Literature Analysis #1 The Metamorphosis

1. Exposition: Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who has to take care of his family, wakes up late for work. He has to pay off debts for his family and his boss hates when he is late.

Rising Action: Gregor Samsa not only woke up late, but he transformed into a bug. Now he can't pay off his family's debts and is practically fired when his manager finds out what he is. Eventually all members of the family have to work and they become so poor that they have to rent out a room to three men.

Climax: When the boarders find out they've been living next to a bug the family wants to get rid of him and Gregor overhears this.

Falling Action/ Resolution: Gregor starves himself to death to stop the burden he places on his family.

The purpose of this novel was to explicate how work turn people into something easily controlled and their success or defeat is a result of what the boss decides.

 2. The theme of this novel is that as problems in life change or transform one's life in a way in which one is freed from the control of others, one returns to that control in search of meaning of one's life. Gregor was turned into a bug and became free of the habits that surrounded his daily life before the transformation. He had no job and he was able to see how at work he had become something that everyone stepped on. Almost as quickly as he had changed, did Gregor revert back to his old habits, he began worrying about work. He continued to let his family step on him and he became a bug on the inside and outside. While he believes he's in control, he still allows others to control him.

3. The author's tone is very solemn and dispassionate.

"He lay on his hard armor-like back and when he raised his head a little he saw his vaulted brown belly divided into sections by stiff arches from whose height the coverlet had already slipped and was about to slide off completely. His many legs were pathetically thin compared to the rest of his bulk, flickered helplessly before his eyes."

"But then things became much more difficult, especially since he was excessively wide. He would have needed arms and hands to prop himself up, instead of which he had only the many little legs that continually every which way and which he could not control at all."

"Frau Samsa and Grete bowed their heads to the letters as if to resume writing; Herr Samsa, who realized that she was eager to begin describing the details, cut her short with a definitive gesture of his hand. But since she could not tell her story, she remembered that she was in a great hurry, and, obviously insulted, she called out: 'so long, everyone,' then furiously whirled around and slammed out of the apartment with a terrific bang of the door."

4. Rhetorical Question- "What has happened to me?" p.7

Allegory- "As Gregor Samsa awoke from unsettling dreams one morning, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin." Gregor, his entire life, felt like someone who could easily be stepped on. p.7

Symbolism- "Gregor" in Austria is a very common name for a manservant. pp.7

Situational Irony- ""and now he also saw the head clerk, standing closest to the door, pressing his hand against his open mouth and backing away slowly as if repelled by an invisible and relentless force." p.16 Gregor had the power and failed to use it.

Simile- "The father drove Gregor back relentlessly, hissing like a savage." p.20

Allusion- "something that had been lightly tossed almost hit him, but landed next to him and rolled in front of him. It was an apple, and a second flew in his direction" Allusion to Adam and Eve. p.35

3rd person omniscient Point of View- "' What has happened to me?' he thought. It was no dream." p.7

metaphor- "Get up you old, dung beetle!" p.41

Euphemism- referred to as it by family members "you don't have to worry about the stuff next door...it's already been taken care of" p.54

stream of consciousness- "what a grueling profession I picked! Traveling day in, day out. It is much more aggravating work than the actual business done at my home office." p.7

 

Characterization

1. Direct-

" Above the desk on which a collection of fabric samples was unpacked and spread out--Samsa was a traveling salesman" p.7

""And yet the sister played so beautifully. Her face was tilted to one side and she followed the notes with soulfully and probing eyes low so that they might possibly meet hers. Was he a beast if music could move him so?" p.44

    Indirect-

"If I were not holding back because of my parents, I would have quit long ago. I would go up to the boss and tell him my heartfelt opinion. He would be knocked off the desk." p.16

"I've been invigorated by these few hours of rest. Don't let me keep you further, sir, I'll be in the office myself immediately. Please be good enough to tell them and convey my respects to the Chief." p. 14

The author uses both style of characterization so that the reader can get a sense of how Gregor feels about the situation, but he mainly relies on direct characterization to explain how society reacted to his changes and what that caused Gregor to do.

2. The beginning of the novel involved a little dialogue from Gregor, but most of the sentences were quick and to the point. The author relies on lengthy descriptions to create the impact the story has on persecution in society. This shows how Gregor becomes increasingly inhuman towards the family. Gregor starts with "What has happened to me?" to explicate how stunned he is from the transformation. "And yet the sister played so beautifully. Her face was tilted to one side and she followed the notes with soulfully and probing eyes low so that they might possibly meet hers. Was he a beast if music could move him so?" Towards the end of the novel Gregor begins to question his humanity through his private thoughts. The dialogue's diction is very simple, while the lengthy descriptions and thought of Gregor are relatively flowery.

3. The protagonist is a static character. Despite his transformation, he has a constant outlook on life where he has to do his work and support his family. He constantly wants to be accepted into his family and hopes that he will be valued but them once again. He goes from a state of no power to one where he has the power to change his life and go doing something as a bug, but chooses to stay in the comfort of his home.

The protagonist is a flat character that almost has an inverted growth experience. Gregor goes from being the financial provider in his family to nothing. Throughout the story, he meant nothing to his family as a salesman and as a vermin, but his family changes their views on him. He goes from having a little human existence to none. They forget to feed him and pay any attention to him. The sister refuses to believe that Gregor is a bug and finds him revolting. The family even begins to refer to him as "it"

4. "' Well, answered the charwoman, interrupting herself with a good natured chuckling, 'well you don't have to take care of the thing next door. It's already been taken care of.'" After reading the novel, I came back feeling like I had just met a person who had been debased into a vermin. Gregor was very spirited and lively in the beginning of the novel. He almost saw his transformation as a new beginning, but as the transformation took its toll on the family, he became undervalued. He became a burden and was not even seen as Gregor by his sister by the end of the novel. The family also began referring to him as "it" which shows how much they despised him. The charwoman who hated Gregor from the beginning portrayed him as a thing and a burden so that when he died, she lifted the burden from them.