An Analysis of the Hero Gregor in The Metamorphosis from the Perspective of Existentialism_英语论文

摘要

《变形记》是卡夫卡的经典之作。在小说中，通过描绘主人公格里高尔由人变虫后的境况遭遇，卡夫卡着墨于关注自我探索和个体存在，同时也关注社会责任。基于小说文本，本文以存在先于本质，人生充满恶心和自由选择等萨特存在主义理论对《变形记》进行存在主义探析。本文将会对《变形记》作以下五个方面的探析：介绍，文献综述，理论框架，人物分析和存在主义理论以及总结。基于以上的分析，本文得出结论：卡夫卡的《变形记》较为明显地体现了萨特存在主义的几个特征：作为人形的格里高尔，他的存在先于他的本质，而虫形的格里高尔则相反；恶心是格里高尔生活的常态；自由选择则创造了格里高尔本身。在对文本探究的过程中，本文也试图揭示现代人类的生存困境，同时让读者从存在主义视角对于小说中的主角格里高尔以及现代性有一个更深的认识。

关键词：《变形记》  存在主义  萨特

Abstract

The Metamorphosis is a classic work of Kafka. In the novel, Kafka focuses on self-exploration and individual existence, as well as social responsibility, by describing the situation of the hero Gregor who changed from a man to an insect. Based on the text of the novel, this paper makes an existential analysis of The Metamorphosis from Sartre's existentialism theory, i.e. existence precedes essence, life is full of nausea and free choice. This paper will make an analysis of The Metamorphosis in the following five aspects: introduction, literature review, theory framework, protagonist analysis and existentialism theory, as well as conclusion. Based on the above analysis, this paper concludes that The Metamorphosis embodies several characteristics of Sartre's existentialism: as a human figure, Gregor's existence precedes his essence, while the worm-shaped Gregor is the opposite; nausea is the normal life of Gregor; and free choice creates Gregor itself. In the process of exploring the text, this paper also attempts to elaborate the dilemma of modern human existence while allows readers to have a deeper understanding of the protagonist Gregor from perspective of existentialism and Modernity in the novel.

Key words: The Metamorphosis  existentialism  Sartre 

Contents

Chapter One  Introduction 1

1.1  A Brief Introduction to The Metamorphosis 1

1.2  Purpose of the Thesis 3

1.3  Structure of the Thesis 3

Chapter Two  Literature Review 4

2.1  Introduction 4

2.2  Previous Studies on The Metamorphosis Abroad 4

2.3  Previous Studies on The Metamorphosis at Home 5

Chapter Three  Theoretical Framework 8

3.2  Related Studies on Existentialism Theory 9

3.2.1 Existence Precedes Essence 9

3.2.2 Free Choice 10

3.2.3 Life Is Full of Nausea 11

Chapter Four  An Analysis of the Hero Gregor in The Metamorphosis from the Perspective of Existentialism 13

4.1  An Introduction of Gregor’s Metamorphosis 13

4.2  The analysis of The Metamorphosis from Existentialism 16

4.2.1 On Existence Preceding Essence 16

4.2.2 On Free Choice 17

4.2.3 On Nausea 19

4.3  Gregor, the Survival Dilemma of Modern People 20

Chapter Five  Conclusion 23

5.1  Major Findings 23

5.2  Limitations and Suggestions for Future Study 23

Bibliography

Acknowledgements