The Metamorphosis: The Unforgettable First Lines of His Prose
One of the most striking qualities of Kafka's writing is theunforgettable first lines of his prose. From his novels to his shortstories, the economy of the first line is remarkable. And this, of course,includes perhaps his most famous piece of prose, "The Metamorphosis": "AsGregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himselftransformed in his bed into a gigantic insect" (Kafka 1948, 67). With thisline we are immediately thrown into the world of Kafka. The absurd or"Kafkaesque" aspect of Gregor Samsa's situation is made even more eerie bySamsa's reaction. He acts rather calmly and his thoughts are concernedwith his normal daily routines. Gregor is worried more about his job andhis family than he is about his condition after the metamorphosis.Eventually, Gregor's family will become increasingly repulsed by him and hewill feel nothing so much as being a burden to them and the world. As onecritic maintains, "The novella is one of the supreme embodiments of early20th century anxieties over the powerlessness and alienation of theindividual in an irrational universe" (Metamorphosis 2004, 1). The storycan be seen as the slow, inevitable death of one who ha
Grete's treatment of Gregor alsoundergoes a metamorphosis. When the GeneralManager sees his present condition Gregor is finally liberated from hisjob. But Grete hasher way and they begin to empty Gregor's room. In fact, he fantasizes about a time when he can quit hisjob as a traveling salesman, a position he has been forced to occupy onaccount of his parents: "If I didn't have to hold my hand because of myparents I'd have given notice long ago, I'd have gone to the chief and toldhim exactly what I think of him. he might have believed that his window gave on a desertwaste where gray sky and gray land blended indistinguishably into eachother" (Kafka 1948, 97). The story expresses Gregor'salienation from his job, his family and himself. He is now locked into his roomand it has become his cell. Thus Gregor is alienated from his ability to work in the world withother human beings. Sentenced to solitude unto death and unable toprovide for his family which had previously given his life meaning, Gregorfinds himself more and more cut off from his family and this is representedbest by his relationship with his sister, Grete. The decision that he mustdisappear was one that he held to even more strongly than his sister, ifthat were possible. The powerful scene in which Gregor attempts to hold on to the lastof his human identity ends when an apple, thrown by his father, penetrateshis armor plated back which later causes his death by rotting in his body.
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Acceptance Essays
