Austrian writer Franz Kafka came in the German-language literature in the 20th century and became one of the most famous writers of his age, one of the most recognized literary innovators. Like all his generation, which has entered into the literature on the eve of the First World War and the subsequent revolutionary upheavals in Russia and Germany, Franz Kafka was living with the constant feeling of deep hostility of soulless, mechanical and bureaucratized world to man, to human nature. All of Franz Kafka's prose can be called a great essay about fear, about the state of the lonely and muzzled hostile civilization of human beings.
Kafka recreated in artistic images of his works this lack of humanity, universal freedom, entangled by social, ideological, psychological and moral chains.
"The Metamorphosis" takes center stage in the works of Franz Kafka.
The main character of the novel - Gregor Samsa, is the breadwinner of his family, consisting of a father - completely bankrupt Prague philistine, mother - suffering from asthma, and sister Grete. In order to save the family from mendicancy, Gregor works in one of his father's creditor's offices as a Salesman. He is in constant trips. One day, during a break between those trips, he spent the night at home, and in the morning when he woke up, incident occurred that goes beyond human understanding.
It makes a striking impression from the very first sentence: "Waking up one morning after a restless sleep, Gregor Samsa found that he had in his bed turned into a horrible insect.
Lying on the armored-solid back, he saw, as soon as he lifted his head, his brown convex arcuate split belly scales, on top of which was kept a blanket ready to slide. His numerous, poorly thin compared to the rest of the body, legs swarmed helplessly before his eyes. "
But this was only the beginning of trouble. Then, worse. Because of this unusual transformation of Gregor into a beetle, he was dismissed from work, of course, he could no longer work, provide for your family money and pay the debt of his father.
The very fact that a person turning into an insect, in the classical narrative manner reported in the beginning of the story, evokes a feeling of aesthetic shock. And not so much because the situation seems too implausible, but because the idea of human-sized insect causes a feeling of physical revulsion. Fantastic image created by Kafka seems provocative precisely because of its demonstrative "unaesthetic".
If we imagine a similar metamorphosis in real life, then all further developments and the behavior of others will not surprising. More surprising is how easy the author tells about everyday life's inconveniences that started for the hero and his family from the moment of conversion. Kafka talks about them with so dry and concise language that in time, as it was involuntarily forgotten about the amazing facts that formed the basis of history.
The story detailed sensations, thoughts, fears of Gregor-insect. He tries to get up, goes out to the parents and visit their control and tries to explain his absence. The appearance of Gregor in the living room, where there were all members of the family and his boss, cannot be regarded as a challenge to society. According to his words and thoughts we can understand that he is a man with a high sense of responsibility. He left the room to the people in its current state, but because of a sense of duty and awareness of the importance of his responsibilities to the family and the employer, forgot all about his bad state of health and an unusual metamorphose. But all his attempts failed, his speech is not clear and only irritates the father and mother.
Terribly to aware that parents scared and annoyed not the "disease" of their son, but the inconvenience that it delivers. Parents dissatisfied with the fact that his son did not get up in the morning and go to the next salesman trip and now they have to look for a job themselves, whereas Grete does housework; unhappy that they have to hide from others the "home trouble."
The transformation of Gregor completely changed the traditional way of life of the family. That's why it makes them annoyed and disgusted. All have turned away from Gregor, everything neglected them. Even sister Grete, who for some time belonged to the brother with sympathy (fed, cleaned his room), in a month becomes a cruel and arrogant like the rest.
Gregor turned into a beetle probably because even when he was in the human body, his life is more like a bug than a human life. He selflessly worked not for themselves, but for the sake of the family, no interest and was lonely. And perhaps it was needed in order that he could see the ingratitude of his family.
Gregor is isolated in his room and unbearable suffering (Kafka describes in detail its internal state and experience) because, having become an insect, it has kept the human mind and human feelings. Realizing that no one is interested in his mental state, that he makes his loved ones only hatred and disgust, Gregor was still thinking about them with tenderness and love. But "because he couldn't be understood, nobody, including her sister, couldn't realize that he can understand" He understood the hint of his father that family salvation had to be his death, and, therefore, refused food and died of exhaustion.
Incredibly, but all surroundings took his death with relief. The maid, who saw the first Gregor dead and treated him like an insect, informed the family about it. Gregor's mother only indifferent asks: "Died?", whereas his father's reaction is monstrous, "Well, now we can thank God," - he said, and crossed himself. It affects not only the callousness with which Gregor's family accepted his death but further action. As if nothing had happened, they made plans for the future, discussing Grete marriage, planned to move to a new residence. No one regretted that there is no longer Gregor around, nobody thought why such a misfortune had happened to him.
The story is very sad and shrill. You feel more and more of pity for this small human. Perhaps this indifference of Gregor's relatives is the reason for his transformation.
Probably in the final story, you can see a positive note, considering the youth and hope of Gregor's sister as a vital step to something new and good. However, you can find here and quite different: a person comes into this world alone and leaves it alone. Gregor Samsa, modest, kind young man, also was like his sister - but neither modesty nor kindness could not save him from loneliness and death. Therefore, for a description of carefree family outing, which has just lost a son, emerges something sinister.
Finally the story "The Metamorphosis" is the most striking expression of the tragic vision and understanding of the world of Franz Kafka. The situation of "transformation" in this story, as in his other works, suggests different interpretations. At the same time, almost on the surface is the banal reading. This rift in the family and society, sensitive human loneliness, capable of compassion and self-sacrifice, absolute loneliness caused by the awareness of his being different. What Kafka sharpens to the extreme is the doom of the hero with the help of a terribly metonymy: complete spiritual isolation of the hero he passes through an incredible metamorphosis of his appearance.
Knowing his character and sincere sympathizing to him, the writer talks about how helpless man in front of the surrounding reality. He is only "dust of the earth", "lump of clay", powerless, helpless, experiencing constant excruciating pain and destruction, doomed to alienation, even surrounded by the people closest to, on dreary loneliness, and finally to destruction.
At the time, Franz Kafka was a real innovator in the field of fiction, coined-valued symbolic and allegorical images, emphasizing the tragedy of human destiny, the infinite estrangement of the individual, his loneliness and helplessness before the absurdity of reality. Today, when the alienation of the individual issue has become one of the major problems of human society, the works of Kafka especially relevant.
References
Puchner, M. (2012). The Norton anthology of world literature. (3rd Ed., Vol. F.). New York: Norton.
