The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka - Book Report/Review Example

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Franz Kafka’s novel Metamorphosis is one of the greatest short stories of all times. Today Kafka’s name is well known throughout the world (Eisner 264). The reason being it’s succinct and the common readers can relate with the themes it trots upon. Some of the themes are the unpredictability of life and the complex nature of self-awareness. But the major theme is the image of self. The protagonist, Gregor Samsa can no longer withstand being the burden on his family. His self-image and his approach to life are in question. The concepts and self-awareness that a person is made of are portrayed through the character of Samsa. Questions about the purpose of writing the book or finding the absolute theme are hard to answer. The story opens with the major event of the transformation or metamorphosis of Gregor. He wakes up one day to find himself turned into a human size cockroach (vermin). The metamorphosis is strange, beyond comprehension, but the characters around the protagonist are equally strange. His father, mother and his sister Greta, get surprised to find Gregor in this form but they do nothing to rectify it. Life is unpredictable and chaotic. The floods, the earthquakes, the storms and the hurricanes cannot be accurately predicted to make cautionary measures. They remind people that life is random, sometimes even erratic. This lack of control on the events of life are symbolized through Gregor’s situation. Metamorphic event in the novel is supernatural. It tells the readers that it just happens. The absurd change happens without anyone's interference. Gregor does not drink some toxic chemical nor does a bug bite him. The transformation is just an event. In addition, the novel does not have the redundant dimension where writers play on the fundamental concept of punishment and reward. There is no karma in Metamorphosis. Gregor is not an evil person to deserve this treatment. A person who gets crippled in a road accident does not necessarily have to be a criminal to deserve that. On the contrary sometimes the good folks get bad treatment from nature or from society. This is life as the majority understands it. They call it luck, chance, the hand of god or any other way to explain it when they cannot justify it. Gregor had been a good son. He takes up a job that he detests because he wants to pay for his sister's music lessons. Yet, he turns into something that everyone is repulsed at the sight of. There is no justification for it. Despite the fact that Gregor’s family gets shocked at the transformation, they eventually come to live with it. They start treating it as a condition. They almost accept it. Greta is the one who tries to help his brother. She cleans up after him and takes care of him like a caring sister. She accepts her brother’s condition and makes peace with the situation. The outsiders do not even attempt to accept the transformed being. They are not as accepting as the family during this event. For instance, the first maid requests the family to fire her because she cannot stand Gregor's appearance. The concept of self takes the center stage as Kafka explains Gregor's thoughts. Whatever goes through his head Kafka describes Gregor’s struggle with his new appearance. However, even he does not question why this happened to him. He has trouble moving around, in feeding and communicating but he never questions why this happened to him. This passive attitude towards life is not strange for the readers. Everyone makes compromises and accepts uncomfortable situations. It is not always the case to rise up to a challenge and confront it. Gregor cannot, he passively accepts the fate. Maybe Kafka wants to create a miserable character that the readers can relate with but not feel sympathy for. This vermin shows the readers what happens when they remain passive and do not question injustice. The only thing that Gregor is worried about is getting into trouble at work. He won't be able to show up on time as he misses the train to work. He is trapped in the economic cycle of earning money like a peasant. He fears that his ungrateful boss will not pay him and he won’t be able to support his sister. 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. (Kafka 408) The disturbing thing is that none of the family members tries to cure or find a remedy for Gregor’s condition. They treat it as part of Gregor’s self or something that life threw at him. Now he has to have to deal with it, live with it. They are not agitated enough to rectify the situation, instead they are ashamed and regretful as Gregor bring shame to the family by making people feel disgusted. At one point in the novella the boarders come and stay in the rooms. When they see Gregor, they complain and leave. They are not terrified nor do they question the absurdity of it all. They leave because they are disgusted and define Gregor’s appearance as unclean and filthy. The apartment is not clean enough for them. In other words they also treat the ‘vermin’ as a norm or the way this universe exists. The concept of self, how one understands their relative existence, social interaction and the desire to be accepted by the world defines human personality. The human behavior is mainly governed by these factors. The belief system that stays from the childhood manifests itself into adulthood. The struggle of the protagonist with his self is obvious. The “unsuccessful drive for integration into the broader human community” (Gray 285). First as a salesman he struggles with social acceptance. He feels isolated at his job and this feeling trickles down in his family life. His metamorphosis is probably a reaction to this alienation. But strangely it exposes and marks this alienation (Gray 286). Gregor keeps his consciousness after the change. He is the same person from the inside. He does not even realize that he had transformed until another person points it out. This contradiction might seem unusual on the surface but is very relatable to the mass audience. It happens with everyone when they feel a certain disconnect or strangeness with their own behavior. When they cannot explain why they behave the way they do. Everyone has an internal dialogue which is extremely different from the way they are in the social interactions. In this theme, Gregor has the same inner dialogue but the way he acts with others is very different. Kafka has exaggerated this contradiction by the appearance of the cockroach. Maybe this is an indication that people do change but not entirely. Gregor used to like milk but after the transformation he cannot take one sip. In real life a person can become a crippled in an accident. In the early days this person struggles a lot. He is used to his own body, and the normal function of walking talking and acting independently, freely. But after a ‘metamorphosis’ such as losing a leg one cannot be this much free. In the initial days the struggle is the hardest. A lot of adjustments are required but later on it becomes a habit. The mind starts to respond to the limits of the body. The same happens with Gregor. Initially he cannot even walk. He tries to stand up straight and do everything that he used to do but eventually he learns that he cannot do things the way he used to. So he adjusts. He starts walking on the walls and hanging upside down. His consciousness or his self-image starts to adapt. Even in this absurd universe where this whole event takes place adaptability is still the law. The concept of self is interesting because one's own self does not exist in isolation. It exists in relevance to the environment. The relationship with one’s parents, first love or infatuations and repulsions, all these things contribute to the concept of self. To understand Kafka’s work one needs to understand his personality too. His “representative sensibility” is the key to understanding his work (Alhaj 27). Adaptability is good but certain things don’t adapt. In Gregor's case it is his attachment with the past. He used to like the picture on his wall with the woman in furs. He never lets go of this attraction even after the transformation. He stares at this woman spellbound. Kafka does not explain this relationship in detail but he describes his struggle and agitation when Gregor's mother and sister move the furniture. He wants to keep this picture. The reader can only imply that this affection or infatuation is still strong regardless of the transformation. The picture also represents rumination of his past. Other than this persistent infatuation his mind starts to adapt to the changes his body puts it through. For instance, he starts to hate milk and likes to sit in the dark confined place, like an insect. This transformation molds his concept of self. He starts changing his preconceived beliefs. His likings and disliking are being put into a new experiences. He cannot behave like the normal people so he needs to make changes. His behavior changes. He starts agreeing that the furniture in the room is actually creating trouble for his movement. It would be better for him with less furniture or so the reader believes because as soon as the furniture is removed he starts to feel discomfort. His original self, beliefs, connection, the feeling of safety and a sense of belonging get shunned. When he feels his concept of self vanishing he faces a dilemma. Either he can have the furniture and face the physical discomfort of moving around, or he can have the physical comfort and live on with the sense of loss. These are the two extremes posing a challenge. It is a lose-lose situation, he cannot have both. So, he gets a middle way. His age old infatuation with the picture gives him an escape out of this dilemma. The picture on the wall is the only part of his old furniture that gives him a little bit of relief, his sense of belonging with the woman in fur. The woman in the picture is a mystery. It can be implied as his first affection, sexual desire or simply a sense of belonging but the world around him and his body has changed. He has to adapt to the new form. He cannot live on with his old sense of self. The concept of self is formed through the family. It is the parents that give meaning and vision to a child. The child’s mind is fragile and highly receptive. He does not know anything about the world. It is through this relevance a child starts to form concepts about himself. He is dependent on the family, obedient to the parents. This sense of safety that if he falls there will be his family to catch him. This belief is shattered for Gregory because after his transformation the family tries to put up with the pressure, shame and guilt caused by him, eventually they give up. They have to face humiliation due to Gregor’s hideous appearance. When someone shows up they have to hide Gregor. They tell him not to come out of his room. But the family eventually gets exhausted with this drill. They start to lose money as no one likes to stay at a place with an overgrown insect crawling around. Towards the end of the novel the family has had enough. They cannot do it anymore. Greta her sister says “He must go,” cried Gregor’s sister, “that’s the only solution, Father. You must just try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we’ve believed it for so long is the root of all our trouble.” (Kafka 424) Gregor is disappointed but there is no protest from him. He accepts this treatment too. He understands that he is the reason for their misery. In times like these even the parents or the siblings give up. The modern term of ‘pulling the plug’ is used for a hopeless medical case. The family members let go and stop the treatment because they cannot feed a dead body anymore. Greta loves her brother but Gregor is not himself anymore. The blood relations also have a threshold for caring. If they cannot see the person they knew or there is no hope, then they have to let go. It would be impossible to understand the novella without the background of the author. Kafka was obsessed with fears and invisible demons. Melina Jesenka, his lover stated on Kafka’s obituary that he was a “modern Gnostic” and his world perspective was driven by the concept of kenoma: an emptiness that the humanity has been thrown into (Bloom 7). Maybe his own personality shows in Gregory’s character. People like Gregory would also agree as they want to rid their loved ones from exhausting exercises. They reach their threshold, they give up on their son. Eventually they just want him to leave. The transformation of the sister is also interesting because initially she is the one who is the most caring towards her brother. But later she is the one who suggests that they have to let go of Gregor. It is not only about the money that they want Gregor to leave. They don’t see anything in the creature that reminds them of Gregory. They decide that if they want to have a normal life they have to let go of the creature, it is not their son or brother. Their efforts of fighting the reality is draining their efforts and energies. They are also losing money because no guest would stay in the apartments. Whenever they see Gregor they runaway. The transformation of the sister in her loving and affectionate feelings towards her brother change. The parents also agree with this suggestion. In the end Gregor gets disappointed as his relative existence is no more. He cannot find himself too. He is surprised how his body has changed his mind. The last hope was his family. When he sees his family giving up on him he realizes that the kind of misery he has been putting his family through. His initial ability to cope with the changes expire. He tries to make adjustments but eventually he gives up. So, he crawls back into his room and dies. His death can be a representative of non-existence of self. His passing is not significant, he was already living like a cockroach. The reason why he dies bears more significance. He had no sense of self. He had no idea who he was anymore. If he was an insect, he should have been able to live like one. But that is the theme of Metamorphosis. Life handed him an unpleasant surprise. It remains a question how he could have coped with it. Maybe finding a new sense of self would have helped. But in the end, one’s existence of the concept of self is relevant to people and environment. Without it, there is no self. References Alhaj, Ali. William Faulkner's Rose for Emily and Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis: A Comparative View: A Textbook for Student of Comparative Literature. diplom. de, 2015. Bloom, Harold, ed. The Metamorphosis. Infobase Publishing, 2007. Eisner, Pavel, and L. Mara. "Franz Kafka and Prague." Books Abroad (1947): 264-270. Gray, Richard T., ed. A Franz Kafka Encyclopedia. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2005. Kafka, Franz. In Kirszner, Laurie G., and Stephen R. Mandell. Fiction: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Paulinas, 1993. Read More