Metamorphosis

Parker 1

Parker 3

Abby Parker

Mrs. Austin

10th Grade Literature and Composition

28 August 2014

The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka is definitely a novel that teaches you good life lessons and contains many themes. Kafka uses and extreme amount of imagery which speeds up the narrative pace and keeps readers involved. The main theme that sticks out in this novel is alienation. Alienation is defined of being isolated from a group or activity when you belong or should be involved with it. Four examples, from the novel, are when Gregor is being isolated from his body, family, job, and his humanity.

In the beginning of this novel, Gregor wakes up as a vermin out of nowhere. "He lay on his back, which was as hard as armor, and, when he lifted his head a little, he saw his belly- rounded, brown, partitioned by archlike ridges" (Kafka 11).

Franz Kafka's grave in Prague-Žižkov.

Monument to Franz Kafka by the sculptor Jaroslav R...

English: 3:4 Portrait crop of Franz Kafka

Gregor belongs in his human body, but by becoming a vermin, it isolates him from his body. Most people would freak out, but it doesn't seem to bother Gregor at all. Kafka makes the tone of this scene very content, but also gloomy to express Gregor's feelings.

Once Gregor's family discovers that he is a vermin, everything goes downhill. Everyone isolates him in his room and excludes him from all family activities. "But even though Gregor couldn't learn any news directly, he overheard many things from the adjoining rooms, and whenever the sound of voices reached him, he would immediately run to the appropriate door and press his whole body against it." (Kafka 28). Gregor feels very morose about not being able to be with his family. It makes him feel left out and that he isn't a part of the family anymore.

Before Gregor turns into a...