The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a fictional novel written in the early 20’s about a traveling salesman named Gregory Samsa, who is spontaneously transformed into a bug. The Metamorphosis gives no clear explanation as to why many of the events in the novel occur including why the metamorphosis occurs. Life itself gives no explanation to why things happen. Gregor does not understand the forces shaping his life, and neither do we, but we are free to interpret them as we wish. And although nobody’s interpretation of their own life or someone else’s for that matter, is the same, no interpretation is wrong. Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to come to the realization that he has transformed into a bug. “It wasn’t a dream” (The Metamorphosis). Gregor, However, does not seem at all concerned that he has unexpectedly woken up as an insect. Although he is a bit perplexed, he doesn’t seem worried or petrified as one might assume. He simply notices his odd state of being and tries to go back to sleep hoping to “forget this nonsense” (The Metamorphosis). He cannot find a comfortable position to sleep because his insect body does not allow him. Samsa is a bit bothered but immediately begins to think about his job and the regret of becoming a salesman, considering it is such a strenuous job. "Oh, God", he thought, "what a strenuous career it is that I've chosen! Travelling day in and day out. Doing business like this takes much more effort than doing your own business at home, and on top of that there's the curse of travelling, worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food, contact with different people all the time so that you can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them. It can all go to Hell!" (The Metamorphosis). Samsa seems to be somewhat consumed by his job, His body has completely transformed into an insect and the first thing that comes to mind is his work and how much it bothers him. Surprisingly, his job seems to bother him more than the fact that he is now a bug. Gregor glances at his alarm clock and realizes he is extremely late for work and begins to panic, unluckily Samsa does not feel so “fresh and lively” considering he’s a bug (Metamorphosis) and he knows he will not avoid the anger of his boss. He begins to contemplate making an excuse, perhaps calling in sick, he thinks. He wanders off and creates a scenario in his head in which his boss would question Gregor, “What about if he reported sick? But that would be extremely strained and suspicious as in fifteen years of service Gregor had never once yet been ill. His boss would certainly come round with the doctor from the medical insurance company, accuse his parents of having a lazy son, and accept the doctor's recommendation not to make any claim as the doctor believed that no-one was ever ill but that many were work-shy” (The Metamorphosis). This is another example as to how consumed Gregor is in his job. He is an insect yet he is still concerned about calling in sick. Previously Gregor also displayed how irritated he was about his job saying “it can all go to hell!” but he has never missed a single workday in his life, he has perhaps gotten to the point of addiction. He knows his job is bothering him and deteriorating him but he can’t leave it. Moments later his mother begins to knock on Gregor’s door but Gregor does not open it and his mother begins to worry, then his sister also begins to worry and begs Gregor to open his door but Gregor refuses, Gregor is proud of himself for having the habit of always locking his door when he is at home, the habits from his job have come into his personal life. Then, like an extract from a nightmare the chief clerk of Gregor’s job shows up to his house to look for him. When Gregor proposed the idea that his boss would not believe that he was sick and he would have to check for himself, it seemed absurd, but now his boss has actually shown up into his own home to question the reason for Gregor’s absence. Gregor cannot separate his personal life and his job, and it all seems to come together in these set of events; His mom, sister and boss come knocking at Gregor’s door and he is proud of himself for bringing work habits into his home. The chief clerk then becomes irate when Gregor does not open the door after several requests. The clerk subliminally threatens to fire him because of his lack of good work in previous days. Gregor then talks to the clerk from the other side of the door, explaining to him that he is sick. Gregor hopes for some sympathy. But Gregor’s voice has changed and nobody can understand him. His parents and boss are astonished at the sounds coming from Gregor’s mouth and call a locksmith to open the locked door. Before the locksmith arrives Gregor gathers the ability to open the door. Gregor slowly peeks out, with only half of his insect body visible, His parents and boss glance at Gregor and they are astonished at the sight of his transformation, but Gregor simply and nonchalantly says "Now, then", I'll get dressed straight away now, pack up my samples and set off. Will you please just let me leave?” He still has a sense of calmness that no one has in this scene. He tries to just brush of this incident as a normal yet remediable situation, and he will simply get dressed and set off for work. The chief clerk is terrified and leaves not saying a word. This is worrisome to Gregor because he must be in agreement with his boss in order to keep his job. Gregor supports his entire family and he must pay off the debts left behind. After having an altercation with his father, Gregor wakes in the evening to find a bowl of milk and bread in the room. Milk was his favorite drink but now he cannot stand the taste, instead he prefers the moldiest foods. Gregor’s life was, and continues to be boring, repetitive, and sour. His taste of food is different now and he likes rotten, moldy food instead of fresh milk. This perhaps represents his preference in life as well as Gregor no longer leaves the house even on weekends. “He’s been in town for a week now but stayed home every evening. He sits with us in the kitchen and just reads the paper or studies train timetables. His idea of relaxation is working with his fretsaw” (The Metamorphosis). Gregor also enjoys scampering across his room and climbing the wall to see outside. Gregor’s humanity is slowly being washed out and the entire family somewhat takes notice. When his sister realizes his favorite food has changed she begins to perceive Gregor as more of an insect rather than a human, consequently she removes the furniture in his room, this way can move around with more freedom. Gregor spends much of the day listening to his family’s conversation. From these conversations it is discovered that the Samsa’s business had collapsed 5 years prior and Gregor had been providing for his family ever since. However, they weren’t so grateful of the money they were receiving, they began to expect Gregor to provide for them and this somewhat distanced them from having a good relationship. “They had even got used to it, both Gregor and the family, they took the money with gratitude and he was glad to provide it, although there was no longer much warm affection given in return” (The Metamorphosis). When listening to the family’s conversation many different emotions and thoughts rise into Gregor. He is proud of himself for keeping his family secure but he also feels ashamed that he cannot help them in his current state. Still he decides to do what he can and be as far from a disturbance as possible. These feelings are evidence of the lingering sense of humanity in Gregor. At one point Gregor gets out of his room and his mom faints. When the father notices he is enraged savagely tries to get Gregor back into his room, he begins to throw apples at him, one apple happens to get lodged into Gregor’s back. This is another example of the father’s perception of Gregor as anything but a person. If Gregor were still human he would have never treated him so viciously. In the third part of the book Gregor and his family continue to struggle with his humanity. They begin to feel sorry for Gregor after the apple was lodged in his back and leave the door open at night so Gregor could watch them and feel comfortable. This shows that they still believe Gregor to be a part of their family and have sympathies for his feelings. However this sense of compassion begins to slowly fade as Grete, Gregor’s sister, no longer pays much attention to him and his needs “Gregor's sister no longer thought about how she could please him but would hurriedly push some food or other into his room with her foot before she rushed out to work in the morning and at midday, and in the evening she would sweep it away again with the broom, indifferent as to whether it had been eaten” (The Metamorphosis). Grete eventually discontinues her duty of taking care of Gregor and leaves it up to a new charwoman. His family then begins to use Gregor’s room as a storage place for the boarders. Gregor becomes extremely isolated from his family and no longer has any connection with them; they pretend that he doesn’t even exist. This extreme loneliness and lack of will to live from the part of Gregor eventually leads him to his death. There is no mourning or sorrow from the Samsa’s. The cleaning lady throws Gregor’s body into the daily trash and they move on with their life. Grete is now their main focus for she has become a beautiful young lady and has in essence completed a metamorphosis of her own, a much more beautiful transformation. Given that much of the story does not have a concrete purpose, people have many diverse opinions as to what exactly this story is about. This interpretation may differ entirely from your own. “Metamorphosis” sounds eerily similar to “metaphor”, in fact the word “metaphor” is within “metamorphosis”. The Metamorphosis is a story that is almost entirely a metaphor for many different situations. First Gregor becomes a bug overnight, but he doesn’t pay much attention to this, he just wanders in his thoughts about his job. Today the word “workaholic” is pretty well known. Many of us probably even know a person who is a workaholic. These people work day and night and work is all they really care about. Slowly but surely these people pay less and less attention to many important details in their life. Many times they forget to pay attention to themselves. The fact that Gregor becomes a bug is a bit extreme and unrealistic, but this may be a metaphor for those who are workaholics, and after many years of nonstop working and lack of attention to detail seem to wake up one day, not as a bug but they wake up in a body that has deteriorated through the years with lack of exercise, and like Gregor says “bad and irregular food” (The Metamorphosis). Suddenly they take notice, but many, like Gregor still do not take action. They simply put it aside and try and find a way to continue working and receiving pay. They become trapped in their bodies. Some to the point where they struggle just to leave their own room. They have lost all freedom. Gregor once had reasonable freedom to do whatever he wanted but he became enticed into become a salesman for the sole purpose of making money and providing for his sick parents. In retrospect, it seems that before his transformation Gregor had freedom, and it was lost when he became a bug. But how much prior freedom did he really have? “In fifteen years of service Gregor had never once yet been ill”. Gregor had never missed a single day of work, and when he was late his boss showed up in his home to look for him. He had no choice of going to work or not. When he arrived at work he was told what to do where to go and who to meet. Gregor had no real freedom only perceived freedom. It could be argued that Gregor had more liberty after his transformation. Surely he was confined to four walls, but he could do whatever he wanted within those four walls and he wasn’t told where to go, and what to do and who to meet within that space. Gregor’s parents are now too sickly to continue working so Gregor must provide for them. When Gregor began to support them, they were very grateful, but gradually they expected Gregor to pay them. Not only had Gregor lost interest in the connection between his body and mind. His parents had also lost that connection with him. It was no longer a father-son or a mother-son relationship, but a business partnership. Expectedly, Grete, Gregor’s younger sister, still has a decent relationship with Gregor, probably due to the fact they have no interference with money or work. They are simply family. These situations are fairly common today, and they form a cycle. Had Gregor had a son, he would have to provide for Gregor when he became a “bug”. There is no knowledge of the events prior to this book, but considering Gregor’s parents were business owners, they most likely also became consumed in their job, not paying attention to their health and eventually transformed into “bugs”. Becoming too sickly to work. Just like Gregor. Gregor cannot provide for the family any longer and essentially becomes useless. He notices his isolation and loneliness and has no reason to live. He eventually closes his eyes and dies alone. One expects his parents and sister to grief over his death. But nobody cries or feels any sorrow; in fact it is a relief that Gregor no longer is alive. He is taken out by the daily trash and everyone continues on with his and her life. The have moved on from using Gregor as their host for money. Grete, However, has gone through a metamorphosis of her own becoming extremely beautiful. Her parents take notice and are content that she might find a husband. Not any husband, but one that is wealthy and may provide for Grete and them. Prior to his transformation, Gregor lives a life in which he works day in and day out. His life is uninteresting and stale. Suddenly sets of events occur in his life that Gregor does not understand. When interpreted it appears that he becomes trapped within an insect body and is forced to exist within the four walls of his room, loosing all his prior freedom. However, Gregor had been trapped his entire life. He was forced to work in order to be able to maintain his parents and himself, he was told where to go what to do and who to meet. What isn’t taken into consideration is that everyone lives in a very similar form of lifestyle to Gregor’s. A set of standards in our society are followed that forces people to live in a certain way. In fact there is no freedom at all. Life is a prison.

Bibliography

Gutenberg Project, “The Metamorphosis” Gutenberg.org David Wylie, 2005 http://www.gutenberg.org/files/5200/5200-h/5200-h.htm

SparkNotes Editors. “SparkNote on The Metamorphosis.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. n.d.. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/section3.rhtml