roles these words in society and individual. Even if in both works content is different, it will show us there will be a connection the words’ Utopia’ and ‘Dystopia’....
7 Pages 3412 Words

Critical Essays Understanding Kafka's Writing

A major problem confronting readers of Kafka’s short stories is to find a way through the increasingly dense thicket of interpretations. Among the many approaches one encounters is that of the autobiographical approach. This interpretation claims that Kafka’s works are little more than reflections of his lifelong tension between bachelorhood and marriage or, on another level, between his skepticism and his religious nature. While it is probably true that few writers have ever been moved to exclaim, ‘My writing was...
4 Pages 1599 Words

The Issue of Bureaucracy in Franz Kafka’s “The Trial”

Written at the beginning of the 20th century “The Trial” depicts “the rise of bureaucracy, the power of law, and the atomization of the individual”, which are allegorically reflected in a story about Joseph K., a bank employee who is accused of unspecified crimes. This rather surreal and pessimistic narrative begins when two guards show up on K.’s 30th birthday and put him under arrest. Even though K. is allowed to continue living his life “normally”, he is trying to...
4 Pages 1664 Words

Franz Kafka: Short Biography

There is sadness that force you to sleep, sadness that force you to cry, but the deepest kind of sadness the one you can’t let go of that forces you to write. Writing sometimes is a silent scream to all the buried words and repressed feelings inside of us but it’s the strongest sensations that reaches all hearts and then the sentences written will shake all your senses. That’s the hero of my story one the most influential literary characters...
2 Pages 937 Words

Deception In Franz Kafka’s Die Verwandlung

According to the Cambridge Dictionary deception is ‘’the act of hiding the truth, especially to get an advantage’’. Yet according to the Merriam Webster dictionary deception is ‘’the act of causing someone to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid’’. Although both definitions of deception have different meanings, the two can be seen in Die Verwandlung. The theme of deception begins quite early on in Die Verwandlung. The first example is seen when Gregor wakes up to...
2 Pages 1016 Words

How Might Kafka’s Metamorphosis Be Read As A Study Of Identity?

The concept of ‘identity’ is defined as who a person is, or the qualities of a person or group that make them different from others . Throughout his 1915 novella The Metamorphosis , relationship between the identity and the motivations of Kafka’s characters plays a major role in the narrative. The Samsa family’s attitudes towards work are arguably linked to Marxist ideology, as previous breadwinner Gregor is first characterised by his slavish devotion to his work, and then lack of...
5 Pages 2313 Words

A Psychological Analysis And Process Of Alienation On Kafka’s Metamorphosis

The story of The Metamorphosis is easily told. It is the story of a travelling salesman by the name Gregor Samsa who wakes up one morning transformed into a hideous and monstrous vermin; he of course retains the human faculties of thinking and feeling, he is held prisoner and hidden by his family in his room. Finally he slowly goes to his ruin and annihilation. From this bare and sketchy outline it is clear that like almost all other works...
6 Pages 2791 Words

A Biographical Analysis On Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

Writers often intertwine their personal life experiences and emotions into their texts because it is with what they are most friendly. A writer who connects to their narrative carries more meaning in their text and develops a connection with their audience. Franz Kafka’s 1915 novella, ‘The Metamorphosis’ tells the tale of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who woke up restless one morning to discover he had transformed into a ‘gigantic insect.’ Aside from being simply a fascinating plot, Kafka’s work...
2 Pages 827 Words

Lack Of Communication As The Root Of All Conflict In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis

“Adfbafiwf dijabi dribankamishnit nadroobi ald kizohatro” You would probably think the above-written quote is just a typo; Or maybe I’m not thinking right? Well, what if I told you this quote makes absolute sense to me? That I am assuming it makes absolute sense to you, too’? Because, to me, this is English – the language we are currently communicating in. Communication – it can be said that it is the most vital element to human survival – Or the...
2 Pages 922 Words

Franz Kafka’s The Hunger Artist: Critical Analysis

The hunger artist’s remote relationship with the town’s citizens suggests that the artist separates himself from society and is most likely heavily misunderstood. Within the story one may quickly think that the story is simply about the art of fasting. However, there is a much deeper meaning in the art itself. In the beginning of the story the narrator makes very general observations about the popularity of hunger artists as a whole. Shortly into the reading the protagonist is introduced....
1 Page 413 Words

Kafka’s Panorama: Metamorphosis and A Hunger Artist

Everyone feels the obligation to shift sometime in their life. The issue would be if the difference would be for the best. Kafka elaborates on how the public pressures society and forces individuals to view themselves negatively which may be portrayed as an illusion. In the literary novella work, The Metamorphosis, Kafka elaborates on how Gregor is portrayed as a disgusting, repugnant beetle from the eyes of whom may approach him. An interpretation could conceivably be that he maybe was...
3 Pages 1371 Words

Kafka’s Theme Of Isolation In A Hunger Artist

Because of how Gregor was viewed resulting in his transformation, he was unable to be labeled as a member of society. He was treated as a “less than” and was no longer loved by his family. “The Hunger Artist” is about an artist who physically isolates himself via his cage, but he is also isolated from the world in that he can only understand the seriousness and importance of his art. The artist was viewed by everyone else as weird...
2 Pages 696 Words

Franz Kafka And His Short Story A Hunger Artist

Franz Kafka is known to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Kafka’s grim writing style is known and recognized by many. Many of his works leave the reader questioning life and often taking away a pessimistic message. The dark nature of his short stories such as “The Judgement”, “A Hunger Artist” and “In The Penal Colony”, poses the questions, why such a dark view on life and it’s situations and what factors affected his writing?...
2 Pages 1121 Words

Crow as a Guidance in Kafka on The Shore by Haruki Murakami

In the novel, Kafka on the Shore, by Haruki Murakami, the protagonist Kafka Tamura, a fifteen-year-old Japanese, runs away from home intending to escape his father’s curse, which is that he will sleep with his sister and mather, then kill his father. During the escape, Kafka ran into multiple chaotic situations, and he managed to solve all of them at the end. The boy named Crow appears throughout the novel and plays a big role in Kafka’s decisions. He always...
2 Pages 1008 Words
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