The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

In the book, Metamorphosis, Frank Kafka tells the story of a dysfunctional family that becomes even more dysfunctional when their son, Gregor, transforms into a cockroach. Before and after his transformation, Gregor has a variety of identity and self-esteem issues. Through his transformation, many of these issues are maximized. He begins to not know who he is anymore, and he is disgusted by the fact that he has turned into a hideous creature, both figuratively and literally. This is demonstrated when he has woken up after turning into a cockroach with an itch. After he tries to scratch his itch, he notices one of his many insect legs and is revolted by the truth. The immensity of his disgust is portrayed in his reaction to his transformation into a bug. He does not react how most people would if they woke up one morning to find that they have been turned into what most would consider the world’s most repulsive insect. Instead of waking up in a panic, he simply reflects on his life as a human and how monotonous it was. In this reflection, it becomes clear that his family is codependent on him. Codependency is a major concern, and it should be addressed.

First of all, Gregors family pays less attention and see him less in the novella. Once said in the book "For the first fourteen days, Gregors parents could not come in to see him" (29). This quote

“The Metamorphosis” is a surreal story by Franz Kafka surrounding the transformation and betrayal of Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one day, reborn into a large insect. Along with the bizarre and nightmarish appearance of his new hard back, brown segmented belly, and many legs, Gregor only desire is to live a normal life, unfortunately, this is impossible because he struggles to even get out of bed. Gregor transformation into an insect is a vivid metaphor for the alienation of humans from around the world. After losing human form, Gregor is automatically deprived of the right to be a part of society. Franz Kafka could relate to Gregor because he too was mistreated/neglected by his father and worked a job that he was unhappy doing. Franz and Gregor both were providers for their families. Alienation, isolation, and loneliness were not hard to recognize during the Modernity and Modernism time period.

On the surface, “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka is an evocative story of a man transformed into a “monstrous vermin”. It seems to focus on the dark transformation of the story’s protagonist, Gregor, but there is an equal and opposing transformation that happens within Gregor’s family. Although Gregor has physically changed at the beginning of the story, he remains relatively unchanged as the novella progresses. The family, on the other hand, is forced to drastically change how they support themselves. Although the change was unexpected, Gregor’s transformation into a vermin sets into motion a change in the Samsa family that leaves them better off in almost every facet of their lives. Thus, Kafka’s story is not one of descent into darkness, but one of a family’s ascent towards self-actualization. The metamorphosis the title speaks of does not take place in Gregor, but rather in the Samsa Family; consequently, Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” is not a tale of darkness, disconnection and despair, but rather a story of hope, new beginnings and perseverance.

He worries about not showing up to his job on time or losing it entirely because he knows that his family depends on it. Ultimately, Gregor is concerned about how his inability to continue as the provider will affect his family. He believes his role as provider is a responsibility that he must carry out in sickness and in health. Indeed, family provides a part of a person’s sense of self, but it is the decision of each individual of how much of an influence family is. In Gregor’s case, it was an overwhelming influence because he was more concerned about what would happen to his family instead of what would happen to him physically and emotionally as a consequence of his transformation into a bug. This overwhelming influence is psychologically unhealthy because it can cause Gregor and other individuals to be so focused on their family’s needs that they forget about their own needs. Likewise, the other extreme is also unhealthy – leaving one’s family on their own with no concern about what could happen to them. It would be more psychologically healthy for a middle ground where individuals are concerned about their family’s well being and attempt to help them only when their family is in the most need. Otherwise, individuals should only wish them well and work on tending to their own needs to be emotionally and physically healthy.

Kafka’s timeless novella, The Metamorphosis, first shows, the physical and mental change of Gregor Samsa. As Gregor wakes up for work, he realizes that his body is not what it used to be. He has completely transformed into a giant beetle-like insect and he begins to notice his “hard... armor plated back… dome-like brown belly divided into stiff arch segments, [and] numerous legs… which waved helplessly before his eyes” (Kafka 6). Mentally, Gregor continues to think like a normal person. Even though he has just transformed into a nasty insect, his main concern is still about getting to work and supporting his entire family. This concern fades when he understands that his illness releases him from his job. Wilhelm Emrich also believes that Gregor gains freedom by stating that, “Samsa complains of his “grueling job,” of the “upset of doing business,” “worrying about changing trains, eating

So concerned with ensuring his parents and sister were taken care of, he forgot his own needs. It was apparent to everyone that he was no longer thought of as a son or an extension of the family, but merely as a "support system." The tragic fact is that "everyone had grown accustomed to it, his family as much as himself; they took the money gratefully, he gave it willingly but the act was accompanied by no remarkable effusiveness" (Kafka 48). It appears that in the course of his hectic work schedule, he overlooks that in return for dedication to his family, he remains unloved and unappreciated. Yet Gregor still "believed he had to provide his family with a pleasant, contented, secure life" (Emrich 149), regardless of how they treated him.

Gregor allowed his family to harass, bully and degrade him, in the same manner that Kafka had allowed his family to do. The similarity of Kafka’s relationship with his father was also portrayed with Gregor and his relationship with his father. Kafka intended to reflect and highlight the decisions that were made by Gregor being influenced by his family, by making them important protagonists within the novel. Gregor expresses from the beginning of the novel how his father intended on raising him, “from the first day of his new life that his father considered only the strictest treatment called for in dealing with him”38, much like Kafka’s father had. Gregor’s father was rather tough on him and his duties, and would take no clear- minded steps into understanding what Gregor, as a bug, did or tried to communicate through the actions he took. As he jumped to conclusions the second he saw Gregor out of his room, and would beat him with a cane trying to pressure him back to staying in his room as if he wasn’t even his son, or throwing apples at him. This provokes Gregor, allowing him to think more rationally, becoming more introverted, yet inside he was suffering with such sadness and crying desperately for some kind of recognition, much like Kafka did.

He became aggressive and hostile to his son, beating him with newspapers and apples: “...with his left hand he gathered up a big newspaper from the table… began to drive Gregor back into his room…(Kafka 23)”. When Gregor was still human he was providing to the point where no one else in the family had to work. This made the father fat and lazy, used to his luxurious and comfortable lifestyle. This all changed when Gregor did. The father was forced to work once more, in order to simply feed the family. He resented Gregor’s transformation for this, an action which he could not control nor wished for, and took that resentment out on Gregor. The father’s change is important because it shows the true nature of Mr. Samsa and his not so unconditional love. It shows that what Gregor is working for, who he is working to help, would easily turn their back on him with no remorse. This father son disconnect is a representation of the relationship the author, Kafka, shared with his father. Kafka’s father did not love him unconditionally, he always made to feel guilty and repressed by his father and wished to express it in the Samsa family

In Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis,” Gregor Samsa deals with the alienation from his family stemming from both absurd and mundane circumstances. While Gregor’s transformation into a bug is the catalyst to his physical alienation, Gregor had for years been becoming more and more isolated mentally and emotionally from his family due to his displeasure at his having to work a job he hated due to his father’s failings and the lack of gratitude he received from his family for his hard work. It was not just his family who Gregor was becoming isolated from, but it was humanity in general that Gregor had been drifting apart from, as he had not mentioned having any friends or work colleagues which leads the readers to believe he had no social life

This Socratic seminar has benefited me greatly by giving me further insight of the novel, The Metamorphosis, in which I would not have thought of otherwise without the minds of others. My perception of the book both existentially and symbolically has changed considerably after the comments that were made in the group as well as the thought provoking questions asked throughout the seminar.

Gregor very much loves his parents and has committed to almost 20 years of labor to pay of their debts. “If I didn’t hold back for my parents’ sake, I would’ve quit ages ago.” -Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis pg 5

There is no meaning to life, man is as insignificant as the ants littering his streets. There is no purpose for man, he is able to survive and communicate this very beliefs for unknown reasons to him. Franz Kafka, one such believer of this reality, wrote a novel, The Metamorphosis, which captured the existential dilemma perfectly. Franz Kafka was a man trapped within his own skin, a castaway, a nobody. Kafka wrote many stories, often nightmarish and reflective of his own reality. The Metamorphosis is no different, the main character Gregor Samsa wakes up to find himself transformed into the most disgusting of vermin. Gregor is not only representative of Kafka, he is the embodiment of reality. Life is a short, depressed journey through missed

Even at the beginning of Metamorphosis, Gregor’s father is lazy and useless; the failure of his company looming over his head bringing him down. The father’s failures rule his life while Gregor is forced to become the main provider for his family,

Gregor's metamorphosis into a insect is the main conflict of the story. This serves as a metaphor for any type of damage that renders the worker unable to work (4). Although Gregor transforms into this insect Kafka gives us little detail of the bug. Kafka wants to show the class struggle that is taking place rather than spending time describing the details of the bug. The story focuses on how Gregor's value declines as he is unable to work due to being this giant insect. After he has lost his value, his manager, and even his family