Expressionism, Surrealism, Existentialism, and Freudianism in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis By Hannah Bondy, Christina Cho, Hannah No, and Deep Seal

Expressionism

What feelings do you get from this painting?

Fear? Paranoia? Disturbance? Disgust? In an entry in his literary diary on 22 January, 1892Munch described the painting as 22 January, 1892: "I was walking along the road with two friends. The sun was setting. I felt a breath of melancholy - Suddenly the sky turned blood-red. I stopped, and leaned against the railing, deathly tired - looking out across the flaming clouds that hung like blood and a sword over the blue-black fjord and town. My friends walked on - I stood there, trembling with fear. And I sensed a great, infinite scream pass through nature." Fear? Paranoia? Disturbance? Disgust? This painting shows the expressionist movement in art

What is Expressionism? Expressionism: a technique of distorting objects and events in order to represent them as they are perceived by a character in a literary work 1 - it relies on how one perceives it - adding an abstract aspect to a particular piece of literature to add depth to the story and the emotions conveyed The Metamorphosis expressionism: the transformation of Gregor Samsa into “an enormous bug.”

Images of the Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis – Was it merely a Physical Change? This transformation is ironical, since even though he has morphed physically, his life does not change emotionally. Prior to his metamorphosis, he worked as a salesman, and by his own admittance, he was dissatisfied with it with one of the reasons being that his interactions with the people involved were never cordial. Even after changing into a bug, he fails to convey his emotions or thoughts to members of his family, which is evident since his ideas were in contrast to his sister, Grete’s pertaining to removal of furniture from his room. This lack of communication in both circumstances, prior to and after his metamorphosis forms a central theme of the story. Kafka had also asked not to provide an image of the bug to supplement the text, since he felt it would reduce the impact of the text. Therefore, rather than emphasizing on the mechanism of his “metamorphosis,” Kafka uses it as a connotation for his imprisoned life.

The Distortion of Reality A vital trait of Expressionism is the distortion of reality. Gregor’s metamorphosis was a deformation of his identity as a human, which was his reality. The entire aspect of a human transforming into a bug is extremely abstract, and to fathom Gregor’s feelings, attaching an emotional perception to the text is extremely vital.

The Clash between Authority and the Individual The conflict between the individual and authority also forms a key aspect of Expressionism. Gregor and Kafka had similar life experiences The conflict between the individual and authority also forms a key aspect of Expressionism. The novella describes the strenuous relationship between Gregor and his father, who went to the extent of fatally attacking his son. This was a reflection of Kafka’s own life since the bond he shared with his father lacked depth or understanding. This not only suggests that Gregor’s life was a reflection of Kafka’s own life, but also the central role of emotions in the whole story. Kafka delves into the psyche and emotions of Gregor and how he adjusts to them, without inclusion of any other superfluous details.

Surrealism

The Background… Subsequent to Dadaism and basing on the theories of Sigmund Freud Surrealism started in France in the 1920s.

The Philosophy… This was the style of literature and art that visualized sub-consciousness and fantasy. These visions were inspired from dreams and nightmares. Feature elements of surprise and juxtaposition of images that would usually not go together. (non sequitur)

The Metamorphosis & Kafka The Metamorphosis is a reflection upon Franz Kafka’s life. His father was the one who would make him feel as if he was making something out of himself. Although his passion was in journalism, his father wanted him to become a lawyer with a wide range of job possibilities and financial benefits. Kafka felt trapped and lived in guilt for continuing his work as a journalist until his death.

The Metamorphosis Gregor was the one who supported his family as a reluctant traveling salesman. After the metamorphosis: His parents did not work, and his sister, Grete had to sacrifice her studies to support the family. Isolation: Under large furniture he hid and his true human identity was buried inside the shell of a bug. Even his family could not bear to face him.

Gregor’s father and the apples thrown, one penetrated Gregor’s father and the apples thrown, one penetrated. Kafka’s conflict with his father and the insults he had to deal with; he felt as vulnerable and worthless as Gregor. The image of a person turning into a bug (possibly a cockroach) is a surreal image of isolationism, vulnerability, and inferiority.

Existentialism

Believes that everyone is responsible to determine their own life’s purpose and meaning. A person who tries to find meaning in his or her life by accepting existence is an existentialist. Existentialists make decisions based on things that have meaning to them and only them, ignoring the “rational” Meaning is not given to humans by nature, but it is actually created by the individual, by their actions and interpretations.

How existentialism relates to Franz Kafka’s novella “The Metamorphosis” Gregor wakes up one morning and realizes that he turned into a bug. What Franz Kafka was symbolizing in this situation is that a individual makes him/herself a certain way by how they think and believe about themselves. Gregor probably felt like a bug because he felt that his life was insignificant and he was probably in the nadir of his lifetime, and THAT probably made him into a bug.

Freudianism

Rationality. -Freud's model of the mind drastically reduced the scope and power of reason. In Freud's view, reasoning occurs in the conscious mind, but this is only a small part of the whole. -The mind also contains the hidden, irrational elements, which lie outside of conscious control, drive behaviour, and motivate conscious activities. -These structures call into question humans' ability to act purely on the basis of reason, since lurking motives are also always at play.

Transparency of Self. Another common assumption in pre-Freudian philosophy was that people have immediate and unproblematic access to themselves. Emblematic of this position is René Descartes' “I think, therefore I am". - central aspects of a person remain radically inaccessible to the conscious mind (without the aid of psychotherapy), which undermines the once unquestionable status of first-person knowledge.

Freudianism in the Metamorphosis According to Freud’s ideas, Gregor’s turning into a giant bug was a result of his mind, but he did not know it.

Works Cited Expressionism: 1= www.dictionary.com Freudianism: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud Surrealism: www.newhorizonsgallery.com/terms.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrealism