ear, projected here as Gregor’s fear of Mr.Samsa’s help, is clearly, knowingly or unknowingly, projected in his many literary works. Gregor (Kafka in real life) is definitely seen to be afraid of Mr. Samsa (Kafka’s father in real life). The fact that Kafka mentions “strong arms” also has hidden meanings behind it, which could mean nothing more than strong arms to the readers. But, these “strong arms” definitely suggest the stern and harsh personality of Kafka’s real life father, Herrman Kafka. “In his story, Kafka has undoubtedly exorcised some personal devils, notably his ambivalent feelings towards his father, Hermann, an overbearing, intemperate, and tyrannical man whose values repeatedly collided with his son’s aesthetic interests” (Madden 212). Kafka’s interest in writing is hampered by his parents, mainly his father. Kafka lived in the shadow of his dominating father under constant pressure to take over the family business. Herrman always viewed Franz as a failure and disapproved of his writing. Herrman’s intentions for him running a business are clearly revealed in the story when Mr. Samsa mentions Gregor doing his fretwork. This obsession with wanting Franz to become a businessman often led Herrman to beat his son. Kafka’s frustration could be felt in his letter to Brod Max: -how my mother whimpers to me almost every evening,that I should after all take a look at the factory now and again just to keep my father’s mind easy, and how father has said the same thing, in a far nastier way with looks… (Corngold 105-106) SHAH 5One can see, in the story, the father’s loss of hope that Herrman had for his son, Kafka, when Mr. Samsa mentions the disorder of Gregor’s room – “a disorder expected of someone whom one ...
