The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, narrates the events that follow Gregor Samsa's transformation from a salesman into a giant vermin. He is stressed about his new body and how he should face his family members and boss, the Chief Clerk, who pounds on his door when he realizes Gregor is late for his train. Gregor discovers that he is unable to produce human speech and can't open the door. When Gregor finally manages to open the door, his family is shocked and the Chief Clerk runs away. When his sister Grete gives him food, Gregor also realizes that as a vermin, he has taken a liking to rotting food. After overhearing his family members talking about going back to work, Gregor feels sorry that he can't support them anymore. Later, Grete starts taking care of her brother less and less, and his mother wants to remove the furniture in his room. Gregor rejects the idea because he wants to keep part of his humanity. When his family takes in three lodgers for additional income, Gregor feels neglected, and so when Grete starts playing her violin, he comes out from his hiding spot and tries to become closer to his family. The lodgers leave without paying for the time they've stayed so far. When Gregor overhears his sister talking about how she rejects the idea that the vermin is her brother, Gregor thinks of his family and dies. After his death, his family members go to the countryside to find a new house. Gregor's parents realize that Grete should find a husband.
Within the story, alienation and the transformation into a vermin are seen as the major causes of Gregor’s tragic fate. Gregor’s metamorphosis, or in other words, alienation, leads to his isolation from his family, the people around him, and humanity in general. Gregor’s alienation causes a tragic chain of events and Gregor's isolation from the rest of humanity. Before the change, Gregor was already lonesome in terms of work, and barely had any friends. As a normal salesman, Gregor had a lot of stress from his job itself; even though he became a vermin, he was still fussing about the late train he was supposed to get to for work purposes. “What should he do now? The next train went at seven; if he were to catch that he would have to rush like mad and the collection of samples was still not packed, and he did not at all feel particularly fresh and lively. And even if he did catch the train he would not avoid his boss’s anger as the office assistant would have been there to see the five o’clock train go, he would have put in his report about Gregor’s not being there a long time ago. The office assistant was the boss’s man, spineless, and with no understanding.” (Kafka, I). After Gregor’s transformation into a vermin, his life became even more isolated, as he was also separated from his family. At first, it was Gregor who worked to support his family members, but now, not only can he not support his family, but needs his family to support him. “What a quiet life it is the family lead”, said Gregor to himself, and, gazing into the darkness, felt a great pride that he was able to provide a life like that in such a nice home for his sister and parents.” (Kafka, I). After Gregor’s transformation into a giant cockroach, he was now isolated from not only his workmates but also his family members.
The family dynamics and position in the household change greatly after Gregor becomes a giant vermin and loses his job and income. At first, Gregor, as the leader of the household, controlled all the money and income, paid off their bills and debts, and supported his whole family through his job. At that time, his whole family was relying on him and his income: his father was in great debt, his mother was weak, and Grete was still too young to have a stable career. Even Gregor’s room at that time was in the center of the house, showing his high position and status in the family. “You amaze me, you amaze me. I thought you were a quiet, dependable person, and now all at once you seem bent on making a disgraceful exhibition of yourself.” (Kafka, II). However, after Gregor’s transformation from a successful salesman into a giant vermin, not only was he unable to support his family members through his income, but he also posed a problem as a consumer of his family members’ money. Before, Gregor’s room was in the center of his house and his family members had to completely rely on him, but now, he wasn’t even allowed to step out of his room, or his so-called “hiding place” so that he wouldn’t both scare his family members or any visitors. “What a quiet life it is the family lead”, said Gregor to himself, and, gazing into the darkness, felt a great pride that he was able to provide a life like that in such a nice home for his sister and parents.” (Kafka, I). Gregor’s position in his family shifted from being the leader of the household to playing the role of a “pesticide”, receiving dislike from his other family members.
Money and income are often one of the most vital sources in a household or an individual’s life. Similarly, without any income, a job, or money to support his family, Gregor started to get loathed by his own parents and sister. Gregor’s family saw money and income as an especially important aspect of their household and refused to keep Gregor in their house while letting him consume their resources. This is also extremely ironic and hypocritical of Gregor’s family members, since before his transformation, Gregor was the one keeping the family comfortable and supporting all of his family members. He was the only one with an income and job since his father was in deep debt, his mother was too weak to work, and his sister was too young to have any working experience. After Gregor’s transformation, however, they suddenly started treating him like a “pesticide” and locked him in his room to prevent anyone from getting scared from seeing his horrendous appearance. “‘Father, Mother’, said his sister, hitting the table with her hand as the introduction, ‘we can’t carry on like this. Maybe you can’t see it, but I can. I don’t want to call this monster my brother, all I can say is: that we have to try and get rid of it. We’ve done all that’s humanly possible to look after it and be patient, I don’t think anyone could accuse us of doing anything wrong.’” (Kafka, III). Grete and her parents are mostly fed up with Gregor after he chases their loaners away, ruining their opportunity to earn money. They looked at him with disgust and disliked him, especially after chasing the visitors away, that they didn’t want to let him stay in their household anymore. Gregor’s family members ironically and hypocritically neglected Gregor after his transformation, just because he lacked money to support his family.
The Metamorphosis, by George Kafka, narrates the events that follow Gregor Samsa's transformation from a salesman into a giant vermin. After his transformation, Gregor starts relying on his family members to survive and lives a dull life, until he silently passes away when he hears that his family is planning to abandon him. Within the story, alienation and the transformation into a vermin are seen as the major causes of Gregor’s tragic fate. Gregor’s metamorphosis, or in other words, alienation, leads to his isolation from his family, the people around him, and humanity in general. The family dynamics and position in the household also change greatly after Gregor becomes a giant vermin and loses his job and income. While Gregor was the leader of his family at first, he was suddenly loathed and disliked by his family members after his transformation, with his lack of ability to support his household as the main reason for his unwelcoming. Gregor’s family saw money and income as an especially important aspect of their household and refused to keep Gregor in their house while letting him consume their resources.
Works Cited
Kafka, Franz. “The Metamorphosis”, Project Gutenberg. 2002
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