Novella The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

In the novella The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka and the graphic novel The Metamorphosis by Peter Kuper, they use symbolism to convey characterization, tone, mood, and theme. In the story, a travelling salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up in the body of a cockroach. He struggles to get out of his bed as he realizes he’s late for work. The chief clerk at his job eventually arrives at his home to check on him. Samsa frantically opens the door with his mouth while his parents and the chief look in horror.

In the first sentence of the novella Kafka writes, “One morning, when Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin” (Kafka 93). In this sentence we learn the characterization of Samsa, that he had turned into an insect. Kafka goes on to describe, “he could see his brown belly, slightly domed and divided into stiff sections...his many legs, pitifully thin compared with the size of the rest of him, waved about helplessly as he looked” (Kafka 93).

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This is significant because it further describes Samsa as a cockroach. We learn the disproportionality between his body and his legs. This also gives us the tone of despair. The words Kafka uses include “horrible”,”pitifully thin”, and “helplessly”.

In Peter Kuper’s graphic novel he uses the images to depict characterization and tone. In one scene while Samsa is ranting about his job, his boss is a giant who’s shoving Samsa who is tiny in comparison, “Especially given the disturbing way the boss sits high on his desk and talks down to his employees” (Kuper 112).

In the next scene, Samsa is seen as the giant who frightens his boss, “By now I would have marched into his office and given him a piece of my mind from the bottom of my heart! That would have knocked him off his desk!” (Kuper 112). This page characterizes Samsa’s boss as a feared man by many, and demonstrates how he pushes around employees like Samsa. It also indicates his timidness, where he’s too afraid to speak up, but thinks about it in his mind.

Both Kafka and Kuper use their symbolism to demonstrate characterization, tone, and mood in The Metamorphosis, but in different styles. Kafka uses his words and expresses, “Well, there’s still some hope; once I’ve got money together to pay off my parents’ debt to him-another five or six years I suppose-that’s definitely what I’ll do” (Kafka 95). In Kafka’s version, the reader understands that Samsa has been put into debt by his parents for years. In Kuper’s novel, Samsa is seen inside of an hourglass as money slowly pours to the bottom. The top is filled to the point where only his head can be seen peeking through, “Ah, well, I haven’t given up all hope yet.

Once I’ve gotten the money to pay off my parents’ debt to him-in five or six years at most-I’ll certainly do it, then I’ll cut myself free!” (Kuper 113). Kuper’s version gives a better example to demonstrate the characterization and tone. Samsa can be seen almost suffocating by the amount of debt he is in, indicating how much struggle he’s been put through. It also demonstrates the tone of hopelessness, as there is no escape of the hourglass for Samsa. He’s stuck suffocating for a longtime until it finally runs empties to the bottom. Ultimately, Franz Kafka’s novella and Peter Kuper’s graphic novel of The Metamorphosis both use symbolism to demonstrate the characterization and tone of the story, but in different styles.