Iconic The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - Essay Example

Samsa Gregor, an ordinary salesman, struggling to support his family is typically fed up with his job. He pity’s his lifestyle and how it is so hard for him to cope with. “Oh, God what a strenuous profession I've picked! Day in, day out on the road. It's a lot more stressful than the work in the Home Office, and along with everything else I also have to put up with these agonies of; traveling—worrying about making trains, having bad, irregular meals, meeting new people all the time, but never forming any lasting friendships that; mellow into anything intimate. To hell with it all!” (Lawall & Mack 2000) This reflects the agitation and dislikes that the protagonist had for his lifestyle and choice of profession, he was unhappy and dissatisfied. When the family comes to know about Gregor’s transformation, they are disgusted at first and they cannot help but feel sickened by his bug-like appearance. Gregor’s sister, however, accepts the reality of his transformation and takes care of her brother’s diet and sanitary needs.

The story proceeds with the further difficulties that the family faces with the metamorphosis of the sole breadwinner of the family. Gregor’s father starts working again because there was a least like possibility for Gregor to get hired in his current state. Due to his father’s age and failed business, there is not much to keep the family afloat. Financial constraints start to grow more and more, and Gregor witnessing them all remains helpless. “At that time Gregor’s sole desire was to do his utmost to help the family to forget as soon as possible the catastrophe that had overwhelmed the business and thrown them all into a state of complete despair.” (Lawall & Mack 2013). This statement is evidence of the fact that even though Gregor did not like his job, he cared for his family and wanted to support them in all hardships.
After his transformation, Gregor is taken care of by his sister, Grete. From time to time, she fed him and cleaned him, and looked after all his needs. They even removed furniture out of his room to give him space to crawl about. Time in and time out, Gregor watched boarders come in, eat and leave. The family entertained them because the boarders paid rent, and money was something that they needed dearly. However, one day, Gregor makes an appearance in front of the boarders causing them great distress and they leave, saying that they will not make payments and issue a notice on the matter of cleanliness. This comes as a big blow to the family and Grete snaps saying: “My dear parents, things cannot go on like this. You may not realize it, but I do. I will not pronounce my brother's name in front of this monstrosity, and so all I will say is: We must try to get rid of it. We have done everything humanly possible to look after it and put up with it; I do not believe there is anything we can be reproached for.” (Lawall & Mack 2026)
As much as the Samsa loved Gregor, this event became the turning point of their feelings for him. They all loved Gregor very much, but now they felt like they have been in denial, thinking that Gregor was going to come back. Due to the lack of communication, nobody knew if Gregor was there or not. Hence, they concluded to get rid of the insect and put an end to the continuous problems that it was creating for them. Read More