Metamorphosis - Franz Kafka

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Résumé :
First published in 1915, Metamorphosis is an absurd novella written by Kafka. It begins with Gregor Samsa waking up as a monstrous vermin. There is no possible sense to how this can happen but within the Kafkaesque world, the protagonist functions in a chaotic and surreal society. The text deals with several questions that Gregor contemplates as a proletariat: who would earn a living now that he cannot go outside his room? Who will feed his family? As Kafka weaves his text with dark humour, his focus remains on the lack of sympathy directed towards Gregor by his own family members who are concerned more about the scandal that he may present to the world than his well-being. Their shock comes not at the suddenness with which Gregor's metamorphosis occurs, but at the idea of him coming into the public eye. The depravity that Gregor experiences only increases throughout the novel. Stripped off of his speech, mobility, dignity and his human body, Gregor grows increasingly alienated from the family, and society at large. The novella is a deep study of what it takes to live in a modern society, and how people struggle for acceptance, often from their own people in a time of great need....

Biographie:
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) A German-speaking insurance clerk, Franz Kafka preferred to spend his time writing. One of the most important writers of the Modernist period, Kafka's writings went against the conventions of his time. His works are notable for the aspects of the absurd, the surreal, and the fantastic. Although he incorporates elements of realism in his writing, many of his texts and protagonists engage with the loss of all coherent structures and meanings. It is common for the character to come across as an alienated individual, almost shunned from society. Over the years, his writing style has developed an identity of its own and is, today, widely known as 'Kafkaesque'. Kafka never intended to publish his works. In fact, he had ordered his friend to burn all of his unpublished works after his death. However, his friend published these works posthumously. Kafka's best-known works include The Trial, Metamorphosis, and The Castle. Kafka's works, more often than not, show a bleak and hopeless world where a just society and governance is more a matter of imagination than reality. He compels his readers to question the monotony of the systems around them, and the structures of authority....

Sommaire:
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) A German-speaking insurance clerk, Franz Kafka preferred to spend his time writing. One of the most important writers of the Modernist period, Kafka's writings went against the conventions of his time. His works are notable for the aspects of the absurd, the surreal, and the fantastic. Although he incorporates elements of realism in his writing, many of his texts and protagonists engage with the loss of all coherent structures and meanings. It is common for the character to come across as an alienated individual, almost shunned from society. Over the years, his writing style has developed an identity of its own and is, today, widely known as 'Kafkaesque'. Kafka never intended to publish his works. In fact, he had ordered his friend to burn all of his unpublished works after his death. However, his friend published these works posthumously. Kafka's best-known works include The Trial, Metamorphosis, and The Castle. Kafka's works, more often than not, show a bleak and hopeless world where a just society and governance is more a matter of imagination than reality. He compels his readers to question the monotony of the systems around them, and the structures of authority....