symbolism of Kafka's Metamorphosis - Samsa

[nacreous]

Hello. What is the symbolism of Kafka's Metamorphosis? In particular, what do you think the cockroach itself meant? When Samsa turned into a cockroach, what do you think that really symbolized? Lets really take this apart. I have my own opinions, of course, but I'm interestedin what your thoughts are on this subject
So, What do you think the cockroach symbolizes?
hopefully,
nacreous

[blazeofglory]

Kafka is incomparable. His metamorphosis is one such book it has no match. Kafka is a new starter and today he impresses many.

I like the way he wrote things very deeply and intensely. His style is unparalleled.

The book is totally symbolic and it is about how things happen in today's world and we are all in a whirlpool of modernity.

[Psynema]

Cockroach Beetle Vermin...ah which is the real thing LOL. Usually Beetle is the most common, some say cockroach, the original German apparently means "monstrous vermin"...

[Charles Darnay]

Cockroach Beetle Vermin...ah which is the real thing LOL. Usually Beetle is the most common, some say cockroach, the original German apparently means "monstrous vermin"...

I don't think it is supposed to be an existing creature but rather an abstract symbol for something that inspires such emotions as fear, pity, disgust - pity to an extent, Kafka was not friendly with pity.

[AKC]

Do you think he really changed--Gregor--or did his family transform? Think about it; Gregor was always the same, other than his image. His family, however, changed their attitude toward him, and transformed altogether. That's what I think Kafka's 'hidden, yet not so hidden' meaning was.

[weltanschauung]

Do you think he really changed--Gregor--or did his family transform? Think about it; Gregor was always the same, other than his image. His family, however, changed their attitude toward him, and transformed altogether. That's what I think Kafka's 'hidden, yet not so hidden' meaning was.

his family didnt transform. from start to finish gregor was the suporting spine of the family. he was the only one who worked although everyone else seemed to be able to, yet they didnt. when he found himself in a situation in which he was tranformed into a cockroach, you dont know why and how that happened, he never questions or explains it, nor does the family, the only thought in gregor's mind and in his family's members mind is: "who is going to work now?"
his family slowly transformed him into a slave, and when he wasnt able to perform his imposed role, his family developed an intense despite towards him. no one ever gives him words of comprehension or love or care. they begin to abhorr him because he cannot support the family any longer. he doesnt seem to worry about himself either, his only thought is regarding the others.
so the symbolism of the metamorphosis is pretty clear and obvious.
he was already an insect. and as an insect, he was crushed and forgotten.

[bewellalso]

What is the symbolism of Kafka's Metamorphosis? In particular, what do you think the cockroach itself meant?
nacreous


Hi nacreous,

It was a continuation of the bad dream. So maybe the whole story is like a dream. Only the author knows what the dream means to him. But we can guess.

The bug form horrified his family.... like maybe doing something incestuous with his sister, something that she went along with at first at some level -- feeding the thing (out of gratitude for the promise of violin lessons perhaps) -- but then had to fight against violently in order to free herself emotionally -- declaring it had to be killed, locked up, starved -- so that she could be ready to go out and be available for suitable courtship -- the climactic scene of the story.

But it, the horror might be anything that is not allowed to be discussed in polite society, or specifically on this forum where there are rules against that which is "obscene, vulgar, sexually-oriented, hateful, threatening, or otherwise violative of any laws..." It is the broad possibilities of the symbol that make it interesting reading. We see perhaps what we horrifies us in our own histories.

[Camille Cooper]

Hi there. I'm currently teaching The Metamorphosis at a Christian school. I know that Kafka has said something to the effect of: "I understand the fall of mankind better than most" largely because of his extreme interest in his Jewish religion. Has anyone a thought about the symbolism behind the apple beating in chapter II?

[DanielBenoit]

I have always seen the insect as a devistating symbol of low self-esteem and self-loathing. In Kafka's life, he had an extremely complex relationship with his father, and I think that plays a big part in his writings.
From another perspective, the insect is a symbol of our own confusion and despair with the absurdity of the world. We are born into the world under unchosen circumstances and we have to learn to accept our enviroment and adapt.

[zech montera]

i think that the apple that gets stuck in him is like kafkas burden of his dad beating him and like his scar the would be there for his whole life and just be bottled up inside him forever

[jsutherland]

i think him being stuck in his room while he was turned into a "vermin" was like his life, slowly deteriorating and over time it gets worse and worse until one day when he tries to get out of it, his family ignores him and beats him with apples, and in the end they kill him. they cause him so much guild he just says screw it and stops eating and dies. :rage:

[Camille Cooper]

I agree with your assesment. It's like a cross to bear, or having the weight of the world on your back. If the apple represents Man's sinful nature, is Kafka saying that the sins of the father could kill the son?

[Camille Cooper]

Great post! You bring up an intersting question. First you say Gregor's family killed him; then you say he stopped eating and died, with sounds a lot like suicide. Was it murder, or suicide?

[greekthing]

in the metamorphosis it kinda shows what Kafkas life was like. it shows how his father was obsessive and violent to him. his mother didn't really care much for him and how his sister was closest to him. as he would lie in his room doing nothing they all got sick of him and wanted to get rid of gregor.

[Camille Cooper]

Alex, is this you? If so...well done. You've joined the land of the literary thinking. If you wrote an autobiography of sorts about your family, what kind of animal would you likely become?

[thegangsterest]

I think there is an important contrast between his religion, Judaism, and him being trapped in his room. Trapped like he is in hell. It was almost like during the whole story Gregor was being punished. But what did he do? He worked hard for his family. Also I can see comparison on how Gregor died. He died from depression, loneliness. Kafka had problems with depression.http://www.online-literature.com/forums/images/smilies/banana.gif

[Camille Cooper]

I'm glad you brought up Judaism. I think he grew tired of following all the rules of Jewish living. I think that contributed to his imprisonment.

[Nemo Neem]

While I am of the belief that Gregor Samsa is a bug in the novella, I'll offer a different interpretation. In the story, Samsa feels neglected by both society and his family. He feels insignificant like a bug, he feels worthless in a world that has gone nuts, and constantly changing. He can't adapt, and so isolates himself from all outside contact, and perhaps Kafka wrote the story as a dream-induced hallucination in which Samsa himself believes he's a "vermin," as do the readers. But he's really not a vermin.

[blazeofglory]

It is totally symbolic, and we all humans are kind of cockroaches despite the fact that we wear human faces. We are so much doomed to the exact state the cockroach in Kafka's Metamorphosis. We all are disabled and though physically we walk on our twos but in fact we creep on our fours like the cockroach. We creep and this modernity is what that have disabled us

[Granger]

Hi there. I'm currently teaching The Metamorphosis at a Christian school. I know that Kafka has said something to the effect of: "I understand the fall of mankind better than most" largely because of his extreme interest in his Jewish religion. Has anyone a thought about the symbolism behind the apple beating in chapter II?

I am currently studying Kafka's Metamorphosis at a Christian school, and maybe it's thanks to all of those Old and New Testament classes, but The Metamorphosis is littered with Christ references. There are numerous references to pains on Gregor's right side (where Christ was stabbed as he was carrying the cross), the apple and Christ bearing the weight of sins, and there are at least two references to being "nailed" to something, as in pinned down. One in particular right after the apple is thrown onto his back and before his mothers clothes fall off:

"..he felt nailed to the spot and stretched out his body in complete confusion of all of his senses. With his last glance he saw the door of his room burst open as his mother rushed out ahead of his screaming sister...."


To me, this screams of Christ's crucifixtion and his mother (Mary) and Mary Magdelene at his side. (Portraying his sister as Mary Magdelene also explains some of the incestual references).

However, since Kafka was Jewish, is this simply a case of seeing something we want to see?

[blazeofglory]

Samsa is not uncommon amongst us. At times we too roll into a vermin, being downsized into a petite, and that was just a metaphor and we are indeed in that state at times.

[Dinkleberry2010]

It's been awhile since I read The Metamorphosis, but I wondered about the references in the above posts about the word insect. I couldn't recall if that is the word Kafka used, so I looked up The Metamorphosis in Wikipedia and I found this interesting fact: English translators have rendered the word as "insect," but actually the word that Kafka uses literally means an unclean animal that is not suitable for sacrifice.

[Gecko5567]

The metamorphosis is symbolic of many things: and isolation of an individual from society, alienation from work, the failure of family, the search for the meaning of life, etc.

But the greatest symbolic meaning is probably the search for the meaning of life. This is best shown with how Gregor's life was given purpose before his transformation because his entire family relied on him. But after his change, Gregor is no longer needed by his family and, in essence, kills himself because he is only a burden to his family at that point.

[cafolini]

There was once down on a time a voice crying in the wilderness. A roach had discovered it and made trips to get spoils which the voice left around with each one of its shrieks.
The roach grew fat and regurgitated for the family at the end of every trip. Eventually, as all things come to an end, existential or occurring in three dimensions, the voice ceased to occur and a few centuries later, ceased to exist.
The roach had no use. It also ceased. The family survived.

[hypatia_]

The metamorphosis is symbolic of many things: and isolation of an individual from society, alienation from work, the failure of family, the search for the meaning of life, etc.

But the greatest symbolic meaning is probably the search for the meaning of life. This is best shown with how Gregor's life was given purpose before his transformation because his entire family relied on him. But after his change, Gregor is no longer needed by his family and, in essence, kills himself because he is only a burden to his family at that point.

did he kill himself though? or did the family kill him?

[kiki1982]

Well, he could have krept out of the house and sought different horizons, but he didn't because he was indecisive. From the one side, he knew he wasn't wanted, but from the other he preferred to stay with what he knew, his room and his sister (who was still a bit affectionate towards him, unlike his father or mother). Kafka's figures are always a bit like him: they don't do anything positive/decisive, they only do what the situation dictates and after their ordeal readers still wonder what could have happened if his characters hadn't gone with the flow.

Kafka was an eternal doubter/hesitater. He couldn't take a decision on whether to really marry his first fiancée and Gregor prefers to stay with his family although he isn't happy. He decided t stay with his job because he didn't know what would happen if he didn't do that stupid work. Exactly what happened to Kafka himself. He was appalled but stayed with it. He didn't have enough self-confidence to be himself, was scared of criticism from his father (who saw him as a failure, even compared to a criminal, and thus condemned his son to a lifetime of imposed psychological failure). Had he had a bit more self-confidence, he might have lived longer and might also have done something more worthwhile in his life.

[hypatia_]

Those are great points.

What I'm wondering though, is if he died via intentional suicide (all it says is he began to feel weak but content as he looks out the window or whatever and the next morning the maid finds his body) or if it was the slow but steady result of his lack of seeking different horizons. I guess either way is a form of suicide, huh?

[kiki1982]

Good point. In my recollection (it is a few years ago that I read Die Verwandlung), it was the fact that someone (was it his father?) chucked al apple at him that got stuck in him that brought on this disease. But the animosity that produced the attack that was motivated out of fear for him (was it when he tried to listen to his sister playing the violin for the lodgers?), came way down the line and Gregor knew at that point that he wasn't wanted anymore, but he kept trying and thought it would get better.

But yes, what is suicide, after all? The issue I suppose becomes really poignant when you think about the similarities with the Jews as (learned) people who were discriminated against and what it came to in the end. Thankfully Kafka didn't have to see that anymore, although his sisters did. Ironically one of his sisters willingly volunteered a) to be deported (she was married to a non-Jew and wasn't supposed to go, but she did out of solidarity) and b) volunteered for the last children's transport from Theresienstadt (by far the best CC you could be in, it was supposed to be a model of what was in Poland, the Red Cross approved it :rolleyes:) to Auschwitz. I don't need to say where she went with the children when she arrived. The sheer naivety and meekness astonishes you somehow. How long some people exonerate and stand things just because they can't tear themselves away, because they fear what is outside.

But Kafka would not have liked me to parallel these two things.

Let's just say it's an interesting issue and that Samsa loved his family too much to go so that he eventually perished, not by anyone's fault...

[cafolini]

Good point. In my recollection (it is a few years ago that I read Die Verwandlung), it was the fact that someone (was it his father?) chucked al apple at him that got stuck in him that brought on this disease. But the animosity that produced the attack that was motivated out of fear for him (was it when he tried to listen to his sister playing the violin for the lodgers?), came way down the line and Gregor knew at that point that he wasn't wanted anymore, but he kept trying and thought it would get better.

But yes, what is suicide, after all? The issue I suppose becomes really poignant when you think about the similarities with the Jews as (learned) people who were discriminated against and what it came to in the end. Thankfully Kafka didn't have to see that anymore, although his sisters did. Ironically one of his sisters willingly volunteered a) to be deported (she was married to a non-Jew and wasn't supposed to go, but she did out of solidarity) and b) volunteered for the last children's transport from Theresienstadt (by far the best CC you could be in, it was supposed to be a model of what was in Poland, the Red Cross approved it :rolleyes:) to Auschwitz. I don't need to say where she went with the children when she arrived. The sheer naivety and meekness astonishes you somehow. How long some people exonerate and stand things just because they can't tear themselves away, because they fear what is outside.

But Kafka would not have liked me to parallel these two things.

Let's just say it's an interesting issue and that Samsa loved his family too much to go so that he eventually perished, not by anyone's fault...

Ridiculous to think of the Holocaust in these terms. You are very IGNORANT of the actual situation. And hence, racist.

[kiki1982]

Look, if you are upset about Remembrance Day, that's fine, but I suggest you read the thought behind it. Indeed, there is a course of thought in Judaism which expresses the same thing I said here. The point of it is that some did not see their suffering as a problem to themselves (which would make them leave, no doubt), but as a necessity. That comes from Rabbinic teachings. Not from deniers (I can see what you're thinking here). It is that which I wanted to point out, although, as I said, Kafka didn't like his things to be discussed in interpretative ways, because he said he didn't want his work to be interpreted.

Still it is nice to think how prophetic his works can be.

Stop it or I'll report you.

[Mary Hill]

i am new to this but maybe the apple is a constant reminder of the hate his father has for him since he did not take the family business? or a reminder of hate/resentment his family has towards him for becoming a such "burden" to them?
i first read this book many years ago as a senior in high school. i was part of a g/t honors class. Out of thirty students i stood alone when our teacher asked who liked the book.This book actually hit so close to home for me that i get teary eyed thinking about gregor and his struggles. I try to get others to read it now but they look at me like i am crazy i am now in a college comp class and i am going to use this for a literary anal. i read a paper on a kafka site about the importance of deviants in society and gregor. can any one think of a similar topic or angle that i might use to write my paper?

[Starlighttears]

Thanks so much for that post! Through that, I decided to look into Franz Kafka and I discovered that Kafka’s books are “filled with the themes and archetypes of alienation, physical and psychological brutality, parent-child conflict, characters on a terrifying quest, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mythical transformations.” He had also had a complicated and troubled relationship with his father, which could have had a impact on his writing. In this book, Gregor’s father was also portrayed as obsessive and violent. Kafka had also worked as a travelling sales representative for a small portion of his life. Another work of Kafka’s was his Brief an den Vater, which was a letter to his father. His father was described as a demanding character and the dominant figure, which his mother was quiet and shy. The Kafka’s family also had a servant girl who lived with them in their apartment. Coincidence? I think not!