The Metamorphosis contains numerous themes: existentialism, sacrifice, alienation, lack of communication, dysfunctional families, selfishness, conflict of mind and body, etc. Which theme in the novella do you think is most important or key to understanding the work? Give a quote that helped conveyed this theme to you. (This post closes at midnight on December 2, 2010)
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In The Metamorphosis, dysfunctional families seems to be the most important conflict. A person needs to see how disgusted Gregor's father is, and how his sister is only helping him for the glory of the task. After his sister has given up hope that he will become human once again she goes as far as saying, "...If it were Gregor, he would have long recognized that it isn't possible for humans to live together with such a beast and would have gone away of his own free will..." With this quote, she is showing how she feels no emotional attachment to Gregor and she only looks out for her own well being and what is best for the rest of the family.
Gregor's father has had no desire to affiliate himself with Gregor after his transformation. When he saw Gregor for the first time he "cried so that his mighty breast shook," which showed his dual nature and emotion in the situation, but after this, he never showed emotion towards Gregor other than hatred. He threw an apple at him and tried to crush him with a shoe, instead of being understanding and comforting, as a father should be.
The most prominent theme conveyed throughout The Metamorphosis is existentialism. Franz Kafka writes an enthralling tale of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who, by focusing solely on his work causes himself to morph into a beetle. His point is further proven by his isolation and eventual death. As his family left his bedroom door open for him to see into the living room as they sat after dinner, Gregor thinks, "..he received what, in his opinion, was entirely enough compensation for his worsening condition." Gregor's thoughts here further the sting of his isolation and prove the existentialist theme that things happen as a direct consequence of his actions.
In Franz Kafka's novel The Metamorphosis the most prominent theme is dysfunctional families. Gregor is a man that gives up his job in the navy in order to help his parents pay off their debt. As his sole purpose in life becomes to help his parents and they become more dependant on him he is transformed into an insect. Gregor's father reveals that he has had money all along and has taken advantage of Gregor in allowing his son to give up his dreams so that he would not have to spend his own money. When Gregor learns this he says, "...but things were undoubtedly better the way his father had set them up." This statement shows how Gregor trusts his father and has in reality been taken advantage of. No functional family would be as devious and decietful as Gregor's father. As it gets harder to take care of Gregor his family neglects him more and more. Eventually Gregor dies. The cause of his death is a combination of an injury he obtained when his father threw an apple at him, lack of care, and absence of the will to live. As his family leaves him in isolation Gregor allows himself to slowly deteriorate. Ultimatley the dysfunction and abandonment of Gregor's family lead to his death. A functional family would accept Gregor for what he is even if what he is happens to be a "gargantuan pest."
In The Metamorphosis, the main theme is sacrifice. Though it may be weird, Gregor has a different kind of love for his sister Grete. He knows that his parents pay no attention to him. He also knows they do not care. However, he cares for Grete. She is the only one who seems to pay any attention to him. She brings him food wishing he would get better from his change. She is a very talented girl who can play the violin very well. He knows that his parents are very cruel and pay no attention to him, and he wishes they would give her all the attention. He wants her to succeed because he knows he never will because of the condition he is in. When Grete was playing her violin to her family, Kafka, the author states, "Her face was turned to the side, and her gaze, scrutinizing and full of sadness, followed the lines of notes. Gregor crawled a little bit further forwards and held his head close to the floor in order to meet her gaze, if possible." Gregor loved her so much that he was going to pay for her to go to music school. However, the only way he would ever get his parents to see her was by sacrificing himself. He sacrificed himself because he loved her, and so that his parents would see the true beauty in her.
The theme of alienation is the most important in the novella. From the moment Gregor is aware of his metamorphosis, the feeling of isolation is evident. Gregor is immediately seperated from his family by the door and then when it is locked. Kafka writes, "But the empty high-ceilinged room in which he was forced ... to lie flat on the floor made him nervous, without his being able to tell why – since it was, after all, the room in which he had lived for the past five years – and turning half unconsciously and not without a slight feeling of shame, he scuttled under the couch," he emphasizes Gregor's pain. By the reader being able to understand this theme, they are also able to feel Gregor's pain. This is all key to understanding the novel as a whole.
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