A Pastiche continuing from Part I of Franz Kafkas Metamorphosis

Authors Avatar

Sean Okundaye

A Pastiche continuing from Part I of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis

Statement of intent:

The following passage is a scene between Grete and her father – her mother will not be in this scene. Her father is struggling to comprehend Gregor’s metamorphosis but is more concerned about how the family will survive monetarily whilst Grete quietly mourns her brother’s transformation.  My intention was to capture the boorishness of Gregor’s father which we see later on in the story when he flings an apple at Gregor, fatally wounding him. Gregor’s father is a somewhat defeated man due to the failure of his business and so, whilst his son works at a demoralising place with an unsatisfactory job, he lounges about. This may be due to his ill health but after Gregor’s transformation he does manage to regain his confidence and desire to work. This is partly represented by his “smart blue uniform with gold buttons” replacing his old overcoat. Indeed the gold buttons could be seen as a sign of his replenished sense of pride.

Grete has a good relationship with her brother and cared for him deeply, as seen early on in the text. Gregor is locked in the room and she asks him, “Oh Gregor?  Are you not well? Can I bring you anything?” Despite initially being fearful of the cockroach, she takes on the role of Gregor’s carer. Gregor believes that the reasons for Grete assisting him are a mixture of devotion, due to the memory of their relationship, and her youthfulness.  Grete flourishes as a person and displays her ability to take on the responsibility of dealing with a dilemma such as Gregor. This is unlike her parents who, in the text, seem incapable of dealing with the issue themselves. In the passage we also see Grete with her violin. This is a symbol of the strong relationship between Grete and her brother since he admires her music to the point where, as it states later on in the text, he wishes to send her to the Conservatorium. This seems to be the only way in which both Gregor and Grete rebel as, “their parents disliked even innocent references” to the Conservatorium.

Join now!

My aim is to capture Kafka’s use of simple and clear prose. The resonance of the declarative opening line, “When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself changed into a monstrous cockroach in his bed,” is perhaps the only startling or unexpected line in Metamorphosis and my pastiche has been written to continue with this lack of eventfulness. In the text speech is always followed by actions and so I have tried to emulate this narrative style of writing in my characterisation of Grete and her father. Kafka employs this style of writing through the use ...

This is a preview of the whole essay