Question

How does Kafka’s use of absurdity relate to the social critique found in "The Metamorphosis"? How is "The Metamorphosis" an existentialist text? Your answer should be at least 150 words.

Answer 1

Kafka criticises the emptiness and meaningless aspects of life. In " The Metamorphosis" ,Gregor 's lifestyle is too boring since all he does is to work to support his family. This absurdity , which means that people's ordinary life is shallow, is represented by the insect. Gregor becomes an insect and no one in the story seems to be surprised.  Therefore, people's feelings do not exist since Grgor's family tries to adapt and live with the insect. Life is a matter of having money to live and people have to accept the production or financial structure to survive. Besides, " The Metamorphosis" is an existentialist text because it shows the way human beings  are thrown into a  world they have not chosen and if they want to change  their fate, this change will depend on them. Gregor has not chosen to become an insect ,but he has not chosen to work all day long to support his family and not to have time for love or pleasure,either. However, when he is an insect, he can have some fun looking at pictures or listening to music.

Answer 2

The use of absurdity in Kafka's work expresses his inconformity with the absurdity of society. He explored the transformation of the individual by using an allegory--the transformation into an inscet--that also expressed a person's worthiness to society. The absurdity of the situation also relates to Kafka's existentialist ideas. In existentialism, there is no "meaning" behind anything. Existence is, in itself, absurd.

Existentialism refers to the philosophy dealing with the man's alonness in the universe--the idea that only the individual is responsible for himself. That either there is no God, or God has nothing to do with people's lives. At the same time, the fact that there is nothing beyond ourselves and our decisions means that there is no meaning; people need each other to give their lives meaning. In Metamorphosis, Kafka illustrates that by showing that the character cannot live in isolation and eventually dies. Being alone somehow "dehumanized" him.

Another existential idea relates to the unfairness of the meaninglessness of life. That we do not really have control, and things happen by chance. There is no order. Kafka also expresses that in this short story by showing the complete lack of control the character had over his metamorphosis. He could not help it as much as he could not prevent his death.