The existentialist...thinks it very distressing that God does not exist, because all possibility of finding values in a heaven of ideas disappears along with Him; there can no longer be a priori of God, since there is no infinite and perfect consciousness to think it. Nowhere is it written that the Good exists, that we must be honest, that we must not lie; because the fact is that we are on a plane where there are only men. Dostoyevsky said, If God didn't exist, everything would be possible. That is the very starting point of existentialism. Indeed, everything is permissible if God does not exist, and as a result man is forlorn, because neither within him nor without does he find anything to cling to. --Jean Paul Sartre
How does Kafka portray the principles of the existentialist through his work, Metamorphosis? Use quotes and specific examples to support your beliefs.
In the existentialist philosophy, the individual must give himself his own identity. Life doesn't have a predetermined meaning; the only meaning in life is a self-made one. In a sense, that philosophy is reinforced by the idea that in the end, one is alone. Since Gregor is a roach, his family alienates him, as he desperately tries to communicate with them. By becoming a roach, Gregor still feels he has the same internal identity, but his family views him as being entirely different. At first, they see him as still being Gregor, but hideously transformed; however, towards the end, they see him as a completely separate being. This can be seen when his sister says, "'I refuse to pronounce my brother's name in front of this monstrosity...'" (Kafka 46). Gregor's identity is not set in stone; it's determined by certain circumstances and situation. Gregor has to reinvent his identity as is symbolized when he learns how to maneuver and the sister learns what to feed him. As Gregor attempts to learn how to be a roach and struggles with this task, "...he [finds] no way to bring peace and order to this random motion" (Kafka 10). That he can't find peace at this moment symbolizes the principle of chaos and despair. The existentialist principle of absurdity is definitely seen in the novella, as Gregor turns into a roach without any explanation. Another example is that the family at first accepts this without questioning him, while one would expect the family to initially at more harshly. Dostoyevsky said, "If God didn't exist, everything would be possible," and that is reflected with The Metamorphosis, since what happened to Gregor is not something that would be in sync with the traditional view of God's plan for the world.
ReplyDeleteJean Paul states in his definition of existentialism that man is forlorn with nothing to cling to and also that everything is possible because God does not exist. The existentialistic thought that everything is possible begins when Gregor wakes up to find himself in the form of a roach. After Gregor’s transformation, the lack of God’s influence on the family also becomes evident when they simply toss Gregor aside. The family lacks the morals that God would expect of people of loving everyone, especially a member of their own family. Instead, they are only concerned with their own well being, revealing their individualistic characteristics when Kafka states, “it was the commandment of the family duty to swallow their disgust and endure [Gregor], endure him and nothing more” (38). Since man is forlorn, the only thing he has to hold on to is himself, which Kafka reveals in The Metamorphosis.
ReplyDeleteAdam was put on Earth and later Eve, and man was thus created by God. It is said that the human being was created in God's image, but if God's image transforms into a roach; does God really exist? How could God be portrayed as such a foul creature in this book? Maybe it is as a means of acceptance, or maybe to show the human being was not created in God's image. Existentialism is portrayed in this book through the pretence that anything could happen without God in power. Something never heard of before happens to a man, Gregor, he is transformed into a roach. The family soon becomes disgusted with their son and brother once so fondly cared for and loved. So clearly seen when Kafka states, "You have to stop thinking that this is Gregor. Our true misfortune is that we've believed it so long" (47). With this quote the belief in God goes right along with Gregor to be passed as their own misfortune. For believing in something that they could not see or touch or feel as they used to be capable of; their belief goes. Portraying existentialism.
ReplyDeleteClayton Poffenberger
ReplyDeleteExistentialism focuses on the plight of the individual: his or her actions and the consequences that follow. This philosophy is skeptical about the powers of God and relies upon the fact that it is up to mortals to decide their own fate. The Metamorphosis is seen as an existentialist work because there can be no divine explanation for Gregor's transformation into a roach. However, it is possible that Gregor's transformation is only metaphorical and is just his opinion of himself. Early in the novella, Gregor thinks, "Well, I haven't given up hope completely; once I've gotten the money together to pay off my parents' debt to him-that will probably take another five or six years-I'm going to do it without fail" (Kafka 4). Kafka illustrates that Gregor's existence revolves around providing for his family, and now this is all he is worth to his parents. In my opinion, his transformation into a roach is just his perception of himself and his role in his family, as they no longer love him, just what he brings home. He sees himself as a roach: isolated and unloved. This ideal relates to the existentialist philosophy. God would not punish Gregor simply for wanting to give his family a better life. Existentialism states that as God does not exist, everything is possible. This is true because of the power granted to the individual and the human imagination, as demonstrated by Gregor deciding his own fate as a vermin.
ReplyDeleteKafka's central themes of isolation and disconnect/detachment from the everyday life of the world reverberate throughout The Metamorphosis. Through this work, he illustrates the futility of pursuing a sense self-identity and progression if there is no means to achieve a feeling of genuine self-worth. This feeling of self-worth and reliance on spirit and God is critical to life, but tragically absent in the world according to existentialists, as argued by Sartre in the prompt, "neither within him nor without does he find anything to cling to." Kafka uses Gregor's metamorphosis into a roach as a symbol of the end result of failing to acheive this level of purpose in life. He challenges that the beauty of human advancement loses all meaning under existentialist thought. Kafka documents the lack of meaning in Gregor's life prior to his metamorphosis, "Those had been happy times and they had never returned, at least not with the same brilliance, even though Gregor later earned enough to meet the expenses of the entire family and did so" (Kafka 26). This is what ultimately leads to what he determines is the demise of Gregor, "He was even more firmly convinced than his sister, if possible, that he should disappear" (Kafka 48). This is the skeleton of existentialism presented by Kafka in prose form.
ReplyDelete"Neither within him or without does he find anything to cling to." without God, without a divine reason of existence; Man needs a reason to do anything. He is a thinking and reasoning creature, and should be thought of as such. When Gregor undergoes his metamorphosis he loses his position in the world as an intelligent, thinking creature and becomes a vermin. His own sister comes to despise him saying , " you just have to try to get rid of the idea that it's Gregor." (Kafka 49) He is no longer seen as human and becomes useless. In the beginning he tries to overcome himself saying "Just don't stay in bed being useless" (Kafka 7), but he still can't bring himself to get up. Overnight he changed, his whole life was that of a downtrodden vermin and his appearance has come to reflect what was inside. He lost his whole reason for existing and near the end he imagines that once again, "... he would take charge of the family affairs" (Kafka 40), but his dreams come to naught and without a reason to exist he slowly wastes away.
ReplyDeleteThe morning Gregor wakes up as a roach, his whole life had changed. It opened his eyes to his responsibilities in life like taking care of his family financially and regularly based on his dehumanizing job. When Dostoyevsky says, "If God didn't exist, everything would be possible," this questions Kafka's beliefs in The Metamorphosis. Does God really exist? In the novel, God would not have created a human then changed him into a roach. When God first created humans he had a set map of the way things should be and dehumanizing a human being is not one of them. Gregor's metamorphosis alienates him from society including his family. His family does not except the new Gregor, however they begin to realize they have deal with it. At home, "he would stand guard at all the doors simultaneously, hissing at the attackers; the sister, however, would not be forcibly detained but would stay with him of her own free will" (Kafka 44). The sister would not except Gregor and his new outer shell at first, but realizes he is the same person on the inside. Kafka uses existentialism to show his beliefs that people are who they are, no matter who they become on the outside.
ReplyDeleteIrvin David Yalom, a doctor, author, and existentialist, broke the human existence down into four “givens”: inevitable death, freedom and its responsibility, isolation, and meaninglessness. These givens encompass all the problems we as humans can face. These sensible concerns of life are the basis of what existentialists, like Franz Kafka, believe to be the brick and mortar of everyday life. In their eyes, self fulfillment is the reason for life, and the unknown is the known way to enlightenment. Gregor’s transformation makes him more aware of himself and his family. Instead of his routine waking up and going to work to provide for his family, he is now faced with becoming a recluse because of his utter repulsion. In the eyes of his family he is no longer their son, “in accordance with family duty they were required to quell their aversion and tolerate him, but only tolerate.” (Kafka 37) The quote from John Paul Sartre is informative, but his stand on atheistic existentialism versus that from those believing theistic existentialism shows only one side of the spectrum. The fear of no God can also connect with the insecurities of self, while the theistic existentialist allow certain scripts like the bible reign power over their life, and do not doubt the existence of, but still fear God. I believe Kafka takes Metamorphosis to the next level of questioning, is there a God, and if so, why does he do some of the things he does?
ReplyDeleteA belief in god, whether founded or unfounded, gives man a basic connection to a higher power, and, consequently, to other humans. By not believing in god, existentialists cut off a fundamental link to the rest of the world, irreparably alienating themselves. They stress to find something to fill that void, and in that search see their insignificance. Gregor has lost touch with the real world. He exists only to serve his family. He travels often and has no roots, syncing with the lack of connection characteristic of existentialist works. Gregor becomes less of a person and more of a salary. Being transformed into a bug is only a physical symptom of the alienation that Gregor feels. Kafka writes, "Things had become superfluous, and though they certainly weren't salable, on the other hand they could not just be thrown out. All these things migrated to Gregor's room... Whatever was not being used at the moment was just flung into Gregor's room by the cleaning lady." similarly, Gregor has become useless to his family, and he is forgotten in his room and left to rot. The existentialist theme of alienation is well represented in Gregor's metamorphosis.
ReplyDeletePeople posting before me questioned why God would let a man become a cockroach if a God existed. Well in life there is good and evil, and if there is an after life or higher beings, does it make sense that there is an opposing force working against a benevolent God? i believe so. If a powerful benevolent God exist then there would also be a malign power working against it, creating Gregor's misfortune. Existentialism says that if a god did not exist then anything would be possible, is that neccesarily so? Who say's God can control anything in the first place. We, as human beings, are created with a mind, conscious, and reason, these three things allow us to make decisions based on our logic, we as humans create our destiny most of the time. Gregor, however, has no control over becoming a cockroach but i believe Kafka wants this to be taken figuratively. Gregor becomes isolated from his family because he was swallowed whole by his work and his daily routine. He lost track of the real world and his conscious ship sunk down to the bottom of the sea where he became a creature, without human qualities. Kafka is really asking why someone can become so caught up in materials and making people happy, such as Gregor's father, that they lose touch with who they are and lose happiness. He's asking why God would allow such horrifying things to occur. Does God allow these events to occur, these catastrophes to take place? or can he only give people the courage, strength, and wisdom to get through difficult times and the knowledge to prevent them.
ReplyDeleteGod is used as a crutch in modern life, if he does not exist, anything seems to be possible. This is the thought of the existentialist. As roaches are seemingly useless to the world, without god, humans are also useless-they have no one to guide them and nothing to live for. The existentialist's thoughts lead to a main theme of alienation in which Gregor does. Gregor thinks, "'How about going back to sleep for a few minutes and forgetting all this nonsense.'"(3)I feel that Gregor does not believe in God, and this allows him to transform into the vermin of the world - a roach. Kafka weaves the existentialist's theory into the Metamorphosis by paralleling Gregor's life and a cockroaches life. Each seem to be meaningless and a daily struggle.
ReplyDeleteGregor sees his family as a God figure and by becoming a roach, he ultimately loses his connection with his "God". Without this God figure to guide him in his tedious everyday life, he sees no point in living, and eventually dies. "When he heard his mother’s words, Gregor realized that the monotony of family life, combined with the fact that not a soul had addressed a word directly to him, must have addled his brain in the course of the past two months" (Kafka 33). This would be the outlook of an existentialist who loses his/her connection with God. The fact that Gregor is even able to turn into a roach in the first place is an existentialistic idea because this would never be possible if there was a God.
ReplyDelete@ Natalie -Existence is determined by "circumstances and situation" not in sync with God's "perceived plan" for the world.
ReplyDelete@Shane - existentialism is the antithesis to religion, man "needs to hold on to himself."
@Jeff - Philosophy does focus on the individual along with the consequences an individual may create. Excellent point about the metamorphical nature of the transformation.
@Brennan - Kafka does believe it is almost impossible to achieve self worth and purpose in life.
@Rachel - mankind definitely needs a "reason to exist".
@ Kevin - appreciated the discussion of the four "givens" of human existence. Also terrific rhetorical questions.
@Will - great rhetorical and philosophical questions!
@ Grant - Interesting point regarding Gregor's parents being a God figure.
Grant said “Gregor sees his family as a God
ReplyDeletefigure and by becoming a roach, he ultimately loses his connection with his "God.” But, The stress of daily routines has turned this “God” into a judgmental evil state. This can be shown through the cleaning woman. She is considered to be socially beneath Gregor and his family; however “This old widow, whose bony frame had enabled her to survive the worst a long life can offer, had no real horror of Gregor.” She has very little social value. She hs very little respect. She has higher morals. The old widow, by caring for Gregor, acts more “Godly” than Gregor’s righteous family. Switchfoot, a christian band, wrote “The Shadow proves the sunshine.” It is displayed in “Metamorphosis,” an existentialist novella, because the cleaning lady , “the shadow”,” is can be capable of godly actions.