Existential Framework – look for these in The Metamorphosis
• Existence Precedes Essence (we create our own essence through free choice)
• The Look (seeing ourselves through someone else’s eyes – can be restrictive)
• Beyond Good and Evil (morality isn’t predetermined, it is relative)
• Existential Angst (internal conflict experienced by every conscious individual due to the fact that the world is not a rational place)
• Difficulties of Communication (prime source of Existential angst. Communication always involves struggle, and there is no pure communication)
• Irrational World (the notion that at any moment, everything could change – there are no givens in life, no absolute truths)
• The Grotesque, Absurd, Bizarre – (reaction against Romanticism - presenting the ugly and distorted rather than the beautiful and commodified – a useful vehicle for social commentary)
• Style- Existentialist style is a literary movement away from romanticism and towards realism; away from flourish and detail, toward a more pragmatic, legalistic language. Language is plain and efficient. All judgement is left to the reader.
Characters:
Round Characters are characters who are multi-dimensional and are usually the protagonist.
Flat Characters are characters who are one sided and less developed.
Dynamic Characters are characters who go through a significant change during the course of the story.
Static Characters are characters who do not change in the story. They remain stable through the course of the story.
Naif: a naive character. How does Gregor’s naïveté contribute or interfere with his Existential quest?
Confidant: Grete, at the outset of the story, is presented as Gregor’s confidant. He longs for her as the one who understands him, the one who will not turn her back on him, yet ultimately, she does.
Anti-Hero: a character who is the opposite of the typical hero. Is Gregor an anti-hero?
Literary Devices – Dramatic Structure:
Anagnorisis – a moment in a play or literary work when a character makes a critical discovery. Originally meant “recognition” – the hero’s sudden awareness of a real situation, which often helps the character to change their lot.
Climax – the decisive moment in a novel or play.
Denouement – the final resolution of the main complication of a literary or dramatic work.
Exposition – provides background to characters, events, etc.
In Media Res – the notion of beginning a tale in the middle of the action.
Reflection – when a character looks at their faults and makes a turn-around.
Literary conventions useful for interpreting The Metamorphosis:
Objective Correlative: That which happens on the outside correlates or reflects that which is happening on the inside. How does Gregor’s mental state correlate with changes in his body throughout the text?
Dystopia: Opposite of Utopia; a society in which life is miserable. How does Kafka present the world in this light?
Black Humor: a form of comedy that comes from the pathetic absurdity of human suffering and human existence. What makes this story humorous?
Microcosm: A world within a world. What might Gregor’s bedroom represent? The dining room? What might the boarders represent?
Motifs found in The Metamorphosis:
· Self-Determination and Escapism;
· Alienation and Communication;
· Guilt and Family Obligation;
· Impact of social roles and obligations on human relationships.
More literary terms:
Tone – the attitude that the writer takes on a situation or character, can be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, satirical, etc. Tone is what gives flavor to a piece of literature, and is created by word choice, syntax, imagery, etc.
Irony – incongruity between what is expected and what occurs.
Dramatic irony – meaning is understood by audience but not characters.
Cosmic irony - the idea that fate, destiny, or a god controls and toys with human hopes and expectations; also, the belief that the universe is so large and man is so small that the universe is indifferent to the plight of man
Antithesis - opposition, or contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction.
Parallelism - Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses
Symbolism - used to provide meaning to the writing beyond what is actually being described
Symbols found in the novella:
The apple
The hospital
Blindness, nearsightedness
Music
The lodgers
The charwoman
Marriage
Doors to Gregor’s room
Rooms of the house
The number three
One more term:
Kafkaesque: characterized by surreal distortion and a sense of impending danger…OR… marked by a senseless, disorienting, often menacing complexity. The term's meaning has transcended the literary realm to apply to real-life occurrences and situations that are incomprehensibly complex, bizarre, or illogical.