Franz Kafka's, "Metamorposis".

Essay by princesslinzieHigh School, 10th grade April 2003

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Social Alienation in Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

Many people in today's society let social alienation take over and ruin their lives. Social alienation is the state of being emotionally and socially isolated and dysfunctional with your surroundings. Kafka shows the effects of social alienation through isolation and rejection toward an individual. The Metamorphosis demonstrates the gradual and long term effects of social alienation.

When Gregor Samsa, surprisingly wakes up one day, to realize he now has six legs as opposed to the two he had the day before, he knew his life was going to be different. He awakes to discover that is life is in reverse(McNeil 1). Samsa metaphorically let his inner self and showed the world exactly who he was and what he was really like on the inside, only to find out the world would soon reject him. After his transformation, McNeil states, "He ceases to serve with new values opposing those of the family, the employer, and society at large, Gregor emerges as a deviant."(1)

Through Samsa's entire life, he performed tasks for the good of other people and never did anything for himself. He was the primary source of income for his family, while working a job incompatible for his liking. He worked a job where he had no personnel relationships with anyone. He experienced a sense of meaningless and powerlessness, where he had a high expectancy that he was being socially rejected by society(Zablocki 8). One of the main side effects of social alienation is psychological malfunctioning, which includes, low value on self worth, along with unfavorable or hostile behavior towards others, and brief disorientation to surroundings(Content 1).

It is common in today's society for people to live lives, where they are misunderstood by others. This can lead to isolation, or the rejection of common...