Symbolism In The Metamorphosis

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Reading literary modernism may be very perplexing at first. However, by analyzing the symbolism in a piece of modernist literature, one can enhance his understanding about the story and have an insightful comprehension of the story. In the novel, The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka delineates a multitude of symbolism that enhances the reader's apprehension of the novela. By scrutinizing the symbolism in The Metamorphosis one can strengthen his understanding of the novela. Franz Kafka grew up in a very religious part of Prague that influenced his writing heavily. Within the story there are many biblical symbolism like Gregor’s death symbolizing a sacrificial lamb. When Mr.Samsa exclaims “Now we can thank God!” after the cleaning lady confirmed …show more content…
First of all, Mr. Samsa’s “smart blue uniform with gold buttons,”(Kafka 28) delineates symbolism. The uniform the father wears for his job symbolizes the father’s dignity, as well as Gregor’s shifting feelings of pity and respect for him. Throughout the story, the reader sees the father primarily from Gregor’s point of view. An individual learns about the failure of the father’s business, for example, from Gregor’s thoughts as he overhears the father explaining the family’s financial situation, and through Gregor the reader gains a picture of the father as a shiftless and depressed man whom Gregor appears to feel sorry for but not necessarily respect. But when Gregor runs out of his room in Part 2 and sees the father for the first time in weeks, Gregor’s opinion of the father changes. This shift is most evident through Gregor’s description of the father’s uniform, which gives the father an air of dignity: Gregor notices the “smart blue uniform with gold buttons,” and thinks the father looks to be “in fine shape,”(29) suggesting the father’s self-respect has been restored, and with it Gregor’s respect for him. Gregor wanted to send Grete to a conservatorium in the beginning of the novel because her “sister played so beautifully”(Kafka 10). Grete's violin, like the print of the lady with the muff, is one of the story's few objects of beauty.Gregor's deepest desire before his transformation was to pay for Grete to study violin at the Conservatorium. The violin symbolizes their loving bond and shows Gregor's altruistic, sympathetic character. Yet the violin also leads to Gregor's biggest mistake, the night before his death. While Grete plays for the lodgers, Gregor gets so excited and hopeful that he crawls too close. The others misread his gesture as threatening, and his intentions completely fail—though he wanted
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