Question

By the end of Part I, has Kafka made us root for Gregor? What literary techniques does Kafka employ to build sympathy for him? Cite specific passages to explain how Kafka elicits your response.

Answer 1

Answer:

Kafka has used literary devices such as extended metaphor, symbolism, etc to build sympathy in the hearts of the readers for Gregor.

Explanation:

'The Metamorphosis' is a novella written by Franza Kafka. The story centers around Gregor Samsa, a salesman, who is turned into a giant insect.

The readers are able to sympathise with Gregor from the very beginning when he woke up being transformed and unable to get up from his bed. By the end of Part 1, readers were able to able to sympathise with Gregor who was discarded by his own family, but by using several literary device Kafka made us root for Gregor.

For instance by using the extended metaphor in the beginning of the novella to describe the change that has happened in the body of Gregor. [Extended metaphor can be defined as a metaphor that's been explained in detail throughout the line or even a paragraph.]

'he discovered that in bed he had been  changed into a monstrous verminous bug. He lay on his armour-hard back and saw, as he lifted his head up a little, his   brown, arched abdomen divided up into rigid bow-like sections. From this height the blanket, just about ready to slide  off completely, could hardly stay in place. His numerous  legs, pitifully thin in comparison to the rest of his circumference, flickered helplessly before his eyes'

In these lines Kafka has used extended metaphor to explain the change that Gregor has gone through.

Another literary technique used by Kafka is symbolism. Symbolism is a literary device that is used to mean different from the literal meaning. The writer uses words such as of people, place, and-the-like to symbolize something beyond the literal meaning. In novella, Kafka has used 'window' that is in Gregor's room to symbolize Gregor's freedom. Gregor is kept in isolation by his family and he sees the outside world by sitting at the window, hoping for things to change back to normal.

'He undertook the very difficult task of shoving a chair over  to the window. Then he crept up on the window sill and,  braced in the chair, leaned against the window to look out,  obviously with some memory or other of the satisfaction  which that used to bring him in earlier times.'