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The Metamorphosis: Kafka's Alienation and the Inward Passage

Explore the biographical, historical, and conceptual contexts of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Analyze themes of alienation, fragmentation, and the complex nature of life. Discover the psychological and biological aspects of the protagonist's transformation. Uncover the parabolic and symbolic elements that make Kafka's work difficult yet intriguing to read.

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The Metamorphosis: Kafka's Alienation and the Inward Passage

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  1. The Metamorphosis (1915) Franz Kafka

  2. Biographical, Historical, and Conceptual Contexts

  3. Franz Kafka • Born in 1883 • middle-class, • German-speaking • Jewish family in Prague • Studied law • insurance company in order to support his parents • inferiority complex • tyrannical father • tuberculosis in 1917 • physically and mentally repulsive

  4. Suffered from clinical depression, • social anxiety, • Died in 1924 from starvation • tuberculosis did not allow swallowing

  5. Felt he was an outsider Jewish in Catholic Prague Sickly Lonely Perceived human beings as being trapped by authority in a hopeless world frustrated at supporting family Had to work in a meaningless bureaucratic job Kafka’s Alienation Franz Kafka

  6. Modern Alienation: Fragmentation • The city • Dehumanization • Modern means of production—division of labor • Sense of worthlessness • Acceleration of life and travel • Mechanization • Class

  7. Prague • Catholic city where Czech was spoken • Segregated its Jewish population into a German-speaking ghetto • seven hills and dominated by “The Castle,” = symbol of authority • Highly dense city, with narrow, labyrinth-like streets The Jewish Ghetto

  8. Expressionist Literature • not objective reality • but the subjective reality • Depicts a psychological or spiritual reality through distortion and/or exaggeration • as if it were completely real • Replaces concrete particulars with allegorical forms

  9. Meaning of The Metamorphosis

  10. Gregor Samsa = life with risks/rewards and the embrace of an inauthentic code of behavior

  11. The Inward Passage: The Real Metamorphosis • His first step = disobedience: • work • etiquette • soul searching: • conformed to his family’s and employer’s demands • inauthenticity and meaninglessness of his life

  12. The Inward Passage: The Real Metamorphosis • His first step = disobedience: • work • etiquette • soul searching: • conformed to his family’s and employer’s demands • inauthenticity and meaninglessness of his life

  13. Thematic Contexts

  14. Mythic: Ovid • Ovid’s Metamorphoses • Each contains some sort of transformation or metamorphosis. • tales of transformation in which a person or lesser deity is permanently transformed into an animal or plant.

  15. Kafka’s story, • explores the life and destiny of Gregor Samsa • Ovid only depicts the act of the metamorphosis itself

  16. Takes place in distinct stages: larval stage then enter an inactive state called pupa or chrysalis finally emerge as adults Gregor’s transformation parallels this metamorphosis. Biological: Metamorphosis

  17. Psychological: Depression • Illness that can challenge the ability to perform even routine daily activities, characterized by the following: • Loss of interest or pleasure • Sustained fatigue without physical exertion • Lack of energy and motivation • Feelings of guilt or hopelessness • Self-centeredness

  18. Psychosis, a more extreme case of depression, is characterized by the loss of contact with reality: • Having visions • Hearing voices • Feeling sensations that have no basis in fact • Gregor’s behavior parallels all of these descriptors.

  19. Form of The Metamorphosis

  20. The Form of The Metamorphosis: Parable • Uses this literary form as a neutral, detached point of view from which to examine human behavior • Conveys truth in a less offensive, more engaging form than a direct assertion • Appeals to the understanding, the emotions, and the imagination—to the whole person

  21. Definition of Parable • At its simplest, a parable is a metaphor or simile  drawn from nature or common life,  arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness,  and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application  to tease it into active thought."  (C. H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1961, p. 5)

  22. Parable: The Complexity of Life • The meaning of most parables is not so obvious, or at least it shouldn't be. • Most parables contain some element that is strange or unusual. • Parables do not define things precisely but, rather, use comparisons. • Takes the familiar and applies it to the unfamiliar • Makes the unfamiliar more comprehensible

  23. Central Symbol of the Beetle/Vermin • A subjective fantasy that best describes Gregor’s self-loathing: • Worthlessness • Uselessness • Meaninglessness • Awkwardness • Ugliness

  24. Difficulties in Reading Kafka: Paradox and Ambiguity • Not a systematic philosopher or religious man • Is so convincing in his matter-of-factness and use of details to the point of negating the absurdity of a situation • Does not use metaphors yet his stories are parables • Uses distortion to reveal truths • Suggests various levels of meanings • Is quirky

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