Research Paper on:
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and Alienation

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
different than the one many have come to know as being equated with the human condition of feeling estranged. Kafka used the concept in his Metamorphosis, but what is alienation  exactly? In society today, socialization is emphasized. School children who do not conform to such precepts are shunned. Parents are notified that this "shyness" or discomfort in social situations is  detrimental. At the same time, psychologists do point out that solitude when chosen is not the same thing as social isolation or alienation (Waskowic, and Cramer 1045). Loneliness as  well as alienation have been described as negative subjective affects which are associated with social isolation (Suarez and Fowers 489). Loneliness and alienation are generally linked with estrangement from interpersonal  meaning and those feelings that occur when a person perceives himself or herself as different (489). People who are primarily vulnerable to such feelings are at risk  for suicidal ideation and behavior (489). In looking at Kafkas Metamorphosis, one sees that Gregor, the protagonist, is certainly isolated. The work begins as follows: "As Gregor Samsa awoke  one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect" (Kafka PG). It is an interesting opening line, and one can imagine that as  the story goes on, this once human being who finds himself a bug is not able to have a normal life. The alienation becomes clear throughout the work and is  perhaps a metaphor for discrimination in society today. The novel is one story in three sections. In the first part of the work, the protagonist is mutated into a large  insect and so, this man is no longer himself. In fact, on the first page, Gregor wakes up and finds out that he is a bug. He tries to see