So many readers are delighted to roam in the garden of crossing paths constructed by fantastic writing techniques and magical realism. These loyal followers of Garcia Marquez or Sartre took all the magic elements between the lines of the master’s words – twisted and eccentric narration, images full of psychoanalysis and complex themes of exploring the subjective world as the standard. The influence of these idealistic words is far-reaching. Their realistic critical significance and innovative techniques expand the boundaries of aesthetics, and the reflection that can be seen everywhere deepens readers’ understanding of human nature and human rights.
Such a writing mode has become increasingly mature after several generations of master carving. But no one can tell where it ends. It seems to have infinite tension, during which any miracle can happen. In fact, this unspeakable inheritance itself is a miracle. If we trace back along the line, we will find that the undercurrent of the emergence and prosperity of this kind of writing techniques clearly points to or passes through an Austrian writer who was popular at the junction of the 19th and 20th centuries, regardless of the expressive techniques of visual symbols or the settings that tend to be absurd and overhead. His name is Franz Kafka.
Kafka is an incomprehensible genius, a master gradually washed out by the long river of time. Originally just the son of a Jewish businessman and a young man with few words, these humble experiences and characteristics have become a monument of contemporary literature. His talent and loneliness created the most natural and unnatural style, which in turn affected his life.
I guess Kafka didn’t expect that he would become a master worthy of the hat of the whole 20th century literary world when he wrote those words that only belonged to him in the late night. Kafka is not productive and seems to have bad writing habits. Later generations sorted out his works, and found most of them were short stories similar to fables and without segmentation; Even now, some people are still racking their brains for these very suspicious ultra-short articles. There are still some unfinished works – judging from the completed parts, they could have become masterpieces. However, in addition, the struggling author still left a considerable number of excellent works. Metamorphosis is undoubtedly the most famous and representative one among them.
The whole story of Metamorphosis revolves around Gregory’s strange and tragic experience. The clue is extremely simple, but Kafka plumped it into a colorful story with his unparalleled gloomy explosive power. You can see its flow with a gentle squeeze.
Of course, the greatest charm of Metamorphosis is not the plot. Others say that its success lies in the completeness and vividness of its characters. Rather than saying that, it is better to change the formulation slightly. What really brings life to the article is a rare concept in previous literary works – alienation.
The first element, and the most frequently analyzed one, is the invasion and distortion of human nature by capitalist society. Whether it is intentional or unintentional, this emotion has been running through the whole article. Gregory turned into a beetle, a setting that completely ignored common sense of life was the first flash of this emotion. It is not difficult to understand the metaphor in combination with the identity of the protagonist. Innocent and helpless, clumsy and humble, it is the position of Gregory in the cruel social machine. When the beetle woke up, the most important thing he thought about was whether he would lose his job. This is Kafka’s black humor, which is absurd but has deep sadness. The degeneration of Gregory provided the best bedding for the cruelty and indifference that followed. The father’s vicious words are opposite to each other, and the ruthless ridicule of his colleagues is the most frightening thing that a staff member who loves his family and only wants to keep his job can imagine. All this happened because the hero can no longer bring wealth to the family. This irony of the priority of emotion, money and power fully reflects the alienation of people from the pathological system that the author wants to criticize. Not only Gregor, but who can escape this shadow.
Kafka is very acrimonious in social criticism, but he can’t see too much intention. So I believe that what he really wants to express is the second aspect of “alienation” – the transformation of the inner world.
Kafka has considerable experience in psychological alienation. If you push others and yourself, they are an excellent example of the weak personality formed after countless setbacks. The black of his heart is revealed in his words. Gregory has a thick shadow of Kafka himself. Gregory’s transformation into a beetle is not so much the author’s flash of insight as his profound understanding of the change after the suppression of human nature. Kafka is well aware of the grotesque and directness of the subconscious, and the image of the beetle caters to this grotesque in form. This beetle is not only strange enough to watch, but also guilty. It is ugly and dirty, slow to move, wrapped in thick shell, and will never be able to communicate with the outside world normally: this is a very typical mental disease patient. Such a design is not only Kafka’s bold experiment full of imagination, but also his prediction: since then, more and more writers have begun to pay attention to the projection of the subjective world, and more and more people have seen the huge wounds that cannot be healed in their hearts. It was only in that era that it was too difficult for readers to understand an advanced genius who used the beetle as a badge.
Kafka did not let Gregory go. Let the “stranger” starve, suffer painful grievances and stumble in the small room. Finally die. The process of this beetle’s death is exactly the desperation and sadness that Kafka recited with the rhetoric of closely relating to alienation. In the final analysis, Gregory was swallowed by his heart full of fear. But this misfortune turned out to be his sin. He can’t cry and complain. Kafka had to complete the funeral of a poor man who had been distorted.
He did not spare the readers. Metamorphosis is a nightmare. When Gregory woke up, we fell into a coma and fell into the abyss of nightmares. He asked himself in a cold sweat. I’m far from a beetle. Will I be like that clerk. Why do I stumble like this.
Kafka is wise. It’s naive again. Wisdom lies in that he has grasped the distorted smiles of all of us. It is naive that he has made us realize our helplessness and stupidity.
The short novel Metamorphosis is Kafka’s bitter attempt and his best epitaph. It is not a dagger or a gun thrown at a sick society. It is not so powerful. But it is a terrible mirror. When we pick it up in the dead of night, without exception, we will see a crying beetle in it.
