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Definition of Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved directly or indirectly, by making... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the story. Foreshadowing can be achieved... read full definition
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which authors hint at plot developments that don't actually occur until later in the... read full definition
Section 1
Explanation and Analysis—Pitifully Thin Legs:
The Metamorphosis opens with an imagery-laden description of Gregor's body as an insect:
He was lying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his dome-like brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes.
Gregor Samsa’s transformation into a “gigantic insect” is described with imagery, painting a vivid picture for the reader of what Gregor now looks like. While the entire quotation is an important instance of imagery—it is the most detailed description of Gregor's insect body the reader receives in the story—the description of his legs is particularly significant. Kafka describes Gregor's legs as "pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk," and he notes that they "waved helplessly." This description highlights Gregor's inability to move around. While Gregor will eventually figure out how to walk as a bug, he will never again leave his house, and his new life of restricted movement is foreshadowed by the pitiful nature of his legs. Starting with this description of Gregor as an insect is a bold stylistic choice by Kafka, who begins the story by describing Gregor as nonhuman and allows his humaneness to shine through later.
Related Themes:
Section 2
Explanation and Analysis—Gray Sky, Gray Land:
Kafka uses uses imagery to describe Gregor's waning sight in Section 2:
For in reality day by day things that were even a little way off were growing dimmer to his sight; the hospital across the street, which he used to execrate for being all too often before his eyes, was now quite beyond his range of vision, and if he had not known that he lived in Charlotte Street, a quiet street but still a city street, he might have believed that his window gave on a desert waste where gray sky and gray land blended indistinguishably into each other.
Kafka describes what Gregor can and cannot see in vivid detail, specifically the "gray sky and gray land" that blends indistinguishably together. The narrative also describes what Gregor can hear from his room, although it is not much because Gregor lives on a "quiet street." This imagery highlights Gregor's continued transformation: he is becoming progressively more insect-like and less human, especially regarding his body. Gregor's mind is still with him, as the qualifiers "if he had not known" and "he might have believed" highlight. The imagery, and these qualifiers, foreshadow Gregor's continued descent into a more and more bug-like creature.
Furthermore, Gregor's isolation is emphasized through the descriptions of what he can no longer see. Without his extended vision, Gregor is more confined than ever before. Although he can continue looking out of his window, Gregor will not see anything. Gregor is then becoming completely trapped in his room as he loses his human senses.
Related Themes:
