The Human Insect in the Mechanized Modern World of Morons - Essay Example

Gregor Samsa - The Human Insect in the Mechanized Modern World of Morons. Introduction: The twentieth century has seen the world evolve from totallydark, ignorant and seemingly primitive stages, into an entirely new living place. In other words, the world has undergone a metamorphosis, within a relatively short span of about a hundred years. The advancement of times, has led to the use varied types of machines, in everyday life, originally intended to reduce the work load of human beings, thereby increase comfort, and hence, make living happier for man, than before. But in a strange anomaly of happenings, it is argued, that modernization, while indeed reducing man's work burden, has made his life very mechanical too. Instead of contributing to greater happiness and contentment, it has lead to increase stress levels, and made him imitate the machine - like behavior of his machine-dependent environment. The conflicts that arise from the basic emotional nature of man, and the emulated automation of modern living, sum up the struggles of man in the twentieth century. And naturally, literature and art has, reflecting the changes of modern living, undergone transformation too. Summary: Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," is an excellent example of an object d'art, in literature. It is the sad and moving story of an individual, Gregor Samsa, set in the backdrop of 'post-industrial revolution' Prague. Gregor, the main character, is actually, a grown man who cannot escape his family. A traveling salesman, he hated his job, but clung to it because of a) the self - bound commitment to his family, and b) the money and hope of an outlet to the financial mess for the family "the whole future of Gregor and his family depended on it". One fine morning, he wakes up to discover that he has somehow turned into a giant-sized bug. He suddenly finds himself in a piquant position, in which he cannot work and support his family any - longer, instead, he becomes absolutely dependent on them. How his immediate family and (whom he hitherto strived to support), the society represented by the head clerk, react to his new change and inability; - " the clenched fist" of his father, the mother with her "face completely hidden on her breast" and of course the stricken amazement of the head clerk "clapping one hand over his open mouth and slowly backing away as if he were being repelled by some unseen but inexorable force"; his own process of slow mental transformation, and the acceptance of the sudden physical transformation unfolds in the form of a compelling narrative by the author. They find him a shameful embarrassment and try to eliminate him, "won't utter my brother's name in the presence of this creature, and so all I say is: we must try to get rid of it" (The Metamorphosis III). It is this alienation from his, own, beloved family, ("thought of his family with tenderness and love") and their indifference to his condition that ultimately brings about the death of his starved, physically morphed insect-self, "then his head sank to the floor of its own accord and from his nostrils came the last faint flicker of his breath" (The Metamorphosis, III). . About the Author: Franz Kafka may be called, as one of the powerful visionaries of modern literature, who has portrayed conflicting human nature, in his writings. Franz Kafka's short story "The Metamorphosis," in German "Die Verwandlung," was written, in the fall of 1912 and published in Leipzig in October 1915. Kafka presents an extremely critical picture of modern social systems and their relationship with the people who perpetrated them. Some literary scholars like Vladimir Nabokov are of the opinion that,Kafka has adopted the style from the language of law and science; thus giving it a kind of ironic accuracy, with absolutely no intrusion whatsoever of the author's private sentiments distracting the reader, and through this, the author has achieved a singularly poetic effect. (Nabokov). Review of the value systems through the eyes of Gregor Samsa: The story opens with the most important fantasy event, (adapted from Barnette & Thompson, 2001) wherein Gregor Samsa wakes up, to find himself turned into a large insect. Kafka states, "he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect." "Armor-plated" and arched brown-bellied, he could see, numerous pitifully thin "legs waving helplessly before his eyes" (The Metamorphosis, I). Kafka's plain narrative style heightens dramatic event it conveys. This magical event is set, to happen in sharply in very realistic disillusioned world of Gregor, his routine "exhausting job I've picked out for myself! On the road day in, day out. It's much more irritating work than doing the actual business in the home office" (The Metamorphosis, I). Furthermore, Kafka uses Gregor to depict how he sees society. "Other salesmen live like harem women." Kafka paints the society as being fickle and a close-minded one, in the mind of Gregor, "Let me just try that with my boss; I'd be fired on the spot". His boss is seen in bad light as one who "would be sure to come with the health insurance doctor, would reproach his parents for their son's laziness" (The Metamorphosis, I). The ulterior aim of "The Metamorphosis", like all fantastic stories, is found at a deeper level. It shows how people gradually change over time (Adapted from Nabokov). Gregor, due to his over-worked state "on top of that there's the trouble of constant traveling, of worrying about train connections, the bad food and irregular meals"(The Metamorphosis, I), because of his family, was slowly changing him into a moron, without his ever realizing it; "What has happened to me" he asks himself, on the dramatic morning. The Ungrateful Family: The blatant callousness of the family is more than visible, in their lack of feeling of affection and, and lack of empathy for their affected family member; a sense of shame and not grief, about the only member of the family who had willingly borne their lot on his back-"he had earned so much money that he was able to meet the expenses of the whole household...They had simply gotten used to it, both the family and Gregor; the money was gratefully accepted and gladly given, but there was no special outpouring of warm feeling"(The Metamorphosis, II). The father has been depicted by Kafka, as cruel, since the first realization of Gregor's condition. It only worsens later with the mindless hurting of his son by throwing apples at him, "a second apple followed immediately.. there was no point in running away now, for his father was determined to bombard him..". The mother, always goes off into asthmatic spasms "his mother had loosened her clothing to let her breathe more freely and recover from her swoon" (The Metamorphosis, II), whenever there is a confrontation with the morphed son, and there seems to be no heartfelt effort on her part to redeem or protect her son even in his death, as when the charwoman sweeps the corpse with a broomstick, "Mrs. Samsa made a movement as if to stop her, but checked herself." The unkindest cut of all is from his sister Grete, of whom he particularly fond of. Though she appears initially to be the only one who understands him, she gradually changes to show despicable ingratitude towards Gregor in the later stages, "careful as she was usually to shield the sight of Gregor's room from the others, and as if she were about to suffocate tore the windows open with impatient hands, standing then in the open draft for a while even in the bitterest cold and drawing deep breaths" (The Metamorphosis, Part II). It was Grete who cried, "He must go"; It was Grete who stung deep into his tender human heart, with her razor sharp words and insect-like repulsiveness, "If this were Gregor, he would have realized long ago that human beings can't live with such a creature, and he'd have gone away of his own accord. We wouldn't have any brother then, but we'd be able to go on living and keep his memory in honor". The shallow depth of her feelings and, the unconcealed thoughtlessness of his plight make their mark not only on Gregor, but also on the reader. The Human Affection within Insect Gregor: Kafka's mastery is seen in the subtle metaphors he has depicted, in the form of insect-morphed Gregor, retaining a very human heart and all its affections; while his family who are supposed to be still human, have moron-morphed hearts devoid of any sensitivity or sympathy. The loving and subservient nature of Gregor, offers unconditional love after they had long forgotten about him. The movement, in and out of Gregor's room of furniture and all things "no use trying to sell but that should not be thrown away either" dumped into his room, in the third part show how uncaring they had become of him. His particular effort to hide himself out of sight from his mother, and sister so that they may not be offended by his presence is depicted so unflinchingly. The ache to see his mother, his resistance to the woman's photo that he framed himself, being moved out, all signify that he has retained his human heart even after the physical metamorphosis. Slowly, Gregor also grows tired of their unscrupulous attitudes; it dawns on him that it "was rather their own complete hopelessness and the belief that they had been singled out for a misfortune" that was the reason, for all their unhappiness and misery. Conclusion: The reaction by Gregor's family to the metamorphosis, is probably very realistic and in keeping with the mechanical attitude of the modern society. This includes the way they alienated him and the conditional life they had for him. Most people of the modern so-called civilized world, like this family, love someone only as long as it benefits them-selves. The very traits of excessive love, subservience, helplessness which a normal hero spurns as weakness, have been made out as this hero's strengths. And in the end, it is deeply significant that when death occurs, it is the human soul in the form of a morphed insect that dies, whereas, the beastly morons in human forms survive with their own mechanical ways. The death of Gregor the human-insect, has a rare dignity and poignancy, that is indeed, hard to forget. List of References Barnette, Jessica & Thompson, Lacey; Analysis of "The Metamorphosis:" Magical Realism or Fantastic Fiction 2001; < www.southern.ohiou.edu/realmagic/JessicaB3.html> Kafka, Franz. "The Metamorphosis." Franz Kafka: The Complete Stories. Ed. Nahum N. Glatzer. N.Y.: Schocken Books Inc., 1971: 89-139. Vladimir Nabokov's Lecture on "The Metamorphosis" Reading Sources from the Internet : groups.yahoo.com/group/ kafka-list/messages/201viscount=100 Read More