The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a novella that explores the effects of family and work pressure on a human. In the story, Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, wakes up one day turned into a huge insect, a large piece of vermin that can hardly move. After his manager leaves, scared of him, Gregor retreats into a life of sorrow. At first, Gregor is taken care of by his sister Grete, and receives the leftovers of the meals the rest of the family eat each day, finding it more tasty, but is mocked and ridiculed and ignored by his father, which in turn causes his mother to also ignore him as his mother is obedient to his father. As time slowly passes, the family becomes impatient with Gregor and Grete even stops taking care of him. Slowly, Gregor gets shunned by his family, and in the end, he dies alone. The novella explores themes of alienation, the importance of family relationships, isolation, and the influence of money on a person’s character.
Alienation is a slow process that starts small and continues to expand without you knowing it. You won’t notice it, but your life will slowly become more reclusive and isolated, the negatives of your life taking a toll on you. The pressure of his life is what turns Gregor into an alien bug in this story. First, from his work. He is forced to travel around the world, never settling down too much. His manager expects him to show up early and leave late, never giving him any breaks. ““Oh, God”, he thought, “what a strenuous career it is that I’ve chosen! Travelling day in and day out.” (Kafka). Secondly, the pressure from his family is also evident in the alienation of Gregor. His father, who was in debt, made him work to earn money, which strained the relationship between the two of them. In reflection, Gregor’s alienation reflected his inner feelings. As he was turned into a monster, his feelings inside of hatred and guilt were thrust outward and exposed to the world in a grotesque form. He is a machine at work, a tool in the family, with no self-recognition or a sense of personal identity. He cared for and served many people, but they never returned his favors and always viewed him as something to get more out of, forcing him to work and work and try to make more money. As this goes on, Gregor loses his sense of community with the people around him and slowly becomes isolated. Without an equal recognition of one’s efforts, it’s quite easy for them to get mad. And then what happens there is a downward spiral, potentially leading to alienation and seclusion.
Society is a central part of life. Isolating yourself is not something that will do you good. You can’t always distance yourself from others, because humans were made to communicate and talk. Without it, we simply wouldn’t be the same. Gregor’s isolation is a result of his alienation, gradually growing in intensity throughout the book. His work as a traveling salesman causes him to have no personal life, as he is unable to settle down and have a romantic relationship. “The lad only ever thinks about the business. It nearly makes me cross the way he never goes out in the evenings; he’s been in town for a week now but stayed home every evening.” (Kafka). His relationship to his family is also very chilly as he doesn't spend much time with them. As his isolation after his transformation into a monster increases, he gets on even worse terms with his family. He becomes a burden, and thinks of himself as a parasite that has infected the family’s well being. He completely relies on others now, when he used to serve others. This staircase of negative occurrences only has one stop for Gregor: death. With nobody around that actually cares for him, a completely overwhelming job and no chance of a social life, Gregor is only inclined to a life of loneliness and isolation. It’s important to keep your personal and business life in balance. Because if they fall out, it can cause disastrous results.
Family is a fundamental part of life. If correctly established, it makes up your most close-knit community of people that should support you no matter what. Family is a mattress that follows you around all your life. When you fall, it is always there to catch you, to bounce you back up. The family dynamics of this story and in the Samsa family is very straightforward: Not including the parents, whoever makes money is the treasured one (the parents already reap the benefits). “Gregor converted his success at work straight into cash that he could lay on the table at home for the benefit of his astonished and delighted family.” (Kafka). As Gregor changes, he is not able to make money anymore, and this is shown through his position, which moves from being at the center of the house to not being allowed to leave at all. In the Samsa family, the true master is not the father or the mother. Though they automatically get all the good stuff, the master is actually the one that makes the most money. Before, it was Gregor, but now, it is Grete. Gregor, who truly cared for his family, really tried to make everything better, but it was simply fruitless as the family still addressed him as useless. His self-sacrifice and devotion to his family was met by harsh coldness, and continuous disapproval of not meeting a certain standard. Family is something that everybody should be honored to enjoy. If it goes well, it can be a key to happiness in your lifetime.
Money is such an influential factor of life. It can change your lifestyle, your opinion on someone, and generally how you look at the world. Think of it this way: The poor will look at malls and big department stores as a dream and a luxury. The Rich will simply dismiss it with a small wave and begin focusing their sights on planes, mansions, and businesses. Due to his transformation, Gregor loses his money-making abilities and stops the cache of income for his family. He scares away the tenants, loses money, and all the while is still having to be fed and taken care of, which takes away more resources. “We can’t all work as hard as we have to and then come home to be tortured like this, we can’t endure it.” (Kafka). Ironically, Gregor spent his whole life trying to take care of his family while his sister and his family dismissed him in less than a year. The family relationship is established in financial profits. Whoever makes money is loved, and who doesn't is ignored and mistreated. They are ranked based on their money-making abilities and have no separate identities. The parents have no real love for Gregor. Money, in this scenario, is the driving factor behind all of the family member’s motives, telling them how to act and what to do just in order to maximize their profits and cash flow. Gregor works hard and gives all his income to his family, yet the kindness is not returned. Money may not make everyone happy. But without any of it, we can certainly say that no one will be happy. That’s the difference between the richest person on earth and the one who is content with a medium income.
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a really sterling novella that explores many deep, universal themes in the twisting plot. Through the theme of alienation, we learn to balance out our lives. Through the theme of isolation, we learn about the importance of communication and companionship. With family, we recognize the importance of loving the people around you, and with money, we learn to be humble and not always have your eyes on the gold, because silver might also be valuable. Gregor’s transformation in the story serves as a lesson to other people about how they choose the paths of their lives and how they carve it as it best suits them, not how it best benefits someone else. The dehumanization of Gregor is a reflection on the ignored people of society who have served greatly but subtly. It emphasizes the importance of empathy and true love, making it a worthy and notable read.
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