Isolation In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

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In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka reflects on the inevitable isolation and alienation The 1914 novella tells of the metamorphoses in the life of Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman who woke up one morning as a “gigantic insect”. Human’s isolation is inevitable in the modern society. The change into a vermin cost Gregor dearly his work, preventing him from paying his parents’ debts and sending his sister to the music conservatory. His hideous appearance and his inability to communicate further disconnected him from his family, the remaining personal albeit weak tie he is known to have prior to his physical transformation. His transformation, nevertheless, did not cause his isolation but rather exposed, in an exaggerated and absurd circumstance,…show more content…
Kafka’s as-a-matter-of-fact way of narrating is a contrast what is happening. It seemed like light read. Everything was just going on fast: Gregor’s thoughts, flashbacks, the daily happenings. His narration feels disconnected from the dark circumstance that is happening. It felt like reading the daily newspaper, starting with a breaking news “When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning…” and as the story continues it seemed like turning into an insect is a normal occurrence. However, isolation is common. The narration’s omnipotence perfectly covered both sides of the coin in the case of isolation: the heavy, fast flow of thoughts that run in the mind of the isolated, and the disconnection and indifference that society has toward the isolated. Kafka’s depression at the time of writing really shows in the novella’s voice. Traces of warmth (from the sister, the maid) quickly
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