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?
After reading Kafka’s "Letters to Father", I realized that Kafka’s life and the relationship he had with his father, Hermann, really reflects the life Gregor lived in the book, "The Metamorphosis". For example, before Gregor dies at the end of the book we get the idea that he is tired of dealing with his family and just wants to move so it could all be over. I feel that Franz Kafka felt similar exhaustion for his father and was in the same position as Gregor because in the letters, Kafka wrote, “…to escape to some other place was an enormous exertion”, which means that Franz Kafka and Gregor both felt that it would be a big effort to leave but they were forced to stay with their fathers and suffer the pain. Kafka and Gregor both felt that if they left their families and their memories then the mental pain they experienced from their fathers might go away. Another connection I made after reading the letters was that Franz Kafka and Gregor were both scared of their fathers. In "The Metamorphosis", on page 39, it stated, “Gregor stopped dead with fear;”( Kafka 39). In this scene, Gregor stopped with fear when his father was throwing apples at him because he was afraid of his father and Kafka was also scared of his father because in his letters he said that the reason he always stayed hidden in his room was because he was afraid of his father and did not want to deal with him. I think the only reason why they both were scared was because of the emotionally abusive and two-faced behavior the two fathers had towards their sons and the fact that they had a tendency of blaming everything on them. I think this was also the reason why Kafka and Gregor both had strenuous relationships with their fathers. Kafka wrote in his letter, “I was, after all, under the heavy pressure of your personality,” which he further explains through his book and the letters he wrote to his father that he and Gregor were both under a lot of pressure from their fathers influence and judgment on them. They were forced to do many things by their fathers and that is why they lost their self- confidence and felt like they were nothing and that they would never be good enough for anyone. I feel that to Franz and Gregor, one of their main problems was their fathers and how they were treated by them. Kafka’s "Letters to Father" gave us a chance to really see how Kafka felt in his life and his relationships and gave us a chance to see that his purpose of writing is so that he can express his feelings.
ReplyDelete-Kajal Parikh
After reading Kafka’s “Letters to his Father” it is obvious that Franz’s and Gregor’s lives were similar in many ways. Young Franz Kafka had memories of whimpering for water and food at night. Only, he didn’t get any. In the beginning of “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, the situation was the same. Gregor was begging for food and water, until his sister gave it to him. However, this is ironic because at the end of the novella, Gregor stopped eating and drinking, unlike his actual memories. In the novella, Gregor is actually dying of starvation, he wouldn’t eat or drink. “...regardless of whether the food had only been toyed with or-the most usual case-had been left completely untouched...” (Kafka 43). This shows that usually Gregor wouldn’t even touch his food, he would either purposely not eat or he would be in just so much pain that he couldn’t eat at all. This is a level or starvation much higher than Kafka’s life. In Kafka’s life, he wanted to eat and drink, but his father would not give him anything. I believe that in the end Gregor realized that he should just let his family live in peace with no interruptions of an unwanted bug, which is why Gregor did not touch his food and starved himself to death.
ReplyDelete-Morgan O'Shea
In Kafka's "Letters To Father", Kafka explains his feelings and how they were strongly influenced by his father, Hermann. I think Kafka feels as if he were incomparable to his father because they are so different. His father is strong and loud while he is quiet and lonely. Kafka felt so worthless and unwanted when he was around his father. Kafka thinks his father was "more cheerful before he was disappointed by his children, especially Kafka."
ReplyDeleteIn the novella, "The Metamorphosis", Gregor and his father have a quite similar relationship to Kafka's relationship with his own father. Gregor and his dad barely talked to each other. Gregor was just afraid to talk to him while his dad just didn't really have interest in Gregor's life. Kafka stated in the letters, "...there was hardly ever any conversation between us..." Both Gregor and Kafka were uncomfortable around their fathers due to a large imbalance of authority. Because of his father, Kafka feels like a useless vermin, which is symbolized in the novella through Gregor's transformation.
Kafka's father was also a hypocrite towards him. For example, his father would tell Kafka not do do anything but eat at the table, while he was sharpening pencils and cleaning his nails and ears. Kafka felt his world was divided into three parts, "one in which he, the slave, lived under laws that have been invented only for him...then a second world, which was infinitely remote from his, in which his father lived...and finally a third world where everybody else lived happily and free from orders and from having to obey." This shows how Kafka felt that his life was unfair since he was the only one under a strict list of harsh rules created by his father. After reading Kafka's "Letters to Father", I realized how weak and upsetting the relationship between Kafka and his father truly was. I also believe that Kafka wanted to die for the same reason as Gregor, simply because he felt like it would make everybody happier.
--Sabrina Pak
After reading Kafka's "Letter to his Father", I realized Franz thought he could not live up to his father's expectations. Franz expresses this feeling when he states "There was I, skinny, weakly, slight; you strong, tall, broad... not only in your eyes, but in the eyes of the whole world..." This demonstrates how Franz thought his father was better than him and how everyone, including his father, felt this way. The fact that Franz could not live up up his father caused fear in him. This fear lead to him feeling like he had to stay hidden and that he couldn't interact with his father anymore. All Franz wanted was to have a normal father, but his father was not mentally or emotionally available, so this was not attainable. The situations that occurred in Kafka's life were expressed in Gregor's life in "The Metamorphosis." For example, Gregor feared his father, so when someone entered his room, he would stay hidden just like Kafka. This was shown when the book states "Hurrying as fast as he could, Gregor had pulled the sheet down lower still..."(Kafka 32). This shows that he was in a rush to stay hidden because he did not want to be seen by his father. Also, Gregor's father did not care for him like a typical father. Gregor also felt he could not impress his father because he felt inferior to his father like Franz did. The fathers of Gregor and Franz limited their sons' progress in life.
ReplyDelete-Jenali Patel
As I'm reading the this, Gregor is trying to show his displeasure with his father but he wants to be respectful. I find it near pointless because he wants to tell his dad he wasn't the best friend but is avoiding that sentence and just saying "I don't think your a good friend". His father doesn't seem to be very open-minded and thick-headed, as well. "That was not yet so dazzling for me, a child as later for the boy growing up. From your armchair you ruled the world. Your opinion was correct, every other was mad, wild, meshugge, not normal." (Kafka). This is paralleled in the notes we took about his father. They're relationship wasn't good. In this letter Kafka seems extremely scared of his father, and his father was a very honest man. " Oddly enough you have some sort of notion of what I mean. For instance, a short time ago you said to me: "I have always been fond of you, even though outwardly I didn't act toward you as other fathers generally do, and this precisely because I can't pretend as other people can." (Kafka) His father was very thoughtless, and didn't care for anybody's' feelings. He even did something as cruel to shut his kid out at a young age. "After several vigorous threats had failed to have any effect, you took me out of bed, carried me out onto the pavlatche,* and left me there alone for a while in my nightshirt, outside the shut door. I am not going to say that this was wrong—perhaps there was really no other way of getting peace and quiet that night—but I mention it as typical of your methods of bringing up a child and their effect on me." (Kafka) The fact that he didn't just give him the water and instead shuts him out is ridiculous. This is probably part of the reason he is scared of his father. I feel that if Kafka WERE to give these letters to his dad, his father would read a few pages, and then just throw it out.
ReplyDelete-Willjerry Petit-Homme
In the novella, "The Metamorphosis", Gregor's dad is also similar to Kafka's. Gregor's father seems to hate his own son. This is especially clear when his own father says "Thank God" when Gregor dies. This is extremely ridiculous. A son as loyal as Gregor should have NEVER paid his father a cent back after I read this. Gregor put the debt on himself out of the goodness of his heart and his dad does what? Pelt him with apples? When he cried for Gregor I felt for him. Its tough to see that in the morning. After he said that, though, I lost ALL respect for him. As I did for Kafka's father when he says he wouldn't act like other fathers. So now it's wrong to NOT verbally abuse your child? to Not compliment them when they do something good? I bet he didn't even get a "I'm proud of you son" when he graduated Law School or when his book was published. Greogor's father and Hermann are extremely similar and there's no doubt that Kafka, as well as Gregor were afraid of the two fathers.
ReplyDeleteIn the novella, "The Metamorphosis", Gregor's dad is also similar to Kafka's. Gregor's father seems to hate his own son. This is especially clear when his own father says "Thank God" when Gregor dies. This is extremely ridiculous. A son as loyal as Gregor should have NEVER paid his father a cent back after I read this. Gregor put the debt on himself out of the goodness of his heart and his dad does what? Pelt him with apples? When he cried for Gregor I felt for him. Its tough to see that in the morning. After he said that, though, I lost ALL respect for him. As I did for Kafka's father when he says he wouldn't act like other fathers. So now it's wrong to NOT verbally abuse your child? to Not compliment them when they do something good? I bet he didn't even get a "I'm proud of you son" when he graduated Law School or when his book was published. Greogor's father and Hermann are extremely similar and there's no doubt that Kafka, as well as Gregor were afraid of the two fathers.
ReplyDelete-Willjerry Petit-Homme
In Kafka's letters to his father, the connections between "Metamorphosis" and Franz's life are continuously endless. One thing I noticed was that he talked a lot about being Jewish in his letter(s). However, not once in "Metamorphosis" did he bring up any type of religious practices of any sort. Somewhat toward the middle of his thoughts to his father, Franz said, " [b]ut what sort of Judaism was it that I got from you? In the course of the years, I have taken roughly three different attitudes to it. As a child I reproached myself, in accord with you, for not going to the synagogue often enough, for not fasting, and so on. I thought that in this way I was doing a wrong not to myself but to you, and I was penetrated by a sense of guilt, which was, of course, always near at hand." (Kafka) Continuing to think, maybe that is why he did not put any religion into his story, because it was of no major importance to him and or mainly to his father. Maybe it was because the Kafka family was in a place where they could easily be ostracized that they decided to keep their family traditions to a minimum. Religion can greatly affect some ones life and how they live it. This could be part of the reason why Franz's father was not as friendly as he thought. When Franz's father was a child, he might have been able to openly be Jewish and now that they live in a "different" place, it is not possible for Franz to have the same experiences. Franz was as he said, "scared" of his father. Fear is a great motivator. However, sadness is an even greater motivator. Was Hermann Kafka saddened by the fact he could not share what his father shared with him? Alternatively, could it have been the other way around? Was Hermann not educated enough to teach his son? Meaning that his father had not shared their religion with him? I believe it was a combination of the two ideas. There was not enough education going around for Franz to grasp onto. He was confused, therefore disappointed and angered at his father for not unclogging his misunderstanding. I think he was angry at his father and that added with the fact that he was scared at his father increased his instability toward his social and family life.
ReplyDeleteMat-the-W Daniels
After reading Kafka's letters to his father, I feel that this rejection and lack of understanding from his father definitely influenced Kafka's writing. The way Gregor and Gregor's father acted towards each other in The Metamorphosis, mirrors the way Kafka's life was in reality. In The Metamorphosis, Kafka uses an insect to show the way he looked at his life and how his family valued him. It is clear that Kafka and his father, as well as Gregor and his father, do not communicate with each other. For example, Kafka says, "I have never talked to you frankly; I have never come to you when you were in the synagogue, never visited you at Franzensbad, nor indeed ever shown any family feeling..." Kafka and his father never truly had a father-son relationship. I feel like the only way that Kafka's father, Hermann, communicated with him was through abuse, threats, and irony, which Kafka stated in his letters. The father and son have communication problems similar to the incident in The Metamorphosis when Gregor's father bombards him with apples, and Gregor did not know how to communicate or what to do. While reading the letters I also realized how hypocritical Kafka's father was. Kafka was not allowed to do anything at the dinner table but eat. Although, Hermann did other things such as cleaning his ears or sharpening pencils. Kafka was always comparing himself to his father. "There was I, skinny, weakly, slight; you strong, tall, broad. Even inside the hut I felt a miserable specimen..." The way Kafka's father was, made Kafka look down upon himself. The difficulties that Gregor faces signifies Kafka's actual feelings and pains that he suffered within his life, mostly as a child.
ReplyDeleteKrista Didzbalis
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteFranz Kafka's "Letter To Father" makes it evident that Kafka based the themes and plot of "The Metamorphosis" on his own life, and the relationship between him and his father to be more specific. Take Franz Kafka's memory of whimpering for water as a child for example. This memory was retained when Kafka explained Gregor's levels of starvation. Gregor's family did not try to give him food that he could eat, and he felt deprived. Kafka also felt deprived, but not literally. All Kafka wanted was attention and affection from his father, so he whimpered for water. No one would give him the water, and in fact, his father made him sleep on the balcony for a night. This experience why Kafka chose that Gregor should starve. Kafka used many more of his past experiences to write "The Metamorphosis". For example, in Kafka's letter, he says that he distinctly remembers that his father once told Kafka that he had always been fond of him. His father also said that he did not want to show these feelings, because he did not want to pretend like the other fathers. Kafka took this memory and infused it into Gregor's life. Gregor worked tirelessly for his family and one could tell that his father was proud of him. However, it is never stated that Gregor's father shows this. This is an allusion to the memory Gregor had with his father. Another example of this is when Gregor just wants to break free. In the very beginning of the novella, Gregor is thinking to himself and he wants for nothing more than to pay off his parents debt. After that he just wants to go and be free and live a life of his own. The only thing blocking Gregor is his family. In "Letter to Father" Kafka expresses that his father blocked him. Kafka did not want to study law, but yet his father forced him. After law school Kafka was stuck in a dead end job. However, he had to keep working to support his family. He felt that his father had blocked him from a life of happiness. All in all, many ideas and themes from "The Metamorphosis" were inspired by Kafka's relationship with his father and family.
ReplyDeleteJeet Ganatra
After reading "Letters to Father" by Kafka, I think that all Kakfa really wanted was a dad. His whole life could have been different if he'd had a real father-son relationship, and he might not have had half the problems he did. While he blames and is angry at his father, it is also evident that he longs to be close, or at least be at peace. He says, "If I could get you to acknowledge this, then what would be possible is�not, I think, a new life, we are both much too old for that�but still, a kind of peace; no cessation, but still, a diminution of your unceasing reproaches." Kafka spent his whole life living with a tyrannical father who showed very little emotion, and it is inevitable that this effected him so much as a person, and influenced many of his writings. In The Metamorphosis, Gregor and his father have the same strained relationship as Kakfa and Hermann. After Gregor changes into a beetle, his father wants nothing to do with him, much in the same way that Hermann shows no evidence of caring about Kafka. Underneath all of this, however, I saw that both Kafka and Gregor's fathers did care, even though they didn't show it. At the end of the novella, we find out that Gregor's father believed the beetle was Gregor, and didn't want to get rid of it, and in the beginning of "Letters to Father" Kafka says that his father told him "'I have always been fond of you, even though outwardly I didn't act toward you as other fathers generally do..'" Their relationship fell apart because they did not communicate,and had either Kafka or his father done something differently, it could have been spared. I think Kafka realized this, and he was sending that message to his father when he wrote The Metamorphosis.
ReplyDeleteMina buzzek
After reading, the "Letter to Father" it is clear that Franz Kafka is mirroring his own life in "The Metamorphosis".Kafka and Gregor, and both of their fathers have the same personality and relation ships.Some events that occurred in Kafka's life are exemplified in "The Metamorphosis". In "Letter to Father" kafka wrote "What was for me a matter of course, the senseless asking for water, and then the extrardinary terror of being varied outside." This memory of Kafka is similar to how when Gregor had transformed into a bug and had been out in the living room, Gregor's father had pelted apples at him. in both events it is seen that the father is abusing their son. Also another example of how Kafka uses his life as events and themes in "The Metamorphosis" is that in "Letters to Kafka" it says "And finally I kept silent, at first perhaps out of defiance, and then because I could neither think nor speak in your presence." In Kafka's book, he wrote that Gregor lost his speech as a bug and could only make noises towards his family. Now knowing Kafka's real thoughts towards his father, i can infer that Gregor not talking can also symbolize Kafka not being allowed to and not wanting to speak to his father. In conclusion, after reading Kafka's "Letters to Father" I can see that Franz Kafka based most of "The Metamorphosis" off of his real life.
ReplyDelete-Maggie Johnson
After reading Kafka's "Letters to Father", it is clear to me that there are many similarities between Franz and his relationship with his father, Hermann, and Gregor's relationship with his father in the novella, "The Metamorphosis". In "The Metamorphosis", it is clear that towards the end, we get the presence that Gregor is sick of his family and is ready to die. Similarly, as we can see in Kafka's "Letters to Father", he has also grown sick and tired of his father and the way he was treating him. Kafka writes, "Had I still any confidence in my own capacity to achieve a real career? My valuation of myself was much more dependent on you than on anything else...". This shows that the numerous ways which his father has treated him wrong led to the point of his evaluation of himself being poor. With his poor self-confidence, he was growing more sick and tired of the way he was being treated each day, and was also getting more unhappy with life in general. In "The Metamorphosis", things happen in a very similar way. After morphing into a bug, Gregor's family became more agitated and frustrated with his presence, to the point where Gregor even seemed frustrated with himself. That's when things in the novella take a turn for the worse. Gregor is sick of his new life and wants it all to end. The father figure has put a harsh impact on both Franz Kafka and Gregor Samsa, which shows a deep connection between "The Metamorphosis" and "Letters to Father". In a sense, the novella is all a hidden message to his father, and how the rotten apples symbolize each event occurring between the two which knocked Kafka's self-esteem right back to the floor, to the point where he couldn't stand it anymore, and refused to get back up.
ReplyDelete-Steven Wright
After reading "Letter to his father" it made me realize why Kafka was always intimidated by his father. Not only did his father not treat him like a son, but he treated him like an animal! For example one time in the middle of the night, Kafka implored for water and his father responded in the most malevolent way "took me out of bed, carried me out onto the pavlatche, and left me there alone for a while in my nightshirt, outside the shut door." This quote exemplifies how horrific he was treated. Normally when a young child begs for water, a parent would get up and fetch the water and maybe mutter "Sweety, do not wake me up next time." But NEVER would a parent lock their child outside their house. This event closely relates to how Gregor in "The Metamporhposis" starved himself. Both men were not being treated right by their father, and the fathers did not seem to care about their children. Both fathers also had an image in their mind of how they wanted their sons to be, and they thought if they worked hard they could transform their sons into this perfect image. What Kafka went through obviously scarred him, and the fact that Gregor starved himself made it clear that he was scarred by his family as well.
ReplyDeleteKafka was not only scared of his father, but deep down he slightly admired him. Due to the fact that he always felt embarrassed whenever they would have to change in front of each other, symbolizes that he cared about his father's judgement! He described his father as strong and tall, while he was tiny and weak; this is also one of the many reasons Kafka never stood up for himself. Kafka only yearned for his father's acceptance and for him to SHOW love, not just to say "I have always been fond of you." His father loved him but he did not realize that actions speak louder than the words.
-Nicole Zahreddine
Kafka's "Letters to Father" highlights the troubled relationship of Kafka and his father Hermann, and it is also clear that it mirrors Gregor's relationship with his father in the novella, The Metamorphosis. I found it apparent that both relationships lacked understanding.
ReplyDeleteIn The Metamorphosis, the only family member Gregor actually talked to was his sister Grete. She was the one person who understood him, along with his mother occasionally. Mr. Samsa, on the hand, only made sure that Gregor would go to work everyday so their debt would be paid off. Gregor was expected to be a robot and take up the burden of his family as soon as he was of age. Gregor too had desires to have a life beyond his family, though his father didn't allow that. Similar to Gregor, Kafka also was deprived of an understanding father. Kafka only ever heard orders and judgements hurtled at him by his father, never words of kindness or understanding. Kafka writes, "..you do charge me with coldness, estrangements and ingratitude." This illustrates Kafka's reflection on the communication between him and his father. All in all, it is certain that the relationship between Gregor and his father is based off of Kafka and his father's own relationship.
After reading Kafka's "Letters to his father", it has come to my attention that although Kafka's father deep down liked him as a son, he never gave appreciation where it was due. For instance, when it came to Kafka needing encouragement for his future to come, his dad would only bring him down with his presence, unless it was something of his interests. From bitter sarcasm to rude remarks, Kafka's father had never given him support or showed understanding to his problems. He merely stated that his worries were over trivial things in ways such as, "Is that all you're so worked up about?" or "What a song and dance about nothing!" Whether it's because "there was hardly ever any conversation between [them]" as Kafka stated, or that his father would be rather hypocritical toward him, especially with table manners, Kafka's father does not show his fondness of his son like how most fathers would. Similar to Kafka's life, his written piece, "The Metamorphosis", tells a story of Gregor Samsa, in which this case resembles Franz, and how he has always had to put up with the verbal and physical abuse dealt on by his father like Kafka did; that is, if you would list actions like pelting your son with fruits and threats like "I'll tear you apart like a fish" under the same category. Although Kafka heard his father say to him, "I have always been fond of you..", this lack of sympathy or "tough love" in their relationship is putting on a bigger strain than simple words can handle.
ReplyDeleteHowever, even though Kafka's relationship with his father was mainly mistreatment and abuse, Kafka seems to be proud of having the father that he has. Despite all the mixed emotions and suffering he goes through with his father, Franz is still able to admire his father; by his body and the way he carries himself. It seems strange that after all he's been through with the harsh man, he still wishes to be like him. I guess love works in strange ways and Kafka's relationship with his father is far more complex than your average 9th grade honors student can comprehend.
-Alvin Chai
After reading “Letters to his Father” by Franz Kafka, I now understand why Kafka felt intimidated by his father and why he felt that his father emotionally and psychologically abused him. Kafka’s father, Hermann, belittled and emotionally battered his son and Franz felt like a powerless toy doll. In one part of the letter, Kafka talks about his physical build and compares it to his father’s. “I remember, for instance, how we often undressed in the same bathing hut. There was I, skinny, weakly, slight; you strong, tall, broad. Even inside the hut I felt a miserable specimen.” Franz felt inferior to his strong, tall, and demanding dad. Kafka himself was a scrawny weakling; an outsider afraid of his own shadow. How was Franz supposed to stop a huge monster that could squish him like a beetle? No wonder Kafka felt so powerless to stop the abuse he received from his father. So you may ask, how did Hermann abuse his son? He didn’t abuse his son physically; he abused him even worse; with psychological torment and emotional abuse. In the letters, it states, “You reinforced abusiveness with threats… How terrible for me was, for instance, that "I'll tear you apart like a fish,”… The older I became, the more material there was for you to bring up against me as evidence of my worthlessness.” As evidenced by this quote, Hermann made his son feel, useless, stupid, worthless, unappreciated, and like a waste of life. Hermann never condoned his son’s creative outlets. He never approved of anything Franz wrote. Hermann believed that writing and expressing your opinions is a waste of time and he believed that only his opinions were right and everyone else’s was wrong. Franz hated his real job as a pencil pusher. The only thing that Franz truly enjoyed was writing. Franz valued his father’s opinion more than anything else in the world. Hermann truly abused his son worse than anyone can imagine. He belittled the one thing that his son loved to do and made mock of it. In conclusion, I now understand the relationship Franz Kafka had with Hermann Kafka. Hermann abused his son emotionally and made Franz feel like a worthless tub of lard. Hermann made his son feel like he wasn’t good enough, like his writing was pointless, and his opinions were wrong. Franz felt exactly how his father had described him, powerless.
ReplyDeleteMatt Nebenhaus
After reading the letters to Kafka's father, it is apparent that the father and son have a complicated relationship. In the third paragraph, Kafka writes- "For instance, a short time ago you said to me: 'I have always been fond of you, even though outwardly I didn't act toward you as other fathers generally do, and this precisely because I can't pretend as other people can.'" This shows that even though Kafka's father might act like he doesn't like Kafka, he sincerely does. Yet, Kafka contradicts his father's statement in the next sentence.. "Now, Father, on the whole I have never doubted your goodness toward me, but this remark I consider wrong. You can't pretend, that is true, but merely for that reason to maintain that other fathers pretend is either mere opinionated nests, and as such beyond discussion, or on the other hand—and this in my view is what it really is—a veiled expression of the fact that something is wrong in our relationship and that you have played your part in causing it to be so, but without its being your fault. If you really mean that, then we are in agreement." Kafka basically explains that his father is just trying to take the attention off of the fact that it's his fault. The real relationship of Kafka and his father mirror very closely to the relationship that Gregor and his father have in the book Kafka wrote, Metamorphosis. In the book, Gregor is afraid of his father just like Kafka explained in the first paragraph of his letter, "You asked me recently why I maintain that I am afraid of you. As usual, I was unable to think of any answer to your question, partly for the very reason that I am afraid of you.." Also, Gregor's father was cruel to him, mentally or physically, just like Kafka explained in his letters, "One night I kept on whimpering for water, not, I am certain, because I was thirsty, but probably partly to be annoying, partly to amuse myself. After several vigorous threats had failed to have any effect, you took me out of bed, carried me out onto the pavlatche,* and left me there alone for a while in my nightshirt, outside the shut door. I am not going to say that this was wrong—perhaps there was really no other way of getting peace and quiet that night—but I mention it as typical of your methods of bringing up a child and their effect on me. I dare say I was quite obedient afterward at that period, but it did me inner harm." In conclusion, Kafka and his father had a strained and complicated relationship, and this relationship is expressed through Kafka's writing in Metamorphosis.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading Kafka's letters to his father, I realized that Kafka compares himself to his own dad a lot. He writes about how they are so different from eachother and how he's not the person his dad wants him to be. "...I did not, for instance, have your strength, your appetite, your skill, although you expected it of me..." (Kafka). Like most little boys, Kafka extols his dad and respects him highly. The way he thought of things were based on what his father's opinions were. So, if his father didn't approve of something he liked or was doing, Kafka would make himself feel guilty and belittle himself. As a result, he grew up to be a timid, craven person who thought he was worthless because of the way his father treats him.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I gained a different perspective of Kafka's dad. In the first sentence of the frist paragraph, Kafka talks about his father asking him why he was so scared of him. this shows how his father tried to talk to Kafka about their relationship because he cared about his son. In the third paragraph, restating what his father said to him, Kafka wrote, "' I have always been fond of you,'". This changes my feelings toward the father because he doesn't seem to be as cruel as he was described to be by Kafka most of the time. I think his dad is the kind of person who isn't emotional. My uncle isn't an emotional father and is always serious when I see him, but there's ocassions when I see him smile or laugh. he isn't a bad father just because he doesn't show affection a lot towards my cousin. so, he reminds me of Kafka's dad.
In Franz Kafka’s “The Letters to Father” the author depicts a plethora of similarities between himself and the fictional character of Gregor, from “The Metamorphosis”. Not only did both have poor relationships with their fathers, but because of their relationships, they both yearned to move on in life and leave home for good. Kafka was intimidated by his father ever since he was a little boy. He went from regularly hiding in the hut to change for swimming-afraid to show his body compared to his fathers- to the point of never wanting to intentionally stay in the same room as his father. This progression really displayed the broken relationship Kafka and his father shared. Similarly, Gregor’s relationship with his father was no better. He was the provider of the household, and that was it. His father saw him as nothing else; when he went through his metamorphosis, his father considered him a nuisance and hurtled apples at Gregor not even thinking about the fact that doing so could kill his son. Gregor’s most prized possession was the picture of the woman on his wall. It signified an interest in future relationships away from his family, and a goal to aim towards. Kafka similarly, was always engaged and attempting to have relationships outside of his family and his father’s control. At the end of “The Metamorphosis”, Gregor eventually passes away due to starvation and because there was no motivation to continue on in life. Kafka’s end was very similar. His self esteem and pride depended on what people’s opinions towards him were, specifically is father. “You have a particularly beautiful, very rare way of quietly, contentedly, approvingly smiling; a way of smiling that can make the person for whom it is meant entirely happy.” (Kafka 22) On the other hand, when his father was angry, it made Kafka “entirely” depressed. Due to the fact that this is how he felt a majority of the time, it is safe to say that Kafka felt the same way as Gregor; tired of dealing with his family especially because he felt he wasn’t even wanted half the time. Therefore it is safe to say, Kafka was deeply affected by his father’s actions and that he not only wrote these letters as a way to vent, but was also forming the beginnings of “The Metamorphosis”. -Sara Tariq
ReplyDeleteThrough reading "Letters to Father" by Franz Kafka, I am given an insight on Franz’s childhood and shown not only how it has affected Franz's life later on, but also how it has affected his writing. There is an obvious connection between Franz's personal life and that of Gregor Samsa from "the Metamorphosis", one of Franz's novellas.
ReplyDeleteThe letter starts off with Franz telling his father how afraid of him he was and still is. This, in itself, is a bad sign foreshadowing the dark relationship about to be revealed. Franz then goes on to describe certain events in his childhood in which his father, Hermann, played a big part in. Specific events like being left on a balcony after asking for water or being compared to that of his father greatly influenced Franz's view on the world and on himself. “One night I kept on whimpering for water … you took me out of bed, carried me out onto the pavlatche, and left me there alone…” On this occasion, Franz only wanted some attention but ended up scared and alone on the balcony. And Franz describes really well how self-conscious he was. “…put off the disgrace of showing myself in public…” Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness start off as small as fear and self-consciousness and then spiral into depression. Franz suffered severe depression later in his life and after analyzing this letter, it becomes apparent that these seemingly small events in Franz's childhood have haunted him and show direct correlation with his depression. Hermann ended up writing a response to this letter and rather than apologizing or even trying to comfort his son, he merely criticized Franz even more and told him he has a distorted self-perception. This shows how Hermann was not at all interested in redressing his parenting mistakes and how little he cared for his son.
In comparison, the storyline and characters of "the Metamorphosis" show a parallel universe in which incidents from Franz’s life are depicted through the character of Gregor Samsa. The father-son relationship in the story is no better than that of Franz and Hermann. Without hesitating, Mr. Samsa blames his wife fainting on Gregor and pelts him with apples and seriously injures his son. On a different occasion, Gregor’s whole family has a discussion on how useless Gregor is and how he is a burden to the family. The hatred builds up and eventually, Gregor can no longer take it and ends up dying. Specific elements in Franz Kafka’s life, especially his relationship with his father, scarred Franz and caused many things to happen. Depression was amongst these things and so was the publishing of a very successful novella, “the Metamorphosis”.