Notes

Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis is told in third person, although we still get to know all of Gregor's thoughts and how he feels. It seems as though the narrator is close to Gregor and is perhaps next to him when everything happens, and for times when he runs off the narrator stays in the bedroom. This could also perhaps be that the narrator is the human part of Gregor so that when he does scurry off the human part is left behind. However I believe that the narrator is supposed to be an outside person and is someone who is just very close to Gregor at all times apart from when he runs away, as perhaps the narrator just wants to sit back and perhaps see the reactions from afar instead of focusing on Gregor's emotions for once.
This is because the narrator knows exactly what Gregor is thinking at every moment, but does not quite know how the rest of the family is, this makes it seem like he is next to Gregor and can hear everything he is thinking.
This makes you think that the book is actually in first person when thinking back to it, but then it is actually third person.
I think Kafka does this because it gives us the first person views of Gregor but also allows him to say some of the things about the family or others that Gregor would not be able to know about.
The book is also in past tense and in a way seems as though it is a reflection or an autobiography written in the future about events that happened in the past. This could also explain the third person as sometimes when one reflects in the past it may be easier to speak in third person as if yourself is actually just a character in a story.


Another thing that the narrator does is with the sentences is start some sentences using human characteristics but then showing the contrast of what is actually happening in the end of the sentence with the bug like traits.

The narrator also leaves a lot of things out leaving it for the reader to finish off why he would do these things or other details. Although he does not say it he slightly implies it, however it is up to the reader to use their schemas to fill in the missing gaps even though it may be implied.



realism and fantasy are combined to deliberately confuse us