Kafka’s Absurd Reality /// Emily Thullesen

 After reading Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis for a second time personally, I was able to infer much more correlation between my prior knowledge of the author and the storyline of the novel. Turning curiosity into research ultimately revealed that perhaps Gregor the bug is an extraordinary representation of Kafka’s internal struggle and upbringing. 

Kafka was raised in a small Jewish family under the influence of his business driven and subside father who placed Kafka under an immense amount of pressure to take over the family business. Because Kafka chose to pursue writing as his career and not just his pastime, his father abused him physically and emotionally, seeing him as weak and a disappointment. Immediately, readers of The Metamorphosis notice a parallel between Kafka’s father and Gregor’s father depicted in the novel. Gregor’s father was implied to be very short tempered and was even admitted to chase his son around with a cane and a newspaper at the slightest irritation, revealing how Kafka’s fear of his father was imbedded closely in his main character as well. 

Even though in ways The Metamorphosis seems to be blatantly exaggerated and absurd, if one looks beyond the surface there is a deep connection between Kafka’s internal feelings and the way he portrays Gregor. In a way, Gregor is the extended, absurd version of Kafka himself. Both beings felt trapped within their own little worlds, dealing with abusive family members and a general feeling of disappointment to society. It saddens me to realize how detrimental this situation was to Kafka as a human being to push him to write this novel as a representation. 

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Hailey Walsh

Emory Cooper


Comments

  1. Bug OlsenJanuary 24, 2022 at 11:55 PM

    I enjoyed this reading as well, and understanding Kafka's background prior to reading it made it much more interesting this time around. The parallels were much clearer and the story was much more enjoyable.

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