Modernism in The Metamorphosis

modernism in The transfigurationThe scientific and industrial rotary motion that affected Europe and the rest of the world in the nineteenth nose basindy was further developed with the arrival of the twentieth carbon. This century was marked with meaningful progress in sectors such as the sciences, philosophy, social theory, and the arts. However no other field has in my opinion charmn such drastic changes as the literary field. Breaking away from literary movements of the other centuries such as romanticism or realism, authors of the modernism borrow from new ideas in anthropology, psychology, philosophy, semipolitical theory, psychoanalysis, and physics to create their wagers. In this essay we will study the force of any of the above fields in creating a sense of disillusionment, fragmentation, or isolation in the particular work of Kafka c whollyed The metamorphosis.The metamorphosis, as mentioned above, is a work of fiction written by Franz Kafka. After reading this s tory I can easily see wherefore it has become so popular. non all is it a great story, but it also stands out beca workout of it use of philosophy and psychology as a way to explain veritable human behaviors. The most of intelligible concept that forged Kafka in writing The Metamorphosis is Existentialism.Existentialism is a theory that became very popular during the nineteenth century and that asserts that any given choice will govern the later frame of a persons emotional state, and that the person has ultimate will over making choices. In the case of Kafka story, this translates first into solitude and alienation.The isolation and despondency that Gregor experienced is obvious from the start. From the very first sentence of the story we notice this solitude. Gregor is lying on his bed in a shape of a gigantic plant louse and there is nobody around to help him. This theme of isolation is even off more(prenominal) evince in the rest of the story as we see that Gregor c ant depend on anyone for support. He locks himself in his room when he is at home or on the road for business and doesnt go out to meet people. He doesnt feel a girlfriend nor does he has friends to rely on in times of need. Instead he insulate himself from society.Another example of this alienation becomes apparent in his relationship with his family. Although he doesnt realize it, his relationship with them is not very good. By cosmos the breadwinner of the family, Gregor leaves no room for his father to be the provider and the responsible one. At the equivalent time he is trying to save money so he can send his sister to a conservatory where she can nobble violin but fails to discuss that idea with her. In his mind he think that the family is proud and happy with him, however the reality is different and the only thing he accomplishes is to alienate himself from them. Even though he takes wield of them, they are still unhappy with him.Furthermore, the theme of isolation an d alienation is present with the metaphor of the insect. I think that the reason why Kafka transform his chief(prenominal) character into a this bug is to show us how helpless Gregor feels. His life as an insect is no different than his life as a human. Trying to communicate with his family as an insect is impossible and frustrating because all they hear are bug noises that scare them. They dont want him around because his appearance is shameful and they dont want to take care of him as he becomes more and more a liability to them. Throughout the whole story, Gregor is a terra incognita to everybody. His contact with society is minimal, and his alienation from his family becomes total with his transformation as an insect.The influence of existentialism on Kafkas metamorphosis doesnt only stop to the concept of alienation. The Metamorphosis is also intimately disillusionment. Besides being isolated, Gregor starts viewing the life as somehow absurd and futile. He cant seem to unde rstand why things wish this happen to a good human being like him. All he is trying to do is to make his family happy. He whole shebang at a job that he despises so that he can support his family that is having hard times. We can quote him saying If I didnt have my parents to think about Id have given in my notice a long time ago, Id have gone up to the boss and told him fair(a) what I think, tell him everything I would, let him know just what I feel. Despite all this good he is doing, the tragedy of the metamorphosis befalls him and his family abandons him.As time passes by, Gregors disillusion grows bigger. His body falls into a state of despair due to abuse neglect and sickness. He carried threads, hairs, and remains of food about on his back and sides. He spent his days fantasizing about being normal and wondering why this was happening to him. One thing that genuinely shows the influence of the Existentialist philosophy on Kafka is that he doesnt want us to feel bad for Gre gor. Instead, the impression I get from reading this is that Kafka wants Gregor to let a meaning to his life even though he is in a bad situation. He should have stopped being blue because of his family and his job and started living life for him first. If we follow Kafkas reasoning, we can assume that Gregors expiration is due more to the circumstance that he was disillusioned and depressed than to the fact that his physical health was deteriorating.To sum up, one can say that the Modernism movement brought forth new ideas to the world of lit and the Metamorphosis is a good example of that. As the world around them was evolving, author like Kafka and Camus looked for other sciences for inspiration and to explain some of the human behaviors. Existentialism provided them with a mean to convey their feelings, especially in regards to isolation, alienation, and the meaning of life in general. Nowadays, because of the quality of their works, they became household names not only in li terature but also in other fields such as psychology.