My thoughts on Kafka - "Metamorphosis"

The story Metamorphosis, written by Frank Kafka, was a very interesting read. It first starts off as a man named Gregor who was pretty much all about taking care of his family’s needs. He worked many long hours and did not partake in self pleasures for himself. He provided everything his mother, father, and sister needed. His family became codependent on his support. Then one day he woke up to find that he had transformed into something else. From the descriptions in the story it sounds like some sort of roach or beetle. It was very hard for Gregor’s family to adjust with this transformation. They went through a wide range of emotions such as fear of Gregor and being ashamed of him to feeling sorry for him. It was almost like they did not know what to do with themselves because they had gotten used to the lifestyle Gregor had provided them. As time passed on, his family realized they had to make changes in order for themselves to survive because Gregor was not going to get any better. His family had to let their help go because they couldn’t pay for the services anymore. They also had to go and get jobs to bring money into the home since they no longer had Gregor’s income. At one point they had also made room in their home for three boarders to help offset some household expenses. By the end of the story, Gregor ended up passing away. It was due to an injury he acquired when his family got scared at the actual sight of him. His family, on the other hand, learned how to manage without Gregor and even though they weren’t as well off as when Gregor supported them, they were going to be just fine. When I read this story, I was a little confused at the ending about what it was really about. As I read on I thought the metamorphosis was all about Gregor’s transformation into this bug. Then I realized that the transformation was not really about Gregor but how his family had changed because of the problems they were facing with their situation. It all made sense then and I found this story to be very realistic with the twist of fiction, with the bug of course. It made it very entertaining.

Links: http://www.ershaw.com/Metamorphosis.html