The Metamorphosis(Illustrated) E-Book

Franz kafka

• Herausgeber: Swish
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

• Illustrated Edition with 20 Stunning Illustrations
• Includes a Comprehensive Summary
• Features a Detailed Character List
• Contains an Author Biography of Franz Kafka

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a timeless and haunting novella that explores the surreal and deeply emotional transformation of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who wakes up one morning to discover he has turned into a giant insect. As Gregor struggles to adapt to his horrifying new existence, he is slowly alienated from his family, whose love and support turn to fear and resentment.
This illustrated edition brings Kafka’s dark, existential tale to life with 20 vivid illustrations that capture the intensity of Gregor's physical transformation and his emotional descent into isolation. The book also includes a detailed summary, an insightful character list, and a biography of Kafka, providing a rich and immersive reading experience.
Whether you’re encountering The Metamorphosis for the first time or revisiting it, this edition offers a fresh, visually engaging perspective on Kafka’s masterpiece, making it an essential addition to any literary collection.







 

Leseprobe

                                The Metamorphosis                                                                                            By                                                                                                  Franz kafka

ABOUT KAFKA

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian writer, born in Prague, whose work explores themes of alienation, absurdity, and existential anxiety. Kafka’s novels and short stories often depict individuals caught in incomprehensible, oppressive situations, reflecting his own feelings of isolation and powerlessness, stemming in part from his complicated relationship with his domineering father and his Jewish heritage in a predominantly Catholic society.

Although Kafka worked as a legal clerk for an insurance company by day, writing was his true passion. His best-known works, such as The Metamorphosis, The Trial, and The Castle, were largely unpublished during his lifetime, and he instructed his friend and literary executor, Max Brod, to destroy his manuscripts after his death. Brod, however, defied Kafka’s wishes and published them, securing Kafka’s legacy as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Kafka’s sparse, surreal style and exploration of existential dread have left an indelible mark on modern literature, and the term "Kafkaesque" has become synonymous with situations marked by illogical complexity and helplessness in the face of an uncaring bureaucracy.

SUMMARY

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a surreal and haunting novella that tells the story of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect. As Gregor grapples with his shocking physical change, his life unravels. His once close-knit family becomes increasingly distant and repelled by his grotesque appearance, leaving him isolated in his room.

Through Gregor’s transformation, Kafka explores themes of alienation, identity, and the human condition, highlighting the crushing weight of societal and familial expectations. As Gregor’s physical state deteriorates, so does his humanity, reflecting the fragile nature of existence and the emotional toll of being rejected by those we love.

The Metamorphosis is a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of human isolation and the search for meaning in an indifferent world, resonating with readers through its dark yet deeply emotional portrayal of a man’s tragic fate.

CHARACTERS LIST

Gregor Samsa –The protagonist, a traveling salesman who wakes up one day transformed into a giant insect. Gregor's transformation leads to his physical isolation and emotional estrangement from his family. He symbolizes the struggle with identity, alienation, and the pressures of work.

Grete Samsa –Gregor’s younger sister, who initially cares for him after his transformation but gradually grows resentful. Grete undergoes a significant change herself, transforming from a compassionate sibling into someone who sees Gregor as a burden.

Mr. Samsa (Gregor’s Father) –Gregor’s authoritarian father, who is initially shocked by his son’s transformation but soon becomes hostile. He represents the oppressive forces of authority and the alienation Gregor feels within his own family.

Mrs. Samsa (Gregor’s Mother) –Gregor’s fragile and emotional mother, who is torn between her love for her son and her fear of his transformed state. She struggles to reconcile her maternal instincts with her horror at Gregor’s appearance.

The Charwoman –A cleaning lady hired by the Samsa family after Gregor’s transformation. Unlike the family, she treats Gregor with a matter-of-fact attitude, occasionally taunting him but ultimately being indifferent to his suffering.

The Chief Clerk –Gregor’s boss, who arrives at the Samsa household to inquire about Gregor’s absence from work. He symbolizes the oppressive, dehumanizing forces of the capitalist system that Gregor is trapped in.

These characters collectively contribute to the themes of isolation, dehumanization, and the breakdown of family relationships that permeate The Metamorphosis.

Contents

Part I

Part II

Part III

Part I

One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, 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.

“What’s happened to me,” he thought. It was no dream. His room, a proper room for a human being, only somewhat too small, lay quietly between the four well-known walls. Above the table, on which an unpacked collection of sample cloth goods was spread out (Samsa was a traveling salesman) hung the picture which he had cut out of an illustrated magazine a little while ago and set in a pretty gilt frame. It was a picture of a woman with a fur hat and a fur boa. She sat erect there, lifting up in the direction of the viewer a solid fur muff into which her entire forearm disappeared.

Gregor’s glance then turned to the window. The dreary weather (the rain drops were falling audibly down on the metal window ledge) made him quite melancholy. “Why don’t I keep sleeping for a little while longer and forget all this foolishness,” he thought. But this was entirely impractical, for he was used to sleeping on his right side, and in his present state he couldn’t get himself into this position. No matter how hard he threw himself onto his right side, he always rolled again onto his back. He must have tried it a hundred times, closing his eyes, so that he would not have to see the wriggling legs, and gave up only when he began to feel a light, dull pain in his side which he had never felt before.

“O God,” he thought, “what a demanding job I’ve chosen! Day in, day out on the road. The stresses of trade are much greater than the work going on at head office, and, in addition to that, I have to deal with the problems of traveling, the worries about train connections, irregular bad food, temporary and constantly changing human relationships which never come from the heart. To hell with it all!” He felt a slight itching on the top of his abdomen. He slowly pushed himself on his back closer to the bed post so that he could lift his head more easily, found the itchy part, which was entirely covered with small white spots (he did not know what to make of them), and wanted to feel the place with a leg. But he retracted it immediately, for the contact felt like a cold shower all over him.