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Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis"

Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis", a depressing short fiction, tells us the story of Gregor Sams's metamorphosis to an insect. As Gregor attempted to cope with the helplessness of his predicament, his family started to neglect him and finally wanted to get rid of him. They ignored the fact that Gregor had been the supporter of this family. On the other hand, Gregor was imprisoned by his duty to his family. After Gregor transforms to an insect, although Gregor has insect's body, he still has a human consciousness, so he is neither a human nor an insect. The title "The Metamorphosis" not only directly refers to Gregor's physical transformation, but it also symbolizes Gregor's alienation and his escape to freedom.
Alienation is one of the themes in this story; Gregor's metamorphosis symbolizes his alienation. Long before his metamorphosis into a beetle, Gregor had alienated himself. The story begins with that Gregor Samsa transformed from a human being to a gigantic insect. Anyone, who f...

Posted by: Justin Rech

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