After reading Kafka's Letters to Father, write a response that shows your understanding of Franz's relationship with his father Hermann. Be sure to comment on a specific quote from the Letters or show a connection between The Metamorphosis and Letters to Father. The questions posted are only here to get you started in case you get stuck. Do not feel as though you have to be boxed in by these. If there is something interesting that struck you while reading, feel free to respond to that. In addition, if you read a previous post and wish to build on that go right ahead. If you do so, just be sure to provide your own connection or quote.
1. Before Gregor dies at the end of The Metamorphosis we get the sense that he is tired of dealing with his family and just wants it all to be over. Do you think Franz Kafka felt similar exhaustion with his own father? Explain.
2. Kafka explains how evidently most of his feelings were influenced by his father's behavior and relationship with him. However, to some degree Franz Kafka is to blame for his own emotions and actions. To what degree is his father to blame? To what degree is F.Kafka to blame?
3. How does Franz's childhood memory of whimpering for water at night and not getting any compare to the different levels of starvation (literally and symbolically) Gregor goes through in Part III of the novella?
Franz Kafka feelings were deeply influenced by his father. In his letter it is clear that his dad was a very strict and mean person. One night when Kafka was whining for water, his dad took him and let him stay outside on the balcony for a period of time. It is also clear that his dad does not like to hear complaints and yet he complains alot himself. He also makes rules that everyone is to obey but he doesnt. In the letter, Kafka explains that no one is allowed to complain about the food that is served but his dad often complains about the quality of the food. Kafka also writes that no one is to do anything else on the dinner table but eat. But his dad sharpens pencils, cuts his toenails and uses a toothpick to clean his ears. in the novella, Kafka expresses the abuse from his father when Gregor's dad throws apples at him and nearly kills him. In the letter kafka mentions that he still remembers the vivid memories of his dad chasing him and/or his brother/sister around the table and only to be stopped by their mom. A scene parallel to this in the novella is when Gregor's dad nearly kills Gregor by throwing apples at him but only to be saved by his mom when she begs for his life. Franz Kafka's feeling/emotions towards his father is reflected through his writings, especially The Metamorphosis. -Adriana Resurreccion
ReplyDeleteFranz Kafka and his father, Hermann, were polar opposites of each other. On one hand, you have Franz, a philosophical, emotional, and intelligent man, and Hermann, the snobbish, hypocritical, yet at the same time, nurturing father. Whatever Franz did was never good enough for his father, and in fact, even though his father cared deeply about his son, was never able to respond to him in a civilized manner. This quote shows the affection that Hermann truly felt but could never express toward his son "-or when, during my last illness, you came tiptoeing to Ottla's room to see me, stopping in the doorway, craning your neck to see me, and out of consideration only waved to me with your hand. At such times one would lie back and weep for happiness, and one weeps again now, writing it down." I genuinely feel if Franz and his father had never once spoke to each other, their relationship could have been saved. But since that did not occur, and tough love was all Franz was ever given from him, Franz was never capable of recovering. it got to the point where Franz's love life was controlled by his horrific past. He later developed social disorders and diseases which he blamed somewhat on his upbringing. While Franz realizes that his father did not do these acts unintentionally, he still wished his father could have shown more empathy, be more open towards his son's decisions and his beliefs. After all, what son does not wish for approval from the man held in highest regards in one's life? Some of these strained relationships were often portrayed in his writing, including 'The Metamorphosis," when Gregor's father had shoved Gregor into his room with his cane right after his transformation. Franz had a difficult, strained relationship with his father which, contrary to the usual actions of Kafka and his father, was unintentional but could not be helped. - James Williams
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Franz Kafka's "Letters to His Father", it can be understood that much of Kafka's life was mirrored in "The Metamorphosis". Franz felt a sense of guilt he carried all throughout his life, for various reasons. He felt guilty because his father had acted so rude towards his employees. He felt as though he had to pick up the pieces for his father. This bad feeling towards the family business stayed with him throughout Franz's life and stopped him from pursuing a potentially successful career in that field. Similarly, in "The Metamorphosis", Gregor felt as though he had to take care of his parent's indiscretions (i.e. their debt). He used this as an excuse why he couldn't do what he wanted in life.This guilt held both Kafka and Samsa back from moving forward. Another guilt that plagued Franz throughout his life was his guilt for trying to escape his father's grasp. His attempted marriage to Felice Bauer is an example at how he wanted to be free of his father. If he were married, then he would never have to answer to his father again. A more literal example of trying to escape is in "The Metamorphosis", when Gregor attempts to evade the apples his father is throwing at him. Through these similarities, you can see that no matter how Franz tried to escape, he just couldn't find a way out, leaving him feeling worse than before. Since these comparisons are so evident to us, it is clear that all that Franz Kafka felt and experienced in life was expressed through his writing.
ReplyDelete-Victoria Klein
Kafka's life has been altered due to his father's treatment of him as a child. For many reasons Kafka had had problems with communicating with Hermann and trying to discuss his true feelings, hence the letter he wrote which was never delivered. Similar to in "The Metamorphosis", Gregor is nailed to the spot as his father is pelting apples at him, not knowing what to do nor how to do it. The reason why Kafka restrains from dealing with his father head-on is because there would also be a point in time in which Hermann would act more like a good father, as Kafka cherished greatly while it lasted. However, other than that Hermann is seemingly abusive and "negligent" of Kafka's feelings, as shown by this quote from Kafka's letter: "Your extremely effective rhetorical methods in bringing me up, which never failed to work with me, were: abuse, threats, irony, spiteful laughter, and—oddly enough—self-pity." The section in the quote that says, "Which never failed to work with me" strikingly correlates to how Kafka is afraid of Hermann and fears to step in and face his father. Although receiving constant insults and abuses may be somewhat intolerable, Hermann is Kafka's father after all and does have consideration for his son in a way so complex it cannot be all described on paper alone. However, as in "The Metamorphosis" when Gregor takes the beating of apples (which can be interpreted as Hermann's abusive actions towards Kafka), Kafka takes all of it in, leading to psychosis and depression. Hermann's treatment to Kafka has also affected his love life and made him abstain from marriage, for this reminds Kafka of his dreaded father. Again, this shows how Kafka thinks of his father all the time and since his life had pretty much been controlled by Hermann, Kafka would be afraid to become too independent for the rest of his life. Gregor in "The Metamorphosis" worked hard to support his family, hung a picture up of a woman to remind him of his loneliness, and had no freedom whatsoever in the open world. Kafka may have been tired of his father and dreadfully sick of the heavy burdens, the feelings Hermann does have for his son should not be wasted...and relationship between father and son shall be linked by a single chain of unsaid words.
ReplyDelete- Harrison Lee
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Franz Kafka’s letter “Letter to his Father”, I realized how much of an impact his father, Hermann was on Kafka. Growing up, Kafka didn't get what he wanted, do what he wanted or even act like he wanted because of his father. When Kafka was young, he should have been happy, but his father always said things to put him down. His father asked him "Is that all you're so worked up about?"or "Such worries I'd like to have!" Just because his father was stressed and worried about other things doesn't mean he should treat his son poorly and reject everything he did. Kafka needed his father to raise him like any other father; with care, love and passion, but instead his father threw commands at Kafka and acted very hypocritical. Everything his father said to him was an order which greatly influenced Kafka profoundly. At dinner, everything his father told him not to do, his father did. For example, Kafka wasn't allowed to critique the food he was eating, he wasn't allowed to sip vinegar with much noise and he was only permitted to cut the bread straight. His father went against his own words and did everything that Kafka wasn't allowed to do. According to this, Kafka's father wasn't a great role model for him which could be the reason why his life was portrayed in his writings such as “The Metamorphosis”.
ReplyDelete-Mitali Gupta
In the letter to his father, it is clear that from his entire life, his father has not only belittled him but mentally abused him. Kafka says that when his father left him on the balcony after Kafka was asking for water not because he was thirsty, but for amusement and being annoying, Kafka says he doesn't blame his father’s actions because "There was really no other way of getting peace and quiet that night". He says that his father only encouraged Kafka when it was a matter regarding him. Kafka's father was not a very emotional man. He was strict and frank, much like Gregor's father. Kafka’s life was very well mirrored into The Metamorphosis. Gregor had to work a dead-end job because he had to pay off his parent’s debt. He used this as an excuse to not standing up to his father. Kafka’s excuse was blaming not only his father but himself. If both, Kafka and Gregor would have stepped up and spoke their mind then they would’ve been able to do what they loved.
ReplyDelete-Krusha Vaidya
Franz Kafka's "Letters to Father" depicts the strained relationship between father and son. In several situations, Kafka stood in his father, Hermann’s, shadow, and his identity was masked by Hermann’s high standards. Kafka felt like he was scrawny and a disgrace, because his father on the other hand was mighty and fierce. He even savored the days his father undressed first in the bathing hut; the days he did not have to suffer public humiliation for a while, at least until his father came back for him. Not only was the drastic physical comparison an impetus behind the Kafka's fear of his father, but also the mental. Hermann had once said to him, "I'll tear you apart like a fish." His parental methods of abuse, self-pity, threats, and irony, were something that had created a serious wedge in their relationship. He made Kafka feel like he was not good enough. "Can't you do it in such-and-such a way? That's too hard for you, I suppose. You haven't the time, of course?" and so on. And each such question would be accompanied by malicious laughter and a malicious face." And yet somehow, everything his father did was right- HE could eat without any manners at the table, but everybody else COULD NOT. HE could complain about his hardships, but everybody else? They shouldn't be complaining! Hermann’s high levels or superiority and hypocrisy created such a negative influence on Kafka. Granted, Kafka was in charge of his own fate as well. If he had spoken out before, perhaps conditions would not have deteriorated. But unfortunately, he hadn’t, and his father had not changed his ways either. The harsh relationship between Kafka and his father was illustrated in “The Metamorphosis.” The abuse Kafka suffered through, the feelings of depression in result, the thought that he didn’t belong; similarly, Gregor’s father had once pelted him with apples, wanting his son to die, without any regret. Also, Gregor felt like an outcast after he transformed into a beetle, like Kafka feels out of place. Lastly, like Kafka had suffered through depression, Gregor found himself in such a state of guilt and sadness that he had committed suicide. The parts of Kafka’s life that he did not live in fear, anger, and confusion, he lived in guilt. Had Kafka found the courage to present his father with these letters and confide to him, like he had confided to his readers worldwide through his literature, things might have been different.
ReplyDelete- Malisa Ray
In Kafka's 'Letters to Father', you can see how strained Franz's relationship is with his father, Hermann. Growing up, Kafka was always punished and never rewarded for his actions. He grew up living in fear that he would never reach his father's high standards. Although Franz made many mistakes in his lifetime, including spiting his father for pleasure, I believe Hermann was the one to blame for their troubled relationship.
ReplyDeleteAs a father, Hermann always wanted Franz to succeed in his life. A desire such as that can be considered noble, but his approach to teaching his son was not. Hermann's rhetorical methods in teaching included, "abuse, threats, irony, spiteful laughter, and—oddly enough—self-pity" which would clearly bring down a child. Personally, I look up to my parents for disciplining me and teaching me the difference between right and wrong but they never forced their opinions on me. Kafka on the other hand was always ridiculed by his father who in a way looked down on his son because he believed that Franz never knew hardship like he did. For example, he always told his son, "we were glad when we got potatoes", insinuating that Franz wasn't happy even when he had everything he needed.
Growing up, a child needs to have someone to look up to and admire. When Franz Kafka thought of his father, he regarded him as a strong, powerful man who he was still afraid of. His father was such an important figure that all his life he was forced to believe that he wasn't good enough and even in his adulthood, he was still haunted by his past.
If Hermann Kafka taught his son how to grow up with more kindness and less judgement, maybe Franz would have been happier and more successful in his life.
Aaheli Guhathakurta
From reading Franz Kafka’s letter to his father, it is evident that Kafka intertwined many of his own life experiences with his father into the Metamorphosis. For example, when one night, as a child, Kafka was whimpering for water, his father kicked him out into the cold onto the pavlatche. This shows the beginning of a strained relationship between Kafka and his father that would gain more fear as Kafka grew older. This particular event, however, I think made its way into The Metamorphosis metaphorically. When Gregor Samsa first transforms into a vermin, his sister makes sure that he is well taken care of and well fed. However, as the story progresses into the final part, Gregor is given less to no food and loses his appetite. In this, Gregor is literally starving and deprived of a necessity that he could not provide for himself. When Kafka was asking for water in the middle of the night as a child, he was doing just what children do! They expect their parents to care of them and provide them with things that they might not be able to get themselves. However, instead of providing his son with water and only thinking of his own sleep, Kafka’s father puts Kafka away in a place that he cannot be heard or seen. When the family continues to ignore Gregor’s delicate health and loss of appetite, it symbolizes the lack of care for Kafka in his own life. When Gregor was hungry for food, Kafka was hungry for the attention and the acceptance of his parents, primarily his father, whom he held up the highest esteem. As Gregor’s health deteriorated due to the lack of food and constant abuse, Kafka’s health deteriorated from the lack of love and affection from his father that mentally scarred him for life.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Franz Kafka's, "Letters to Father" I could understand how his feelings and behaviors have been greatly influenced by his father, Hermann. Also, Hermann's demands and expectations for have made Kafka feel belittled to him. Hermann should off understood the unhappiness in his son and should have acted upon it. I feel that with the relationship in Kafka's life with his father, Hermann, it was clearly expressed in his novella, The Metamorphosis. The abuse, both mental and physical was not your average father-son relationship. Hermann also expressed himself as someone who could never be satisfied with Kafka’s achievements. Here Kafka wrote about his father’s respect for him, “If you some up your judgment of me, the result you get is that, although you don’t charge me with anything downright improper or wicked (with the exception perhaps of my latest marriage plan), you do charge me with coldness, estrangements and ingratitude.” In this statement by Kafka it his obvious the respect between the son and father is not mutual. Kafka sees his father as someone who has worked a lot and has supported for his children and family immensely. However, Hermann does not show his affection towards Franz in a lovingly and kind way. Kafka’s life involved so much pressure I believed it lead to him cracking and his unfortunate contraction of depression. Many incidents, the abuse, the pressure, the sadness, were apart of Kafka’s writing however to show his life and his struggles. Franz Kafka was a man whose life was in the command of his father, and his joy came from his expressionist writing which compels us today.
ReplyDelete-Rohan Suwarna
After reading Franz Kafka's letters to his father, it is possible to see how both Franz Kafka's and Gregor Samsa's relationship with their gather is similar. In "The Metamorphosis", Gregor does not have such a great relatioship with his father and this could be caused by the fact they did not get along too well. From the reader's point of view, we see how Gregor's father throws apples at him and just shows an overall lack of care after the transformation and before it too shown by the fact that he made Gregor pay off his debts rather than going to work himself. Looking at Kafka's life, he had similar probelems with his father, although these are less violent, they are still reasons to why him and his father did not get along. For example, Franz Kafka writes to his father "You reinforced abusiveness with threats and this applied to me too." This shows that while Hermann Kafka did not phisically abuse his son, he still was threatened to obey. While this shows two similarities between Franz Kafka's and Gregor Samsa's relatiosnship with their fathers, there could still be more connections made between these two stories.
ReplyDelete-Joey J.
In his writing "Letters to Father", Franz Kafka evaluates his relationship between his father and himself and breaks down. Not only did Kafka’s father add more anxiety to his already depressive life, but was also very hypocritical. In the passage, Kafka explains, “‘Since as a child I was with you chiefly during meals, your teaching was to a large extent the teaching of proper behavior at table. What was brought to the table had to be eaten, the quality of the food was not to be discussed—but you yourself often found the food inedible, called it "this swill," said "that cow" (the cook) had ruined it. Because in accordance with your strong appetite and your particular predilection you ate everything fast, hot, and in big mouthfuls, the child had to hurry; there was a somber silence at table, interrupted by admonitions: ‘Eat first, talk afterward,’ or ‘faster, faster, faster,’ or ‘There you are, you see, I finished ages ago.’ Bones mustn't be cracked with the teeth, but you could. Vinegar must not be sipped noisily, but you could. The main thing was that the bread should be cut straight. But it didn't matter that you did it with a knife dripping with gravy. Care had to be taken that no scraps fell on the floor. In the end it was under your chair that there were the most scraps. At table one wasn't allowed to do anything but eat, but you cleaned and cut your fingernails, sharpened pencils, cleaned your ears with a toothpick. Please, Father, understand me correctly: in themselves these would have been utterly insignificant details, they only became depressing for me because you, so tremendously the authoritative man, did not keep the commandments you imposed on me.’” After a constant build of his father’s pestering and harshness, Kafka became agitated. In the novel, “The Metamorphosis” however, it is the father that becomes agitated with Gregor and the family’s behavior since he became bug and pelts Gregor with a bunch of slices of apples, launching one right into his back. Soon, everything, like the little details shown above, became annoying to Kafka as things became with Gregors father as well. Kafka tries to explain that he didn’t develop these feeling for his father without reason; he treated him like he should be ashamed of himself so that’s what Kafka thought he felt about him (ashamed). “I was continually in disgrace; either I obeyed your orders, and that was a disgrace, for they applied, after all, only to me; or I was defiant, and that was a disgrace too, for how could I presume to defy you…” (Kafka). In this, Franz explains that he could never please his father; whether he did as told or not. Both in real life and the novel, it seems as if the father(s) were never content with Kafka/Gregor. In the novel, before his metamorphosis, Gregor is the one who is financially supporting the family. Even then, though, the father wasn’t appreciative or content.
ReplyDelete-Sabrina Charania.
Throughout Franz Kafka's childhood, his father, Hermann Kafka, ruined him as a person in result of poor parental guidance. Parents are the individuals whom children learn from during their stages of a developing brain, but Hermann's unusual parenting style left his son scarred for life. According to Kafka's "Letters to Father", Hermann once said to Kafka, "I'll tear you apart like a fish", and his son truly believed his words. This being merely one of the ways this father treated his son, Kafka broadly describes these actions through the words "abuse, threats, irony, spiteful laughter, and—oddly enough—self-pity". Growing up through such happenings by a parent would, unsurprisingly, mold a child into a man going about the world in fear.
ReplyDeleteDue to fear, Kafka says in his letter, "I have always hidden from you, in my room". In comparison to "The Metamorphosis" by Franz Kafka himself, the main character Gregor usually hid inside room because he was fearful, as Kafka was. In the beginning, originally isolated himself from his family with locked doors. However, Gregor's father once forced Gregor back into his room by pelting apples at him, one badly injuring him. Both Gregor's father and Kafka's father resemble each other: terrifying parenting leading to fear and isolation. The father of Kafka and Gregor have their close similarities of showing completely poor, fearful "fatherly love" which resulted in a weakened child who has not been able to reach his full potential.
-Andrea Silos
Franz Kafka's literature, such as "The Metamorphosis," truly reflects his own, laborious life. The main threats for both Gregor and Kafka were their fathers. They both felt as if their fathers were holding them back from moving on with their lives. “Encouragement,” is a word Kafka states numerous times in his letters to his Father. As a parent, encouraging a child should come naturally, but not only did Franz not receive any of this, all he got were commands from his father in becoming things, Kafka never dreamed of being, such as a soldier. In “The Metamorphosis,” Gregor being a “vermin,” is bad enough but his father discourages him even more by keeping him trapped up in his room, disconnected from the rest of his family. “From your armchair, you ruled the world.” (Letters to his Father). This shows the tremendous amount of domination Kafka’s father had over his family. This is exemplified in “The Metamorphosis,” when Gregor’s sister and mom wanted to clear out Gregor’s room, but couldn’t, until his father was out of the house, because he had told them not to go into Gregor’s room. Only then was Gregor able to move freely. When growing up, Franz was entirely deprived of his own happiness, and freedom because of his father’s over-ruling. It is evident in both his letters and his writing; Franz Kafka’s strained relationship with his father.
ReplyDelete- Mansi Adroja
From the beginning, it seems that Kafka could never be like his father. His father was strong and confident, while Kafka was frail and introverted. "There was I, skinny, weakly, slight; you strong, tall, broad." (Kafka). Their characters and appearances completely contradicted each other. I think this frustrated Kafka's dad, because he wanted his son to be a mirror image of him, and was not really happy with his son the way he was. This just caused Kafka to feel guilty that he could not satisfy his father with whatever he did, and he started losing confidence in his own actions. In "The Metamorphosis," I think Kafka tries to demonstrate how his father and he were through making Gregor and his dad opposites in character and in personality. " And yet, and yet- was this still his father? Was this the same man who in the old days used to lie wearily buried in bed when Gregor left on a business trip..." (Kafka 37). In the novella, when Gregor is young and fit, his dad is old and weak. However, as Gregor goes through his metamorphosis, his father goes through a transformation of his own. His father becomes strong and important, while Gregor becomes a useless insect. This illustrates how Kafka felt about he and his father. He felt that they could never be alike, no matter what.
ReplyDelete-Ankita George
After reading Kafka's "Letters to Father" i can see that they're opposites of each other. Kafka is more secretive, timid and doesn't like working for the business while his father is more strong and confident with his personality. "a weakly, timid, hesitant, restless person" (Letters to Father). Kafka's father, Hermann wanted Franz to grow up and become just like him but instead of accepting who he was then, he just puts him down or keeps trying to make him a mirror image of himself by forbidding him to do certain things. "when you recently wanted to marry, you wanted... at the same time not to marry, but in order not to have to exert yourself you wanted me to help you with this not-marrying, by forbidding this marriage because of the 'disgrace' this union would bring upon my name..." (Letters to Father) Because Hermann doesn't really want to get married, Franz Kafka was told he couldn't because he would bring disgrace. How can you say that to your son? If he wants to be happy with someone in his life you should let him. "First, in this as in everything else I never wanted to be 'an obstacle to your happiness,'" (Letters to Father) The thing about this is Kafka never tried to act a certain way in front of his father, he showed him his true self and to his father that wasn't good enough. Kafka never felt obligated to help his father do something because he really didn't care and depending on the situation his father didn't need him to succeed anyway. For his father to go through life happily and worry-free, he had to blame Kafka for the way his life was. He never took the time to accept how his son came to be. He just kept trying to find himself in Kafka and if he wasn't there then something was wrong with him.
ReplyDelete-Taylor Sanders
Relationships like Franz Kafka and his father, Hermann, are not healthy. It's evident in Kafka's letter that his father was a hypocrite. When Hermann told his kids not to complain about the food he had given them, he turned around and complained about the food himself. Franz sometimes received abuse from his father, both physically and verbally. You can see that Franz put extra amounts of time into writing "The Metamorphosis", so that Gregor and himself were connected in a lot of ways, not always obvious to a reader's eye.
ReplyDeleteFranz Kafka says his father rarely gave him beatings, but you can tell that his pride was hurt everyday. To me, I feel that Kafka started out his life with an outstanding amount of respect for his father, but that slowly decreased overtime. Gregor Samsa was similar in that way because he was slowly loosing respect for himself and others around him. Right before Gregor dies in "The Metamorphosis", you can see that he wants to die because he has no purpose in life anymore. He's a giant beetle, so he's alright to die because he doesn't have anything to live for anymore. Gregor, same as Franz, sees that everyone is drifting away from him, and just before, they all needed him so much. He feels defeated and therefor wants it all to be over.
-Kelsie Benko
After reading "Letters to Father”, I have come to the conclusion that Kafka's emotional instability was caused by his father. The verbal abuse that Kafka received seemed to affect him more than physical abuse would. For example, his father Hermann said "I'll tear you apart like a fish". Remarks such as these are what "pushed Kafka over the edge" and caused him to give up on life. I believe that Hermann is more at fault than Franz because he continued his parental methods that slowly damaged Franz emotionally. However, Kafka is also to blame because he allowed mere words and threats to scar him and, in essence, ruin his life. Franz's childhood memory compares to the different levels of starvation in the novella. For example, by Franz stopping his cries for water it shows him giving up on getting water. In the novella, his starvation and death also showed him giving up on life and reality. They relate because in both situations, Kafka or Gregor decide to give up on something in a way.
ReplyDelete-Juston Payne