Researching reviews about the book "The

Metamorphosis" by Kafka
Review by Jatin Batra

TL;DR :

One-Sit-Read (2-3 Hours) short novella.

Metaphorical in sense , took me a while to decipher
Would have rated five stars if the author have not made me feel like
the protagonist.
Despite being a novella , Kafka has maintained a pedantic style of
writing.
Ironically ,as a meticulous author ,Kafka didn't bother explaining
things at the end of story.
Best part about book is it is free available in almost all the formats
with no copyright violation whatsoever at Project Gutenberg.

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka , originally written in German is regarded as

one of the most influential literature of 19th century. As a short story , the book
is metaphorical in nature and rather it is a satire on the modern societal norms
which roams around physical appearance , monetary affluence and purpose of
existence.
What actually determines the existence of a person in society is the
'contribution' made by him and not just his existence. As long as you are
contributing in a manner (money in this case) , you exist.The moment when
you become a liability for society , nobody is going to care about you. This is the
harsh and obviously blatant truth nobody wants to admit.
So you have good intentions ? You are an altruist by nature ? You are pursuing
an ascetic life ? Nobody cares! because you ,sonny boy , are a wholesome
burden.
Unconditional love for his sister and the purpose of existence is the dichotomy
of the book. The good intentions , dreams and wishes by a brother goes
unnoticed.
Summary of the book :
Gregor Samsa is a hardworking sales man who works his ass off to meet the
ends. One day he's a little tired from work and retires early in night. The
morning later he wakes up and realizes that he's been transformed into a
bug/insect like creature. However , he maintains his equanimity and makes

effort to go to work. But because of his new anatomy , the creature finds it hard
to do so. His communication with the outside world is single way as his voice
also has been transformed , he ,however can pretty much understand the
human world. As soon as he realizes that it's already late for work , the chief
clerks arrives to inquire into the matter and immediately summons Gregor who
makes an under-appreciated effort to explain his conditions as his parents ,
sisters and the chief clerk cannot understand a single world. His mother gets
panic and his father immediately calls for a blacksmith to unlock his door.
Meanwhile , Gregor makes some strenuous efforts to get up to the door and
open the door with his teeth-less jaw.
Now a different life begins for Gregor. He is no longer the same old human.He is
bound by the four walls, his sister gives him the stale food which he savors a lot
and is isolated from rest of the family. During his free hours , he spends most of
his time in contemplation and observing the rest of family by peeking through a
hole in door. Because of the disturbed finances , everyone in home takes up a
job and the cost-cutting follows through. His father gets a security guard job ,
his mother gets a job that can be done at home and his sister too. While Gregor
had plans for her sister to surprise her by sending her to conservatory on
Christmas , he has been jinxed by life
The family also gives a room at rent to three 'gentlemens'.
So one day while the three 'gentlemens' were having their breakfast in living
room , they heard the sound of the violin and asked Gregor's father if they
could play it in living room itself. They sure were expecting a great performance
by the amateur Gregor's sister and didn't really seem to enjoy the performance.
Gregor in his room was irked to see his sister getting insulted by the
'gentlemens' . He got out of his room and headed straight towards the three
'gentlemens'. The 'gentlemens' already contentious by nature couldn't tolerate
this and accused Gregor father for providing a lethal environment for this.
Gregor's father had enough of this and he decided to get rid of his tenants.
Gregor was aware of the situation and headed back into his room where he lay
dormant. Their charwoman later realized that Gregor had died. The rest of
family lived happily ever after.
https://www.quora.com/What-is-your-review-of-The-Metamorphosis
Updated Jan 12, 2015
Accessed Aug 24, 2016

Alex Burrett, author of 'The Titans' free from Feedbooks and Smashwords.
Written May 21, 2014

Kafkas work, like all the best literature, can mean different things to different
people. Metamorphosis is so rich that you can find may deeper meanings. So
heres just one
When you love someone, you commit yourself to them. If they change a little
bit, you accept that. Over time they can change so much that, if you met them
for the first time, youd find them abhorrent. But you dont. Because youre
emotionally committed to them.
So Kafka takes this tendency (to accept changes in loved ones) to the extreme.
And by presenting us with an extreme case (someone overnight becoming a
monstrous verminous creature) he forces us to confront this tendency.
Why do we continue to love people who change in ways were not comfortable
with?
Dante Prax
Written Oct 25, 2014

I think that the main meaning is that the people treat others due to a mix up of
factors:
Appearance, Wealthiness, Healthiness, Age, Gender.
How the human being is capable to love somebody else unconditionally (
(Gregory loves to his family) even if the treatment is not corresponded. How
the human nature can get rid off people that is not useful anymore for their own
interest (Gregory family to him).
George Ramos, I used to read it, but now I read student essays about it.
Written May 28, 2014

Treating people as less than human steals away their humanity.

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-deeper-meaning-of-Franz-Kafkas-TheMetamorphosis#
Updated Jan 12, 2015
Accessed Aug 24, 2016

The Kafka Project by Mauro Nervi

www.kafka.org
Kafka's Life (1883-1924)

FAMILY
Kafka was born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, the capital of Bohemia, a
kingdom that was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His father, Hermann Kafka (18521931), was
described by Kafka himself as "a true Kafka in strength, health, appetite, loudness of voice, eloquence, selfsatisfaction, worldly dominance, endurance, presence of mind, [and] knowledge of human nature ...".
Hermann was the fourth child of Jacob Kafka, a butcher, and came to Prague from Osek, a Jewish village
near Psek in southern Bohemia. After working as a traveling sales representative, he established himself as
an independent retailer of men's and women's fancy goods and accessories, employing up to 15 people and
using a jackdaw (kavka in Czech) as his business logo. Kafka's mother, Julie (18561934), was the
daughter of Jakob Lwy, a prosperous brewer in Podbrady, and was better educated than her husband.
Kafka was the eldest of six children. He had two younger brothers, Georg and Heinrich, who died at the ages
of fifteen months and six months, respectively, before Kafka was six, and three younger sisters, Gabriele
("Elli") (18891941), Valerie ("Valli") (18901942), and Ottilie ("Ottla") (18921943). On business days,
both parents were absent from the home. His mother helped to manage her husband's business and worked
in it as much as 12 hours a day. The children were largely reared by a succession of governesses and
servants.
Kafka's sisters were sent with their families to the d ghetto and died there or in concentration camps.
Ottla is believed to have been sent to the concentration camp at Theresienstadt and then to the death camp
at Auschwitz.
EDUCATION
Kafka learned German as his first language, but he was also almost fluent in Czech. Later, Kafka also
acquired some knowledge of French language and culture; one of his favorite authors was Flaubert. From
1889 to 1893, he attended the Deutsche Knabenschule, the boys' elementary school at the Fleischmarkt
(meat market), the street now known as Masn Street in Prague. His Jewish education was limited to his Bar
Mitzvah celebration at 13 and going to the synagogue four times a year with his father. [5] After elementary
school, he was admitted to the rigorous classics-oriented state gymnasium, Altstdter Deutsches
Gymnasium, an academic secondary school with eight grade levels, where German was also the language of
instruction, at Staromstsk nmst, within the Kinsky Palace in the Old Town. He completed his Matura
exams in 1901.
Admitted to the Charles University of Prague, Kafka first studied chemistry, but switched after two weeks to
law. This offered a range of career possibilities, which pleased his father, and required a longer course of
study that gave Kafka time to take classes in German studies and art history. At the university, he joined a
student club, named Lese- und Redehalle der Deutschen Studenten, which organized literary events,
readings and other activities. In the end of his first year of studies, he met Max Brod, who would become a
close friend of his throughout his life, together with the journalist Felix Weltsch, who also studied law. Kafka
obtained the degree of Doctor of Law on June 18, 1906 and performed an obligatory year of unpaid service
as law clerk for the civil and criminal courts.
WORK

On November 1, 1907, he was hired at the Assicurazioni Generali, an aggressive Italian insurance company,
where he worked for nearly a year. His correspondence, during that period, witnesses that he was unhappy
with his working time schedule - from 8 p.m until 6 a.m - as it made it extremely difficult for him to
concentrate on his writing. On July 15, 1908, he resigned, and two weeks later found more congenial
employment with the Worker's Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia. However, he did
not show any signs of indifference towards his job, as the several promotions that he received during his
career prove that he was a hard working employee. In parallel, Kafka was also committed to his literary
work. Together with his close friends Max Brod and Felix Weltsch these three were called "Der enge Prager
Kreis", the close Prague circle.
In 1911, Karl Hermann, spouse of his sister Elli, proposed Kafka collaborate in the operation of an asbestos
factory known as Prager Asbestwerke Hermann and Co. Kafka had to dedicate much of his free time to the
business. During that period, he also found interest and entertainment in the performances of Yiddish
theatre, despite the misgivings of even close friends such as Max Brod, who usually supported him in
everything else. Those performances also served as a starting point for his growing relationship with
Judaism.
LATER YEARS
In 1912, at the home of his lifelong friend Max Brod, Kafka met Felice Bauer, who lived in Berlin and worked
as a representative for a dictaphone company. Over the next five years they corresponded a great deal, met
occasionally, and twice were engaged to be married. Their relationship finally ended in 1917.
In 1917, Kafka began to suffer from tuberculosis, which would require frequent convalescence during which
he was supported by his family, most notably his sister Ottla. Despite his fear of being perceived as both
physically and mentally repulsive, he impressed others with his boyish, neat, and austere good looks, a quiet
and cool demeanor, obvious intelligence and dry sense of humor.
In the early 1920s he developed an intense relationship with Czech journalist and writer Milena Jesensk. In
1923, he briefly moved to Berlin in the hope of distancing himself from his family's influence to concentrate
on his writing. In Berlin, he lived with Dora Diamant, a 25-year-old kindergarten teacher from an orthodox
Jewish family, who was independent enough to have escaped her past in the ghetto. Dora became his lover,
and influenced Kafka's interest in the Talmud.
It is generally agreed that Kafka suffered from clinical depression and social anxiety throughout his entire
life. He also suffered from migraines, insomnia, constipation, boils, and other ailments, all usually brought
on by excessive stresses and strains. He attempted to counteract all of this by a regimen of naturopathic
treatments, such as a vegetarian diet. However, Kafka's tuberculosis worsened; he returned to Prague, then
went to a sanatorium near Vienna for treatment, where he died on June 3, 1924. His body was ultimately
brought back to Prague where he was interred on June 11, 1924, in the New Jewish Cemetery in Pragueikov.

Revision: 2011/01/08 - 00:18 - Mauro Nervi

Accessed Aug 24, 2016
http://www.kafka.org/index.php?biography

(SP:) Franz Kafkas personal life reflected in the

Metamorphosis
by J. Stephens

The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafkas best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of
living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. In this novel
Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative aspects of his personal life, both mentally and physically.
The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many ways similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The
Metamorphosis also shows resemblance to some of Kafkas diary entries that depict him imagining his own
extinction by dozens of elaborated methods. This paper will look into the text to show how this is a story
about the authors personal life portrayed through his dream-like fantasies.
Franz Kafka grew up in a financially secure Jewish family in Prague. He spoke German and was neither a
Czech nor German due to his Jewish upbringing. Born in 1883, he was the eldest child and the only son. He
lived his life in the shadow of his dominating father under constant pressure to take over the family
business. Kafkas father viewed Franz as a failure and disapproved of his writing because he wanted Franz to
become a business man like him. This obsession with wanting Franz to become a businessman led Herrman
to beat his son. Franz Kafka died on June 3, 1924 from tuberculosis of the larynx.
From the moment we meet Gregor Samsas father we are shown how short tempered he is. He "came on,
hissing like a wild man" when Gregor first exited his room in his new state as a bug. Gregors father chased
after him with a cane and newspaper making a hissing noise that annoyed Gregor. Just this passage here
shows how alike Mr. Samsa and Herrman Kafka are. Kafka was subjected to abuse and constant yelling from
his father because he was a failure in his eyes. When Samsa sees what has happened to Gregor he is
immediately outraged, either out of confusion or disappointment towards his son. His father was retired and
his sister was still young and not working. Gregor felt as if he had let down the family because he had
provided for them up until this point where he could no longer work. He thought it would be very difficult for
his family to be financially secure without him working.
When Franz Kafka was a boy his father abused him. Whenever Kafka disagreed with his father or told his
father that he wanted to be a writer, not a shop owner, his father got very upset. In the book Mr. Samsa
displayed a violent temper from the very first encounter with the transformed Gregor. When he chased
Gregor back to his room, he kicked him in the back as he reached the door. Another event in which Gregor
encountered violence from his father was when Mr. Samsa threw an apple at him and it lodged in his back.
From this point on the physical and mental condition of Gregor steadily decreased. The apple began to rot
away and he felt weaker and experienced more pain than usual. Gregor even lost his appetite. The feelings
of seclusion and not being wanted entered Gregors thoughts. He could tell that his sister did not care as
much as she did when he first became a bug. These feelings could have been the same feelings of seclusion
that Kafka felt in his own life after abuse from his father.
"The image of a wide pork butchers knife, swiftly and with mechanical regularity chopping into me, shaving
off razor-thin slices which fly about due to the speed of the work." This is one example of the many painful
means of death that Kafka imagines and writes about in his diary. It may be that all the physical and
emotional abuse Kafka suffered, in some way inspired him to write about his own extinction. The writings
obtained from his diary were never intended to be seen by the public. These writings contained detailed
descriptions of his own death that were very disturbing and grotesque.
In The Metamorphosis there are many signs of slow deterioration for Gregor. He gradually starts to lose his
eye sight as he notices that he can not even see across the road to the hospital. He has numerous injuries,
some of which he cannot explain, like the pain in his side when he first woke up. He had an apple lodged in
his back which was left to rot. He was cut by a piece off glass from a shattering alcohol bottle, and was
bleeding profusely when he tried to get into his room and got stuck in the door. It is obvious that all of these
descriptions are painful and the whole basis of the novel revolves around a human being who is dyeing a
slow, painful death. The Metamorphosis could be one of Kafkas imaginations of his own death that is
carefully disguised and elaborated through literature.
The Samsa family is a middle class family much like the one Kafka grew up in. Rather than Gregor dying an
immediate death, the story is of a long, slow death. Gregors health decreases gradually throughout the
book, but is unnoticeable to the other members of his family. Kafka may have chosen Gregors death to take
place over a long period of time to ease the pain of losing a loved one abruptly. If he had just died then it
would have been a shock to his family members, but instead he started to become an inconvenience so that
it was almost a relief to his family. It could be that with Kafkas low self esteem he thought of himself as
being Gregor, who is also shunned by his father because he is disappointed in him.
Throughout The Metamorphosis, Kafka uses Gregor to make constant reference to the slamming doors in the
background. Kafka lived with his parents most of his life even when he was able to support himself. They
lived in a small apartment and Franz could not concentrate on writing because of the yelling, screaming and

slamming of doors. Maybe Kafka makes reference to slamming doors, which seem to have no relevance to
the story, because it happened so often during the times he was trying to write, it happened unknowingly.
When comparing Franz Kafka and his personal life to The Metamorphosis it is obvious in more ways than one
that he was writing a twisted story of his life. The emotional and physical abuse Gregor goes through are
similar to what Kafka went through in real life. They were both abused and neglected by their fathers when
they were disappointed with them. Kafka uses Gregor transforming into a bug as a way of exaggerating
himself, trying to express his feelings and point of view. When writing, Kafka felt as if he was trapped in his
room which he referred to as "the noise headquarters of the apartment". Gregor was an exaggeration of this
because he could not leave the house to escape the noises and abuse.

Revision: 2011/01/08 - 00:18 - Mauro Nervi

Accessed Aug 24, 2016
http://www.kafka.org/index.php?aid=218