Franz Kafka (1883- 1924)

• Influenced existentialism• Explored the themes and

archetypes of alienation, physical and psychological brutality, parent–child conflict, characters on a terrifying quest, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mystical transformations

• born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

• a lawyer• employed by an insurance

company• had a complicated and

troubled relationship with his father that had a major effect on his writing

• suffered conflict over being Jewish

• shy avid reader

The family name: Kafka (kavka = jackdaw (Czech)

• Herman Kafka, the father, was a travelling sales representative and then a fancy clothing retailer

• He used the image of a jackdaw as his business logo

• a "huge, selfish, overbearing businessman“ (Stanley Corngold, biographer)

The Metamorphosis – autobiographical undertones

• Difficulties living in a modern society• Struggle for acceptance of others• Painful father-son relationship (overbearing father,

physical and emotional abuse, neglect, condescending attitude)

• Disapproval of Franz’s writing• Progressive deterioration of Gregor (losing sight, pain)• Images of death, disguised and elaborated through

literature

Excerpt 1 analysis (p. 11)o The mysterious transformation (reduced

from a human to a bug)o Gregor’s room/lifestyleo Settingo Social conditioning and a sudden feeling of

being out of whack due to the transformationo Autobiographical undertones o Preoccupation with health (pain, chills,

itching)

Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)

Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943)

Applied to Gregor

• “People must have their sleep” (12)

• “First he wanted to get up in peace and unmolested, get dressed and, especially, have breakfast, and only then give the matter further thought” (13)

Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)

Sigmund Freud’s model of personality structure

Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)

Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)

Freud’s tripartite structure of personality

How does it apply to Gregor?• Id• Super-ego• Ego

Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 16-17): the mother figure (mother, sister)

• Protective• Worried over Gregor’s

life of seclusion• Sure of her son’s

decency (16)

Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 16-19): the father figure = authority (father, chief clerk):

manifestation of authority – threats - blackmailing• “we business people […]

very often simply have to overcome a slight indisposition out of regard for the business” (17)

• “what’s going on? You’re barricading yourself in your room […] neglecting your business duties in a truly unheard-of fashion” (17)

Displacement is an unconscious defense mechanism whereby the mind substitutes either a new aim or a new object for goals felt in their

original form to be dangerous or unacceptable.

Gregor’s subconscious destructive impulses directed at his father translate into his dreaming about his own deterioration.

THEMES• seclusion, alienation• personal and job insecurity• struggle for acceptance• futility of life• parent-child relationship• refusal to live an imposed lifestyle• awareness• gender differences

What kind of hero is Gregor?

• Is he an anti-hero? He does not possess any heroic virtues and qualities.

• In what way is he different from Achilles?• What does such a shift in the perception of

the hero mean?