english

Posted: August 6th, 2013

English

Introduction

The metamorphosis is a novel that was originally written by Frank Kafka to depict the life of a man who transformed into a cockroach. Gregor becomes the breadwinner of his family after his father’s business collapses. He works as a traveling salesman, a job that he detests but has to do it because he wants to support his family and take his sister to music school so she can learn how to play the violin professionally. When Gregor wakes up one morning and discovers that he has transformed into a bug, he willingly accepts his new condition but is severely treated by members of his family. Gregor loses hope to live amidst all the harsh treatment he receives from his family and starves himself to death (Kafka, 95). Gregor’s character in the book is used to bring out some human psychological traits.

Conclusion

The personality of Gregor as shown in the book explains the effects of the metamorphosis on his psychology. The reaction of his family to his transformation also portrays society’s reception to new and incomprehensible situations.  Kafka tries to portray Gregor and his family as opposing characters in the book. It is quite unjust for his family to treat him like an outsider after the transformation when they depended on him for provisions before he became a cockroach. After his death, the family decides to go on vacation to celebrate. This shows that they saw Gregor, their son, as a burden and they were glad he died because they could move on with their lives (Kafka, 96). The psychology of human beings is extremely fragile, and it affects personalities, relationships and life in general.