Analysis of The Metamorphosis Essay

The Metamorphosis

Though difficult to interpret, an explanation can be found upon close inspection of Kafka's works. As with most of his stories, The Metamorphosis can be explained in several different ways. Unusual from the start the Metamorphosis begins with Gregor Samsa waking up transformed into a bug. As the story moves forward, Gregor appears to accept this fact fairly voluntarily; he never stops to question how such a transformation could realistically occur. One might expect a person who transformed into a bug over night to question about the possibility of such an occurrence. Gregor's apparent lack of concern over his condition begs a doubt as to whether any physical change actually occurred. Although the story presents the mutation as fact, one might argue that it serves as a metaphor to illustrate the state of the Samsa household.

Prior to Gregor's transformation, he led a quite boring life, which, accidentally, did not change greatly from the life of an insect. He concerned himself almost exclusively with his work, doing everything he could to provide for his family. Gregor did not have any real friends or hobbies, and outside of his sister he maintained a distant relationship with his family. He was anything but a normal human being. The real metamorphosis occurs when he realizes his present situation and his role in his household. Gregor does not turn into a beetle; he simply recognizes that he has been one for quite some time. This sudden epiphany could most definitely send him into a shock that causes the mental sickness, which eventually leads to his death.

The first part of the metaphor shows itself in metamorphosis. Out of all the things Gregor could change into, he changes into an insect. Most insects, especially ants and bees, have some sort of workers that provide for the rest of the group. Gregor provides for his family in much the same way as an insect would provide for its nest or hive. He sacrifices almost all aspects of fun, and does not desire to do anything but work. Eventually, his income becomes less of a generous act, and more of an expectation. His family's existence rests only on his shoulders, just as a queen bee relies on the worker bees.

As Gregor takes it upon himself to support the household, his family grows increasingly less productive; they often offer weak excuses why they do so little. The changes in the Samsa family go unnoticed by Gregor because he concerns himself so much with his work, and stops expecting financial help from them. One can imagine that this brand new responsibility could grow to be somewhat irritating; and eventually Gregor cannot handle it any longer. He finally realizes that he serves as an insect that carries out his family's work in order for them to continue living there lazy lives. As a result the metamorphosis occurs. Upon this realization, Gregor's role reverses completely. Once the only worker, Gregor becomes unable to do work for his family, probably because he grows fed up with their dependency on him. This aspect of the metamorphosis appears to happen subconsciously, as Gregor still wants to work. Somewhere deep down, however, he knows that the family will be better off if he does not.

Secondly, the story also appears to be a metaphor that describes communication in the Samsa family. As Gregor's paychecks become increasingly more expected, his family begins to view him as less of a person, except for his sister. When Gregor does not awake in time for work, his mother first informs him that he will be late. She does not become worried about something being wrong until a little later, and even then she only appears to be concerned because he will miss the train. Gregor and his family do not communicate very well; his frequent business trips the likely cause. He even remarks to himself about the "quiet life his family has been leading," an allusion to the fact that little conversation occurs among them. Spending so much time away at work alienates Gregor from his family, and further objectifies him as a paycheck rather than a member of the family. Unlike his ability to work, the lack of communication remains the same both before and after Gregor's transformation. Gregor's transformation into a beetle simply emphasizes and draws attention to Gregor's difficulty in communicating with his family. Immediately after the metamorphosis, Gregor realizes the difficulty of conversing with his family, and speaks in short choppy sentences. As he discovers himself more and more, he finally sees how little his family understands and he gives up altogether. Gregor could probably continue talking if he wanted to, but his words would be useless to the deaf ears of his parents. Much in the same way, Gregor's parents make little attempt to converse with him. As the metamorphosis takes place, they see the real him and lose all interest in talking to him.

The lack of interaction between Gregor and his parents becomes highly apparent through the use of the beetle metaphor. When both parties realize that Gregor plays only the role of a worker, communication ceases entirely. Similar to life prior to his transformation, Gregor and his parents demonstrate a high degree of difficulty understanding one another. They simply just cannot relate, just as a beetle cannot communicate with humans. However, one human being does display an understanding of the transformed Gregor, even if only a small amount. Grete, Gregor's sister, still does not communicate directly with him, but seems to know his thoughts. She demonstrates her clairvoyance when she brings him food, and later when she cleans his room. The relationship Gregor shares with his sister holds much more meaning than relationship he has with his parents. Music in particular brought the siblings together and provided something to talk about and a way to relate to each other; it also may have led to Gregor's demise in the end.

Although Grete seems to be on Gregor's side at first, she quickly grows weary of taking care of him. She cleans and feeds him more out of duty than out of kind heart, and begins to see him as more of a pest with each day that passes. The last straw occurs when Gregor escapes his room to listen to her play the violin. Gregor's intrusion sends the house into chaos and interrupts Grete's music. This time she finally loses her patience and tells her parents that Gregor puts too much of a burden on the family. She states that this creature cannot be the real Gregor, who is long gone. Shortly after losing this final link to his family, Gregor takes his last breath.

Gregor's family eventually sees him as a pest that intrudes on the lives that they could, and should, have been living. After keeping Gregor locked away in his room, they quickly show improvements all around. All three of them acquire jobs, and help around the house. In addition, they began to communicate more as a family, and the situation almost seems normal. Despite doing everything he could to help his family, Gregor seemingly was only holding them back.

Grete's idea that the real Gregor was gone a long time ago provides the perfect foundation for the basis of the entire metaphor. One might venture to say that the real Gregor died as soon as he took up working to provide from the family. He changed from a normal son and brother into a worker who existed only to bring in a paycheck. Gregor's work eventually took the form of a hard outer shell, which isolated him from his family, and changed the way they apparent him. Gregor's physical metamorphosis happened overnight, but the real change occurred much slower. Gregor did experience a drastic transformation, but the physical change took place only in his imagination. When Gregor wakes up to discover who he really is, he cannot even recognize himself. The real metamorphosis had been years in the making, but when the Samsa family recognized it, they could not believe their eyes.