Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” has been a dynamic read so far. Initially the overnight transformation was rather boggling. To awake to such horror, our main character Gregor Samsa is oddly calm. As we read on we see how his family also reacts to this impossibly gruesome change without much surprise. Everyone seems to be more revolted than actually concerned with the absurdity. Before seeing Gregor’s bug-like body, the mother was extremely concerned. She wants to call the doctor and the locksmith and even tries to defend her son to his employer. However, upon seeing the huge roach the mother is disgusted and for the rest of the story she and her husband basically ignore Gregor’s condition and seem to consider him a burden. These observations gather evidence of the author’s use of existentialism in that Kafka creates this absurd chaotic world with difficulty in defining true meanings and ultimately identity.
From the start the story is difficult to truly grasp. Is Gregor Samsa a literal cockroach who is losing the identity of his human self? Or is Gregor just discovering who he is becoming inside. He despises work, he lives in isolation with no friends and little interaction with his family, and although he is a responsible and hard worker, he is so dissatisfied with his life that he sees himself as a bug. He has lost touch with humanity and with himself, and oddly enough he seems to be more satisfied as a roach than as an actually human.
From the start the story is difficult to truly grasp. Is Gregor Samsa a literal cockroach who is losing the identity of his human self? Or is Gregor just discovering who he is becoming inside. He despises work, he lives in isolation with no friends and little interaction with his family, and although he is a responsible and hard worker, he is so dissatisfied with his life that he sees himself as a bug. He has lost touch with humanity and with himself, and oddly enough he seems to be more satisfied as a roach than as an actually human.