Sunday, August 24, 2008

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is the story of a young man called Gregor Samsa who, transformed overnight into a giant beetlelike insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man.
Written in a simple manner, Kafka reflects on human emotions through his characters. The novel begins with Gregor waking up realizing that he has turned into a monster. Gregor is a young guy who is the sole breadwinner of the family which consists of his parents and a younger sister. He is working with a firm to fulfill his father's debt obligations. When he is left to his own resources, he reflects on his life and thinks of changing it as soon as he is back to normal. He has been living all this while solely to fend his family, ignoring his own life. The way Kafka presents the plight of the family when they have to literally go through so much ordeal and how things change is very touching. Its so strange that the people who were totally dependent on Gregor, now find him burdensome. The novel ends with Gregor's death but a new beginning for the rest as their lives also changes with Gregor's metamorphosis.

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