Gregor as Symbol of the Jewish Race in Franz Kafka’s...

Gregor as Symbol of the Jewish Race in Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis For thousands of years, the Jewish People have endured negative stereotypes such as the insects of humanity. As Sander Gilman pointed out, the Nazi Party labeled Jews as insects like lice and cockroaches, that generate general disgust among all humanity (Gilman 80).1 These derogative stereotypes, although championed by the Nazis, have their origins many centuries earlier and have appeared throughout Western culture for thousands of years. This fierce anti-Semitism specifically surfaced in Europe’s large cities in the early twentieth century, partially in conjunction with the growing tide of nationalism, patriotism, and xenophobia that sparked the First World†¦show more content†¦The Metamorphosis begins the task of summarizing the popular anti-Semitic beliefs of early twentieth-century Europeans by clearly establishing the story’s protagonist, Gregor Samsa, as a symbol of the Jews. The story opens with Gregor awaking from sleep and finding himself transformed . . . into a gigantic insect (Kafka 67).2 This disturbing image of the insect is a clear connection to representations of the Jews as bugs and vermin. Gregor calmly views his transformation as a natural occurrence. He does not become surprised or scared at his metamorphosis but calmly accepts it, as if he had always been an insect. Symbolically, Gregor is accepting his Jewishness as a completely natural state of being and is neither ashamed nor afraid of its consequences. Another indication that Gregor represents the Jews is the meaning of his name. Samsa comes from the Czech word sà ¡m, meaning oneself,and Gregor most likely is a version of Gregory, which comes from the Latin word which means of the flock (Robertson 80).3 By combining these two names, one gets the full meaning: one of the flock. The flock could very possibly refer to the flock of God, in other words, the Chosen People—the Jews. After establishing Gregor as a symbol of the Jews, the story proceeds to discuss his role (and symbolically, therefore, the Jews’ role) in European society. Gregor’s life, prior to his transformation (which does not necessarily mean prior to his beingShow MoreRelatedExploration of the Common Ground Occupied by the Metamorphosis and the Wasp Factory.996 Words   |  4 PagesMetamorphosis by Franz Kafka explores the troubles of a young man named Gregor. The Wasp Factory explores the troubles of a young man named Frank. In Metamorphosis, the protagonist in the story is Gregor Samsa. He is a travelling salesman who awakes one morning to discover he has turned into an insect. It seems that Gregors only use purpose in life is to work and support his family; this seems his own concern when he finds himself as an insect. The next train went at seven oclock; to catchRead MoreAnalysis Of Franz Kafka s The Metamorphosis 3979 Words   |  16 PagesAustin Day Professor Imali Abala English 357 18 February 2015 The Theme of Alienation in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis The Metamorphosis written by Franz Kafka in 1915 is said to be one of the greatest literary works of all time and is seen as one of Kafka’s best and most popular works of literature. A relatively short novel; the story explains how the protagonist, Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a vermin which completely estranges him from the world even more