Reflective Statement by Erica Yarmol-Matusiak

I originally pictured Kafka as a literary recluse who devoted his life to exploring the
human condition through his writing. Through our class discussion surrounding the
effect of Kafka's milieu on his work, I realized that he was greatly influenced by the
world he lived in and the events that occurred throughout his life. Learning about his
biography and location helped me better understand Gregor's family relationships
and Kafka's style of writing, which is a comment on his environment as much as it is a
summary of the dangers of ignoring the essential self. Kafka parallels his tense
relationship with his father in The Metamorphosis by crafting Gregor's father as
aggressive and loathing from the first chapter, representing Kafka's own harsh
upbringing. The author has an uncanny ability to build in even small details such as
his fathers business-driven attitude, and the emphasis on slamming doors, resembling
his occasional inability to concentrate due to the noise levels at home. Despite this
involved sense of writing, Kafka uses a analytical and disinterested tone throughout
The Metamorphosis. My understanding is that his inner turmoil to define himself
combined with a disconnect from his community allowed him to write in this fashion.
Kafka's Czech, German, and Jewish roots caused him to feel isolated from Prague's
society due to both the caste clashes in the city and the battles between cultural groups
in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Kafka inhabited the German language yet his Jewish
heritage meant he never felt at home in it, contributing to his internal struggle and
making it difficult to communicate on a deep level with others. His lack of an
established place in society affected his writing profoundly as the whole Samsa family
struggles to define their essential selves. Their practical selves have jobs and routines,
yet other than that they have no distinct culture and are alienated from humanity
because they cannot communicate with each other. Their ignorance towards Gregor's
pleas represent Kafka's inability to express his emotions, and instead Kafka uses The
Metamorphosis as a way to vicariously explore feelings of loneliness, detachment from
community, and powerlessness. An author is never far removed from the framework in
which they write, and the profound effects of Kafka's context on his writing have
stimulated my realization that when analyzing text, the author's personal background
as it can provide insight into literature as an art form and as their method of
expression.