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Essay on The metamorphosis
Franz Kafka's novel The Metamorphosis begins with a bizarre, climatic-type scene in which Gregor Samsa is inexplicably transformed into an oversized insect. By inserting this type of scene in the opening of his novel, Kafka introduced the major themes of alienation and identity.
This story "The Metamorphosis" is about Gregor, a workaholic, who is changed into an insect and must then deal with his present reality. The hardest part of being an insect for Gregor was the alienation from his family, which eventually leads to his death. In reading the short story "The Metamorphosis," one can realize how small the difference is between Magical Realism and Fantastic. This literature written by the Austrian, Franz Kafka, is often debated over.
"The Metamorphosis" has not a sense of incompleteness. It is formally structured into three Roman-numbered parts, with each section having its own climax. A number of themes run through the story, but at the center are the familial relationships fundamentally affected by the great change in the story's protagonist, Gregor Samsa
The magical elements in this story are obvious like they should be in fantastic literature. It is not often that humans are turned into insects. Another magical element that is not as clear is the unconditional love that Gregor had for his parents and sister after they had long forgotten about him.
The realist elements in this story include about everything else. A characteristic of fantasy is that there is only one magical element in a realistic world. The reaction to the metamorphosis by Gregor's family is probably the most realistic.
The metamorphosis very possibly was written by Kafka as an outlet for his feelings of isolation and helplessness. In it, the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, awakens one morning to find himself spontaneously "transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin." The story continues from there in a most realistic fashion: his family rejects him........
