“A Whimper Ending of a Fascinating Story”.

Introduction

Without any doubt, the metamorphosis by Franz Kafka has been the most reviewed and the most discussed work in the domain of literature. The story chronicles the transformation of Gregor Samsa into an insect. The metamorphosis is well known for its capability to motivate varied and sometimes equally exclusive understandings. Due to this the story is considered as vital riddle of the imagination of the modern literature. However, the conversion of a man into an insect has caused Kafka to achieve the praise from the critics (Todorov, 1973). Despite of the fascination of the story, the ending of the story is quite meaningless. No link between the rest of the story and the ending can be found. After reading the story it can be said that Kafka ended his work quite inappropriately and improperly (Heidsieck, 1983). After catching the reader's attention by the fantasy in the start of the story suddenly is lost when a reader reaches the end and experiences a meaningless end of the story.

Critical Reception

The letters written by Kafka to his fiancée and his diary entries about the metamorphosis clearly indicate that though Kafka was satisfied with the story but he himself felt that he ended the story with so many flaws (Kafka, 1976). For this he gives a blame to a business trip which interrupted him while he was about to write the ending of the story. Many critics have observed that the metamorphosis is the only work for which Kafka seriously sought publications, just may be because of the lack of concentration which he encountered while writing the ending of the story due to the business trip which came in between (Kafka, 1976). More interest has been developed by critics in the metamorphosis after Kafka's death. The thematic analysis of the story has been the point of concentration for the critics and many have concluded the realism in the theme of the story in which the fantastic conversion of a human named Gregor into an insect is expressed (Fraiberg, 1957).

Psychoanalytical explanations of the story have also been offered by many critics just because of the story is a dramatization of modern neurosis. Kafka's story has drawn out a huge amount of readers and the interest of critics towards itself due to the technical analysis of the story along with the story's outlandish and enthralling nature. The problematic features of the story are still challenging many of the readers. According to the analysts of English literature it is a perception developed about the work of Kafka that no story of Kafka escapes the blindness of the readers (Kafka, 1976).

Ending of the story

After reading and enjoying the beginning and the middle part of the story, the final four pages or the end of the story is very meaningless and this is a truth as observed by many critics and analysts. There is no such importance of the final four pages of the story since no link can be made between ...