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Definition of Irony
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this seems like a loose definition... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how they actually are. If this... read full definition
Irony is a literary device or event in which how things seem to be is in fact very different from how... read full definition
Section 1
Explanation and Analysis—From Traveler to Trapped:
Near the start of Section 1, Kafka ironically reveals that Gregor works as a commercial traveler and dislikes the frequent travel necessitated by his job:
Oh God, he thought, what an exhausting job I’ve picked on! Traveling about day in, day out. It's much more irritating work than doing the actual business in the office, and on top of that there’s the trouble of constant traveling, of worrying about train connections, the bed and irregular meals, casual acquaintances that are always new and never become intimate friends. The devil take it all!
The fact that Gregor works as a commercial traveler before becoming a gigantic insect confined in his room is an instance of situational irony. Specifically, Gregor laments his constant travels without knowing that he will actually never leave his house again on account of his transformation. Gregor proclaims "devil take it all!" without knowing that it has all been taken from him already.
The above quotation also reveals that Gregor was to some extent isolated even before he turned into an insect, as his job caused him to make "casual acquaintances that are always new and never become intimate friends." The mundanity of Gregor's working life is lonely independent of his transformation, although no doubt more lonely after the fact. This somewhat contributes to the situational irony while more broadly suggesting that Gregor struggles to connect with others as a consequence of his job or perhaps simply because of who he is as a person.
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Section 2
Explanation and Analysis—Flowered Wallpaper:
When Grete and Gregor's mother try to clear out Gregor's room in Section 2, they catch sight of Gregor perched on the wall in an ironic perversion of nature:
[...] caught sight of the huge brown mass on the flowered wallpaper, and before she was really conscious that what she saw was Gregor screamed in a loud, hoarse voice: “Oh God, oh God!” fell with outspread arms over the sofa as if giving up and did not move. “Gregor!” cried his sister, shaking her fist and glaring at him.
The image of Gregor perched on the "flowered wallpaper," and the ensuing horror that image evokes in Grete, is an ironic perversion of an otherwise natural scene: a bug perched on a flower. The fact that it is a human-sized bug perched on flowered wallpaper, however, distorts this otherwise natural scene.
The situation is further ironic because it results in Grete addressing Gregor directly for the first time since his metamorphosis, and yet she does so in a situation in which Gregor appears most like a bug. Gregor crawling on the side of the wall, on top of a wallpaper flower, and evoking horror in his sister and then mother is the most inhuman he has appeared at this point in the story. However, it is only now that Gregor's sister addresses him by name.
Gregor's mother is described as falling on the sofa "as if giving up." While the simile is used to describe her fainting, it specifically highlights that Gregor is losing any chance of communicating with his family as he becomes more insect-like. They are "giving up" on finding a way out of this terrible situation, a fact that becomes clear in the third section of the story. The simile also emphasizes once more the horror that is Gregor's inhuman appearance, as it provokes Gregor's mother to figuratively give up on life itself.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Then versus Now:
Gregor observes an ironic change in behavior from his family pre- and post-metamorphosis in Section 2:
In the early morning, when the doors were locked, they had all wanted to come in, now that he had opened one door and the other had apparently been opened during the day, no one came in and even the keys were on the other side of the doors.
Gregor notices that before his family saw him as an insect—when the doors to his room were locked—they all wanted to enter his room. Now that he is an insect and the doors are unlocked, though, nobody wants to enter. This is an instance of situational irony, as the irony is a product of the change in situation. The irony underscores the isolated and lonely nature of Gregor’s life after he has become an insect: nobody can even bear to look at him, much less communicate with him.
The irony also emphasizes the juxtaposition between Gregor’s mental capacity and his physical ability. While Gregor still has the mind of a person and is able to comprehend the irony of his situation accordingly, he is unable to physically articulate that understanding to anyone else, except for the reader.
Related Themes:
Section 3
Explanation and Analysis—Credit With Intelligence:
The charwoman ironically treats Gregor as if he is intelligent while also treating him like an animal, as evidenced in her reaction to finding Gregor's dead body in Section Three:
She thought he was lying motionless on purpose, pretending to be in the sulks; she credited him with every kind of intelligence.
The charwoman previously attempted to lure Gregor close enough to kill him, and she is one of the few characters in the story who has only interacted with Gregor after he transformed into an insect. Despite knowing him only as an animal, the charwoman ironically treats him as more intelligent than the rest of his family does. Specifically, this is an instance of situational irony, as the irony comes from the juxtaposition between the facts of the situation—the charwoman having only known Gregor as an insect—and the way she views Gregor. Furthering the irony, it is the character who credits Gregor with intelligence who treats him the most as an animal, to the point of attempting to kill him. Even someone who can view Gregor as intelligent does not see him as a human, only as a sly and conniving bug.
It is doubly ironic that Gregor is only credited with "every kind of intelligence" after he has died. The irony emphasizes the complete and utter communicative disconnect between Gregor and anyone else, as even in death his intentions are misunderstood (or, in this case, completely fabricated). This additional instance of irony is dramatic irony, as the reader knows that Gregor is dead at this point in the story but the charwoman does not.
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