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Examples Of Diction In The Metamorphosis

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Aaron Moss
Mrs. Stockton
AP Lit
20 October 2017
Kafka's Use of Disquietude and Pleasure Repulsing imagery, such as a large, monstrous bug, is hardly considered a pleasant introduction to a story. More often than not, such imagery forces the reader away from the story thus preventing an author's work from being read. Despite this, Franz Kafka managed to do the complete opposite in his novella, The Metamorphosis. Kafka begins the novella with a repulsing image of a large beetle, but, instead of only creation a mood of disgust, Kafka manages to also make the introduction enticing and pleasing through the use of eloquent diction. This combination of disgust and pleasure, though hard to execute properly, can create a piece of writing that excels beyond others. This is exactly what a critic was …show more content…

This contrast of diction is scattered throughout the novella, but it is very clear that the diction is one of the most powerful ways that Kafka incorporated a mixture of emotions in this story. For example, after Gregor has revealed himself to his family, his father forces him into his room. Kafka describes this scene with words such as "forced", "tremblingly", and "painfully" which all represent an imagery that is chaotic, disorderly, and disquieting. These bold words, however, are quickly calmed by the use of "quite". Kafka uses similar diction throughout the novella. Another example is after Gregor is struck by an apple, Kafka uses words like "imbedded" and "repulsive" only to sooth the situation with words like "darkness" and "invisible", both of which represent peace (1179-1180). By building up a mood of chaos and then de-escalating that chaos through diction, Kafka is able to maintain a sustainable suspense within the reader and constantly maintain a balanced flow between disquietude and

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