Metamorphosis 3 Essay Research Paper MetamorphosisAccording to

Metamorphosis 3 Essay, Research Paper

Metamorphosis

According to Webster s New College Dictionary, a metamorphosis is defined to be a marked alteration in appearance, condition, character, or function. Franz Kafka s Metamorphosis could not have a more appropriate title than it dons now. Virtually every round character in this extraordinarily poetic story takes on at least one, sometimes several transformations throughout the course of the writing. Every member of the family is changed in some aspect: physical appearance, temperament, lifestyle, and role in the group. Indeed, even the state of the group, or family is altered. These transformations are due to an inner dissatisfaction with the current situation.

The opening line of the story, As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect, reveals the primary and most basic metamorphosis of this piece of literature. Kafka attempts to show the reader Samsa s discontentment with what his feels is the lack of control in his life by spontaneous transformation of a human being into an insect. Humans are at the top of the food chain in the world, and thus are in complete control. In contrast, insects have almost no control over their own destiny because they are small, unintelligent creatures that can be squashed between a human s thumb and forefinger or destroyed under the sole of a stepping shoe.

The first instance of lack of control over his life he encounters deals with the exploitation of his labor. Samsa appears to be a very young man who has been thrown into the role of the breadwinner for the family since his father s business defaulted. He has been working in order to support his family and the lifestyle they have come to embrace. The family lives in an apartment that is more than they need; one that has a concierge and servants to clean and cook. This fact would not seem strange unless you remember that a young man, who seems too young for the responsibility, is the lone source of income for the family. He has been working for years to repay the debt that has been borrowed from his boss. In addition to all that, he finds that his father has been stashing away part of his income discreetly into what has turned out to be a substantial savings. Considering these aspects it would be hard to argue that Gregor s labor has been exploited. The author uses this scenario to show how Gregor has adopted the conventional capitalist mentality of modern man. Samsa is frustrated by his totally commercial existence. And yet does nothing about it, other than try to escape by thinking along purely commercial lines. He hates the job and he vows that once he has sufficient money he will quit: what an exhausting job I ve picked on! The Devil take it all! (312). Thinking of his job and his boss, Samsa contemplates, If I didn t have to hold my hand because of my parents, I d have given notice along time ago, I d have told him exactly what I think of him. That would knock him endways from his desk! (312). This quote represents Gregor s real persona, his underlying self.

The insect is Gregor s underlying self. It refuses to be further subjected to the miserable life he has led in his concern for money. Finally, this persona has manifested itself into Gregor s life. It will not be chased away easily by sleeping a little longer and forgetting all this nonsense. The apparent delusion turns out to be a terrifying reality. The insect represents all the dimensions of Gregor s existence in his mind, but were not apparent in his everyday physical life.

The most obvious dimension of the insect s representation is that of loneliness and isolation. While his family and everyone around him were shaped in the form of human beings, Gregor, alone, is an insect. Not only is Gregor s appearance unusual, so is his speech, or more correctly, his eventual lack of speech. Nina Straus points out in her criticism that Kafka includes Gregor s loss of oral communication abilities in order to bring attention to the point that it is also dehumanizing because language can describe the human as nonhuman (Straus, 127). What she means by this is that although human thought is active and has a life of its own, it can be represented in a system of rules that is static and unchanging and therefore not alive. These are merely a metaphor for Gregor s feelings of loneliness while he was the lone source of income in his family. Since he had worked hard enough to obtain the position of travelling salesperson, Gregor earned enough money that he was able to meet the expenses of the whole household and did so. They had simply gotten used to it, both the family and Gregor (326). This quotation already gives the reader a sense of the separation between Gregor and his family. As the line continues, however, the reader becomes much more aware of Samsa s emotions concerning the matter: the money was gratefully accepted and gladly given, but there was no uprush of warm feeling (326).

While in his isolation, Gregor realizes the terrible insight that even the most beautiful relationships between individuals are based on delusions. No one knows what he or anybody else really is. Gregor s parents, for instance, have no idea of their son s serious conflict, much less of the extent of his sacrifice for them. On the other hand, Gregor is mistaken about his family. He has believed it was