The Metamorphoses of Awareness

Paper Summary:

The paper shows that, when approached from a metaphorical and mythological stand-point, Franz Kafka's "Metamorphoses", about an office worker who mutates into a bug, becomes universal and important. It shows how "Metamorphoses" is the story of the human soul?s journey towards awareness and enlightenment, with some of the main themes being journeying and traveling.

From the Paper:

"Before taking the form of an insect, Gregor lived what might be considered a dehumanizing, and certainly repetitive and unsoulfull life. He was single-handedly supporting his family and repaying his father's debts. His first thoughts after the transformation are of how to catch his train and keep his job. Yet at the same time Gregor reminisces of how he hates his workplace, and wishes he could tell off his boss. He has never been authentic in life until the moment he becomes a bug. With every passing moment in bug form, outward appearance of reality becomes more and more true to the inner face of actual reality. Gregor's family becomes unable to understand his speech: in truth they had never communicated with him. His room is stripped of its furnishings and filled with trash: really his life had never held anything of meaning. Gregor learns to make reality truthful. He becomes unwilling to eat because he cannot find food that he wants. In this self-starving he finds an integrity he never had before, an ability to insist that he be true to his nature. One could easily speak of this restless search for a satisfying food as a metaphor for the journeying search for enlightenment and truth in awareness. "

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