Why the Metamorphosis appeals to me?

The story advances with Gregor Samsa, the cnetral charcter in the novel woke up to reality that was inexplainable from unsettling dreams and a thetrical change occurs thereat when he got trasfromed into a vermin.

What appeals me is he had impecably presented or to say more realisitically, he copiously gave similitudes of a most sophisticated life a modern man constricted in a large city but alienated by his near and dear ones.

Imagine how we live in a modern city. We live in fragmentation. The maily is split up. You make bucks and the environ that consisted of your family members, freinds and relatives appear supportive of your ideas and once you lose bucks you wll live dissipiated or alienated.

Gregor samsa is not an alien; he is a person we come across in every walk of life, everywhere.

When one becomes disabled and he does when he remains plunged into a state of failure he as to undergo the type of life Gregor undergoes.

I do not know why I feel Gregor is part of our life. Imagine you can not work, and you become a liability or a burden to a fanmily or to a community who cares? You will live the way he did,and you will be only witnessing things and you can not be part of the environ, and you will be there living like an outsider, alienated and distant.

I read this book more number of times and each time I find it more appealing and this book is highly mysterious and it enfolds tens of thousands of imaginations.

The story is simple and nothing is there so elaborate yet it deepens our understandin the complexities of a modern life crammed in a bustling city.

This is one of my best books if not the best.

Tears well up everytime I read this book.

Please share about what did you feel exactly after this book.

you have got it all right there.

*hails*

:)

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Originally Posted by blazeofglory

The story advances with Gregor Samsa, the cnetral charcter in the novel woke up to reality that was inexplainable from unsettling dreams and a thetrical change occurs thereat when he got trasfromed into a vermin.

What appeals me is he had impecably presented or to say more realisitically, he copiously gave similitudes of a most sophisticated life a modern man constricted in a large city but alienated by his near and dear ones.

Imagine how we live in a modern city. We live in fragmentation. The maily is split up. You make bucks and the environ that consisted of your family members, freinds and relatives appear supportive of your ideas and once you lose bucks you wll live dissipiated or alienated.

Gregor samsa is not an alien; he is a person we come across in every walk of life, everywhere.

When one becomes disabled and he does when he remains plunged into a state of failure he as to undergo the type of life Gregor undergoes.

I do not know why I feel Gregor is part of our life. Imagine you can not work, and you become a liability or a burden to a fanmily or to a community who cares? You will live the way he did,and you will be only witnessing things and you can not be part of the environ, and you will be there living like an outsider, alienated and distant.

I read this book more number of times and each time I find it more appealing and this book is highly mysterious and it enfolds tens of thousands of imaginations.

The story is simple and nothing is there so elaborate yet it deepens our understandin the complexities of a modern life crammed in a bustling city.

This is one of my best books if not the best.

Tears well up everytime I read this book.

Please share about what did you feel exactly after this book.

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I was going to start a thread about appreciating this book, but I saw this first, so I'm very glad someone actually read it for pleasure, rather than for some schoolwork. :thumbs_up
My class is currently reading this, but most of my classmates don't really appreciate it. They typify it as "strange" and "stupid" because a man just turns into an insect and gets killed in the end by his sister. This cruel response really saddens me. I, too, had tears in my eyes the first time I read this. Gregor is someone (or a group of people) who lives life like everyone else, but situation changes and he is forced to move into another world while, he still tries to hang on to the past. He tries hard to be accepted and less burdensome, but instead is feared for his radical "outcast"-ness. He tries to show everyone that he, too, has needs, and is just being persecuted for something out of his control. This really reminds me of Frankenstein: or the Modern Prometheus where, the creature is forced to live under shadows, although he is man. I really felt that this story had so many subtle underlying social and psychological implications that really related to a vast audience with its somewhat simple language. And it really pains my nerves to see Gregor's frustrations...Overall, I loved this book, because it seemed like a universal memoir that depicted the social awkwardness so few of us go through in real life.

This is indeed one of the few books that appealed to me immensely and fewer books are so rich in imageries and of course in its perfect use of allusions, inferences in a symbolic way. This novel is really astoundingly marvelous, and fabulous.

The single most important aspect of this book is it kind of depicts the way modern life flows with its precariousness and predicaments. Kafka is indeed an unparalleled writer. I have read many of his stories and the Metamorphosis appealed to me immensely. I have read this novel many times and every time I find something new, tellingly engaging.

I wanted here to share the feelings and reading the feelings of others too.

I've been studying this book for nearly a month now. To be honest, I have never read any novel by Kafka before. I have only read his aphorism and quotations.
It is hard to say, or to create an actual image about this book, even though I have done a lot of research on it, and on Kafka as well.
At the begining, it was hard to read it, but gradually I started to live with it, I even had a dream, connected with the Metamorphosis.
It is astonishing, to see almost everythimg from a bug's perspective. A bug, that it is not really aware of his body and thus, everyone is affected by its/his appearance. Oh, that symbolism.
It is wonderful, how this book can be understood on different levels, and how many interpretations already exist about it. However, I still wonder, what exactly Franz Kafka wanted to say. But I guess, I have to find my own answer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by blazeofglory

I read this book more number of times and each time I find it more appealing and this book is highly mysterious and it enfolds tens of thousands of imaginations.

The story is simple and nothing is there so elaborate yet it deepens our understandin the complexities of a modern life crammed in a bustling city. book.

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Exactly. I love how, as with many of Kafka's stories, at a first read they are quite simple, though rather, absurd in quite a subtle way. The more you read it and the deeper you dig, the more complex it gets.

Literature throughout history has tried to exemplify the personal identity of human beings, but none has done it so creatively and as hilariously as Franz Kafka's in "The Metamorphosis". I mean Kafka has created the most absurd situation; a traveling salesman wakes up one morning to find that he has turned into a giant dung beetle. Yet Kafka uses the absurdity of this premise to exemplify how the unfortunate Gregor Samsa frees himself from a life of servitude and monotony, to assert his own personal identity through his metamorphosis. Franz Kafka uses brilliant symbolism, hilarious tone, and unique characterizations to exemplify the plight and transformation of this unfortunate salesman and it is through these tools that Kafka creates an absurd experience that any reader can relate to.

The use of symbolism throughout this story is what truly allows the reader to understand and appreciate Gregor's push towards independence. Gregor was transformed into a bug, but Kafka uses this transformation as a symbol for Gregor's metamorphosis towards humanity. Before Gregor's transformation, he only lived life to serve others, but through his metamorphosis Gregor slowly comes to meet his own desires, seeking a more personal independence and even coming to appreciate music and art. But most importantly, it is through Gregor's final understanding of love that Kafka truly exemplifies how human the insect truly is. Kafka uses the symbolism of Gregor becoming a bug to represent the tragedy of the life that Gregor was leading, and his metamorphosis symbolizes a more gradual metamorphosis towards an individual humanity. By physically disassociating Gregor from humanity, Kafka perfectly exemplifies how human Gregor has really become. Kafka's use of symbolism is what truly makes the reader's experience relatable to the tale. Although nobody could ever experience what it feels like to wake up as a giant insect, Gregor's struggle for an identity is a trial that is real and relatable to all of us. Kafka represents independence as what truly makes Gregor human, and this same truth exists within all of us. It is through the symbolism of the metamorphosis that Kafka relates this to us, the readers, and he does this brilliantly.

The tragedy and emotional connection that Kafka elicits to the reader is of true merit, but the book's success lies in its ability to tie this tragic tale with such a humorous tone. "The Metamorphosis" is an obvious tragedy and it expresses a very serious message. Kafka leaves us no choice but to pity Gregor for the eventual state of his life, but despite all of this, Kafka has written one twisted and hilarious story. The dark, humorous tone that Kafka injects into his words is apparent from the very first sentence, as the story begins with an immediate shock: "One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous, verminous bug". Kafka's very light and nonchalant voice perfectly emulates the tone of the entire book, and it makes this absurd, while admittedly unfortunate situation to be incredibly laughable. Even when Gregor's family is contemplating murdering him, Kafka injects a satirical wit into the tone of the dialogue that the obviously tragic situation is unfortunately funny. Kafka uses humor perfectly to further exemplify the pain that Gregor and subsequently his family experience as they live through this "metamorphosis" and it ultimately makes the sorrowful events that much more apparent. The absurdity of the story makes the connection between reader and bug an ironic parallel that intensifies the humor of the story. Kafka has created a storyline that readers relate to and appreciate, but the sheer humor of the story allows the reader to appreciate this connection even further. The storyline is absurd and unbelievable, but because the reader is forced to relate to this situation, despite the logical impossibilities, we as readers can appreciate the connection we make with Gregor even more. The absurdity of the story enriches our ability to connect with the text.

Kafka's ability to interpret humanity through this great piece of work was ultimately in his ability to invent the perfect character. Gregor Samsa is one of the most pathetic, yet endearing figures in literature. Kafka's characterization of Gregor was perfect in representing his message throughout the story, because Gregor's evolution was the point and purpose of the entire novella. In only forty-five pages, Kafka creates a character that is interesting and dynamic. We see him grow and fall, all the time evoking certain responses within the reader. Franz Kafka has brilliantly invented Gregor so that all readers can appreciate him, pity him, and relate to his struggle and growth throughout the book. This is what makes the book so enjoyable to the reader, we want to respond to the protagonist, and Kafka has invented a conflict within Gregor that is seemingly universal to the development of mankind. There is no background to the tragic figure given before we are lunged into the heart of the story and the author has made it so that there is none needed. Kafka makes it obvious how miserable Gregor's state of being was before his awful transfiguration, and the reader is forced to be emotionally connected to this struggle. Kafka creates a character that is realistic, seemingly simple, but with complex thoughts and emotions as his struggle progresses. Franz Kafka has created a character that resonates with readers that familiarize with his struggle; this is what makes his story such a success.

Franz Kafka is clearly a masterful writer and completely unique in his style and approach to storytelling. He has reinvented a storyline that is seemingly ordinary if not overlooked and recreated in a hilarious, yet completely intricate drama. Kafka has created something that all readers can appreciate as the simplicity and ambiguity of the story allows for people to interpret Gregor's tragic story in many different ways. Franz Kafka was blatantly purposeful in his creation of this obviously ridiculous storyline, because the symbolism that he creates and the characters that he invents allow the reader to experience and interpret this story for themselves. "The Metamorphosis" is just great writing; it will leave the reader feeling sad for the tragic hero, while laughing hysterically at the absurdity of the situation that Kafka creates. This book is a literal classic and is a story that will leave you feeling enlightened and slightly bemused, but ultimately more appreciative of life, family, and the personal humanity that each one of us has created for ourselves.

The most frightening thing in Metamorphosis is the very event of Gregor's transformation into a repulsive insect; the most important member of the family turns into the most despicable and undesirable one overnight. I'm terrified by the happiness of the family after Gregor's death. How cruel and unacceptable but true in terms of real-life situations! Such prospects might be the fate of any of us active, useful and loved by our families today!

I wouldn't say it's laughable. There's a sort of tragicomedy to it but the overriding sense is one of despair. It practically made me cry the first time I read it. Poor Gregor!

I love the metamorphosis and all of kafka's work that I have read. I felt so dismayed and full of existential sorrow after reading this book. It is truly a lonely piece.

the sense of sadness, to me, arrives when, even as the family gives up hope, gregor still loves them unconditionally, and then abruptly dies.

as for its appeal, i think anyone who has ever felt alienated would feel something from this piece.

This is the first story I read of Kafka's and it produced such a need to read everything the man has ever done. Years later after the diaries, the short stories, Amerika, The Trial ..and biographies I am so thankful I first read this one story. I as well was tearful at the last words of it. I feel it truly encapsulates such emotion and alienation and humanity. It was as if he was born along with me in the 70s...or even newer generations to speak so strongly to modern times.

While there is a hint of humor and of course the absurd, this one has true despair at its core.

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Originally Posted by Gregory Samsa

Literature throughout history has tried to exemplify the personal identity of human beings, but none has done it so creatively and as hilariously as Franz Kafka's in "The Metamorphosis".

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Well, I would say that Nikolai Gogol quite obviously did it more creatively — hilariously is a matter of personal taste — since it is Gogol's premise from The Nose Kafka cribbed when he wrote The Metamophosis: Man awakes to find he has been irreversibly transformed. Instead of worrying about the metaphysical implications, he thinks only of practical matters like getting to work.