Prepared by Abdelhamid A.

Abdelkader

Metamorphosis Notes
 Existentialism is the philosophical believe we are each
responsible for creating purpose or meaning in our own lives.
Our individual purpose and meaning are not given by Gods,
governments, teachers or other authorities.
 Regards human existence as unexplainable the philosophy of
existentialism feels unaware with society industrial one means,
one way of policy, taking your individual freedom away.
 The individuals have power to create their own purpose.
 Existential thought is a product of how modern system started
to think about the world.
 For the existentialist thinkers such us Friedrich Nietzsche,
there is no life after the death.
 All source of societal norms including religions forms are
unreliable.
 Alienation is one of post-industrial society.
 A novel that stands itself analysis under the umbrella of
existentialism.
 Existentialism is a way of seeing life of existence. That is why
Gregor doesn’t support or criticize the existentialism.
 Gregor under immediate threat by the pressure of post-
industrial society. The details of his work are very important.
For example, he wakes up at five morning o’clock, and he takes
his train to work. Built on this, Gregor disconnected his
environment. This what modernist world society does to is
subject (debases)
 Post-industrial society and its dehumanizing effect they are just
like COGS.
 Jean-Paul Sartre is considered one of the most existentialist
thinkers in the 20th century.
 Kafka’s life was full of reason to be or to feel inferior to others.
he felt unconnected to his religion. He was philosophically
 Prepared by Abdelhamid A.Abdelkader

weak, personality unsuccessful, failure in personal relationships

and so forth.
Alienation theme
 According to Jean-Paul Sartre, ‘’man is nothing else but what he
makes of himself’’. To illustrate, since we are not created, we
are not born with an essence or intrinsic individual nature.
Moreover, we simply discover that we exist, and we create
ourselves by our own choices.
 The Metamorphosis unfold human existential crisis in the world
 Freedom of choice, anxiety, and the absurd are also the themes
that are included in the novella.
 Gregor is a victim.
 Discomfort and discontent due to the possibility of working.
 Worry, bed(sleep), meals(food) all these burdens for the sake
of his family and father’s debt.
 The philosophy of work (any work) will either sustain a person’s
humanity or destroy it, a job is good when a person feeds
humanity while doing it.
 According to Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, family had no
value. So, the same happened in the story; Gregor he sees that
his family has no value after his transformation because they
couldn’t find a solution to his new life style.
 Gregor satisfaction serves somebody else’s existence. The
family likes the situation. So, Gregor suffering double alienation.
 Gregor was seen as bug before the transformation.
 Family fails to consider the possibilities of Gregor as an
individual.
 Gregor is thinking about the others and not himself even as a
bug.
 Dutifulness is further revealed through his own speech to his
boss.
 He is less concerned with his physical form than going to work.
 Prepared by Abdelhamid A.Abdelkader

 He was not a needed salesman, brother, or a member of

society.
 Gregor blaming himself for not being to support his family. So,
his inability to support his family drives him to feel guilt.
 He is in excruciating physical and emotional damage and pain.
 His disconnection is one the main elements of alienation.
 Metamorphosis is a metaphor to the alienation he already feels
going through.
 Magical realism is included in the novella by Franz Kafka.
 See the insect as real and react to it as it’s meant to be physical
change.
 Modern society is able to turn person into a bug. It is able to
turn person physically a bug.
 Repulsion and disgust are felt when he is observed.
 Growing determination of his sister to get rid of him.