"The Metamorphosis" Essay
Society’s Pest Control
In the novella “The Metamorphosis,” writer Franz Kafka critiques the materialistic values of a society that prizes a man’s productivity over his being. Kafka delivers this disapproving assessment through the use of a series of ironic situations and points of view that negatively portray to the reader the kind of world in which the main character, Gregor, lives. Kafka is able to expand the claims he makes about Gregor and his family to society as a whole through creating Gregor’s family into a symbol for society in general.
Though irony permeates through the entirety of “The Metamorphosis,” Kafka makes the opening sentence of the novella the most ironic to remove the technical and practical issues the reader might have with the story’s plot at the beginning. The first sentence of the novella describes Gregor waking up one day and finding “himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.” By beginning the plot of the story in this unexpected manner, Kafka brings the climax to the beginning of his novella. In doing so, Kafka presents an unbelievable situation, and both adds interest to attain the reader’s attention through irony and makes the rest of the story appear far less absurd since Gregor being an insect is the key aspect of the novella. By making the rest of the story more believable, Kafka allows for his message to be fully absorbed and experienced.
Kafka also adds depth to his evaluation on society through Gregor’s ironic point of view. Gregor’s first thoughts as he wakes up to find himself as a cockroach are very ironic to the unexpecting reader. The narration, told through a non-specific limited omniscient third party that is conscious of Gregor’s thoughts is ironic in that, though it acknowledges the fact that Gregor is a vermin, it does not react as we expect. Gregor’s thoughts are portrayed as treating the truly absurd scenario as normal, showing that Gregor does not make too big of a deal of the fact that he wakes up one day as a ‘vermin’. Instead of reacting as the reader would expect- such as by trying to scream out for help or feeling extreme terror –Gregor immediately feels slight fear and agitation because he has woken up late for work. The fact that Gregor’s work occupies his thoughts at a moment where he has mysteriously transformed into a different species reveals the enormous role that work and productivity plays in the role of people’s lives. Gregor does not immediately think of his job because he likes it, but instead because he feels it is his obligation. In fact, Gregor strongly detests his job and wonders “why was only [he] condemned to work for a firm” that treats its employees so poorly. Kafka uses the word “condemned” to show how strongly Gregor dislikes his work which emphasizes the irony that it still occupies his thoughts even though his thoughts should be about his new condition. By using such an ironic point of view, combined with Gregor’s inappropriate response to the situation, Kafka illustrates that work and productivity are important facets of life in Kafka’s society to the point where even a man who is turned into a bug, among the most obscure and weird events that could occur, would be more concerned about his employment rather than his life.
Gregor’s family’s response to his metamorphosis the first time they see him is representative of society’s reaction to a man that loses his ability to work. When Gregor is not awake in time for work, his family becomes gravely concerned stressing the claim made in the novella that work is valued so highly that missing it should be very infrequent and cause for alarm. The family knocks at his door and, though he tries desperately to respond and get up, Gregor cannot. His thoughts continue to remain on his work, and he contemplates every possible movement that would allow him to get up and get to work but none prove successful. Eventually, Gregor realizes that if he does not catch the next train to work his boss will send over a supervisor to check on him and see why he is not at work and becomes terrified by the notion of being confronted by his employer. Work is so highly valued in Gregor’s society that employers go out of their way to make sure even the lowliest workers attend.
When Gregor’s supervisor arrives he is very angry that Gregor is late for even one day of work, showing how highly valued work is to every level of society. In the meantime, Gregor’s family- his mother, father, and sister -all desperately knock at the door trying to get Gregor up because they believe he has overslept and are afraid he will lose his job, leaving the entire family without an income. As Gregor finally manages to make his way to the door and opens it, his family is terrified and the clerk sent by his employer runs off screaming. Gregor’s new disabled form causes extreme panic in both his employer and his family for now the employer has lost a worker and the family its income. Now that Gregor is disabled and cannot work he is considered “a monster” and is useless both to his employer and his family. The family cries terribly over Gregor’s condition and “his mother… took two steps towards Gregor, and sank down in the midst of her skirt spreading out around her, her face completely hidden on her breast,” and his father “with a hostile expression… clenched his fist, as if to drive Gregor back into his room, then looked uncertainly around the living room, shielded his eyes with his hands, and sobbed with heaves of his powerful chest.” The intense emotion that Gregor’s transformation raises in his family- sorrow in his mother and anger in his father –shows that though Gregor’s mother feels badly that her son is now a vermin, his father feels angry and no longer sees his son as a man. Now that Gregor has lost his productivity, his father, who was previously small and weak, now sobs with his “powerful chest,” contrasting Gregor’s small and weak insect legs. Since Gregor’s family serves as a symbol for society in general, the family’s reaction depicts that though a disabled man may receive pity from some, he will induce anger in others and loses his manhood.
The only time Gregor’s family appears to feel content after Gregor’s metamorphosis is when Gregor dies, showing that a disabled person in society is valued and even loved less than those that have the ability to produce. When Gregor dies, the narration’s point of view switches to focus more on the family’s thoughts. Though one would expect Gregor’s family to be sympathetic and accepting of their son’s involuntary loss of productivity, the family treats Gregor with resent for losing his job and forcing the other members of his family to find another means of making and saving money. Gregor’s father, who cannot bear the sight of his son now that he is unable to work, no longer loves his son but instead feels it is the family’s “duty to swallow their disgust and endure him, endure him and nothing more.” Clearly Gregor loses the love of his family the moment he loses his productivity and usefulness. The ironic sense of relief and even joy Gregor’s family feels when he dies also serves to strengthen the claim that society evaluates people on their abilities.
The tragic and spontaneous metamorphosis that occurs to Gregor in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” is used by Kafka to critique the misplaced values of society. Kafka’s protagonist, Gregor, loses his productivity and consequently loses his life. When expanded to a more general level, Kafka argues through this event that a man loses his love from others the minute he loses his capacity for work.
In the novella “The Metamorphosis,” writer Franz Kafka critiques the materialistic values of a society that prizes a man’s productivity over his being. Kafka delivers this disapproving assessment through the use of a series of ironic situations and points of view that negatively portray to the reader the kind of world in which the main character, Gregor, lives. Kafka is able to expand the claims he makes about Gregor and his family to society as a whole through creating Gregor’s family into a symbol for society in general.
Though irony permeates through the entirety of “The Metamorphosis,” Kafka makes the opening sentence of the novella the most ironic to remove the technical and practical issues the reader might have with the story’s plot at the beginning. The first sentence of the novella describes Gregor waking up one day and finding “himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.” By beginning the plot of the story in this unexpected manner, Kafka brings the climax to the beginning of his novella. In doing so, Kafka presents an unbelievable situation, and both adds interest to attain the reader’s attention through irony and makes the rest of the story appear far less absurd since Gregor being an insect is the key aspect of the novella. By making the rest of the story more believable, Kafka allows for his message to be fully absorbed and experienced.
Kafka also adds depth to his evaluation on society through Gregor’s ironic point of view. Gregor’s first thoughts as he wakes up to find himself as a cockroach are very ironic to the unexpecting reader. The narration, told through a non-specific limited omniscient third party that is conscious of Gregor’s thoughts is ironic in that, though it acknowledges the fact that Gregor is a vermin, it does not react as we expect. Gregor’s thoughts are portrayed as treating the truly absurd scenario as normal, showing that Gregor does not make too big of a deal of the fact that he wakes up one day as a ‘vermin’. Instead of reacting as the reader would expect- such as by trying to scream out for help or feeling extreme terror –Gregor immediately feels slight fear and agitation because he has woken up late for work. The fact that Gregor’s work occupies his thoughts at a moment where he has mysteriously transformed into a different species reveals the enormous role that work and productivity plays in the role of people’s lives. Gregor does not immediately think of his job because he likes it, but instead because he feels it is his obligation. In fact, Gregor strongly detests his job and wonders “why was only [he] condemned to work for a firm” that treats its employees so poorly. Kafka uses the word “condemned” to show how strongly Gregor dislikes his work which emphasizes the irony that it still occupies his thoughts even though his thoughts should be about his new condition. By using such an ironic point of view, combined with Gregor’s inappropriate response to the situation, Kafka illustrates that work and productivity are important facets of life in Kafka’s society to the point where even a man who is turned into a bug, among the most obscure and weird events that could occur, would be more concerned about his employment rather than his life.
Gregor’s family’s response to his metamorphosis the first time they see him is representative of society’s reaction to a man that loses his ability to work. When Gregor is not awake in time for work, his family becomes gravely concerned stressing the claim made in the novella that work is valued so highly that missing it should be very infrequent and cause for alarm. The family knocks at his door and, though he tries desperately to respond and get up, Gregor cannot. His thoughts continue to remain on his work, and he contemplates every possible movement that would allow him to get up and get to work but none prove successful. Eventually, Gregor realizes that if he does not catch the next train to work his boss will send over a supervisor to check on him and see why he is not at work and becomes terrified by the notion of being confronted by his employer. Work is so highly valued in Gregor’s society that employers go out of their way to make sure even the lowliest workers attend.
When Gregor’s supervisor arrives he is very angry that Gregor is late for even one day of work, showing how highly valued work is to every level of society. In the meantime, Gregor’s family- his mother, father, and sister -all desperately knock at the door trying to get Gregor up because they believe he has overslept and are afraid he will lose his job, leaving the entire family without an income. As Gregor finally manages to make his way to the door and opens it, his family is terrified and the clerk sent by his employer runs off screaming. Gregor’s new disabled form causes extreme panic in both his employer and his family for now the employer has lost a worker and the family its income. Now that Gregor is disabled and cannot work he is considered “a monster” and is useless both to his employer and his family. The family cries terribly over Gregor’s condition and “his mother… took two steps towards Gregor, and sank down in the midst of her skirt spreading out around her, her face completely hidden on her breast,” and his father “with a hostile expression… clenched his fist, as if to drive Gregor back into his room, then looked uncertainly around the living room, shielded his eyes with his hands, and sobbed with heaves of his powerful chest.” The intense emotion that Gregor’s transformation raises in his family- sorrow in his mother and anger in his father –shows that though Gregor’s mother feels badly that her son is now a vermin, his father feels angry and no longer sees his son as a man. Now that Gregor has lost his productivity, his father, who was previously small and weak, now sobs with his “powerful chest,” contrasting Gregor’s small and weak insect legs. Since Gregor’s family serves as a symbol for society in general, the family’s reaction depicts that though a disabled man may receive pity from some, he will induce anger in others and loses his manhood.
The only time Gregor’s family appears to feel content after Gregor’s metamorphosis is when Gregor dies, showing that a disabled person in society is valued and even loved less than those that have the ability to produce. When Gregor dies, the narration’s point of view switches to focus more on the family’s thoughts. Though one would expect Gregor’s family to be sympathetic and accepting of their son’s involuntary loss of productivity, the family treats Gregor with resent for losing his job and forcing the other members of his family to find another means of making and saving money. Gregor’s father, who cannot bear the sight of his son now that he is unable to work, no longer loves his son but instead feels it is the family’s “duty to swallow their disgust and endure him, endure him and nothing more.” Clearly Gregor loses the love of his family the moment he loses his productivity and usefulness. The ironic sense of relief and even joy Gregor’s family feels when he dies also serves to strengthen the claim that society evaluates people on their abilities.
The tragic and spontaneous metamorphosis that occurs to Gregor in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” is used by Kafka to critique the misplaced values of society. Kafka’s protagonist, Gregor, loses his productivity and consequently loses his life. When expanded to a more general level, Kafka argues through this event that a man loses his love from others the minute he loses his capacity for work.
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