Abstract

Franz Kafka’s short story “the Metamorphosis” (1912) is a German masterpiece in the
world of literature. It is the story of a traveling salesman by the name Gregor Samsa,
who wakes up one morning transformed into a hideous and monstrous vermin. He of
course retains the human senses of thinking and feeling and he is held trapped by his
family hidden in his room. Finally, he slowly goes to ruin and annihilation. This novel
portrays what Kafka conceived to be the results of man’s failure to escape the
enormous guilt thrust upon him from the very outset of his life. In spite of its
mysterious origin of guilt has appalling consequence, and of these Kafka was
continually and painfully aware. The protagonist transformation reveals elements of
alienation and individual psychological subordination caused by his social
surroundings. The sense of emptiness and being lost, which dominated the 20th century
modern man. Kafka’s talent to portray the man’s inner self has indoctrinated the
readers into the harrowing lessons of life without hope that the modern man
experiences. Throughout the three chapters, the fundamental aim of this thesis is to
illustrate and explore the concept of alienation in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”
through the portrayal of the protagonist. The present work focuses on the interpretation
of the character Gregor Samsa, through new criticism approach, analyzed in the light
of psychological criticism which was established by Sigmund Freud (1856- 1939). In
this regard, a literary text, like a dream, dramatizes modern man inner world, his angst
and his repressed desire. It is the world of unconscious and a world in which our
suppressed wills, feelings, horrors, drives and conflicts are hold. After his
metamorphosis, Gregor does not worry about this strange transformation, instead of
fighting for himself, he convinced himself that the deserves to be alienated. From the
protagonist analysis, it is revealed that his alienation is a result of his being selfless and
dutiful and finally result in his submission to death.

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