The Metamorphosis- A Personal Response

I think that The Metamorphosis is a very depressing text, with a negative outlook on human behavior and its consequences. Obviously, it was greatly influenced by Kafka's personal life, and he reflects his grim world view in the text. In particular, I think that Kafka best shows his complicated relationship with his father. In the text, Gregor at first supports his father and his family out of loyalty, love, and a feeling of responsibility. After Gregor's transformation, although he would like to support his family, he is no longer able to support them in any meaningful way, and so his father tends to push him aside and consider him a nuisance at best. The scene in which his father lodges an apple into Gregor's back is the perfect example of this viewpoint. Only afterwards does his father recall that Gregor is still a part of the family, and does not deserve to be treated as an enemy. I think that this excerpt demonstrates the unbalanced relationship they share; they go back and forth between love and disgust, support and frustration.

While the reaction of the family might seem a little harsh at first, I think that the importance of communication is highlighted by their personal responses to Gregor's transformation. We, the readers, understand Gregor's good intentions for what they are because we can read his thoughts without any misinterpretations. However, the same cannot be said of the Samsa family. Gregor has no means of communicating with any members of his family, as he has lost the ability to talk coherently, and as such the majority of his actions are misinterpreted by the rest of the Samsa's. His appearance has a lot to do with this. For most normal people, a giant bug will significantly change how he/she summarizes and reacts to a particular event or attempt at communication. Besides the literal interpretation, though, I think Kafka uses the bug as a metaphor for cultural, linguistic, and personal differences that can cause trouble with communication.

I really like the portrayal of Gregor's sister in The Metamorphosis. It's refreshing to have a character who acts selflessly once in a while. Her selflessness stems from a strong, loving bond between herself and and her brother. Even so, Kafka shows that selflessness has its limits. Towards the end of the story, even Gregor's sister grows desperate and frustrated with her family's state of affairs to the point of suggesting they remove Gregor permanently. Both of her elderly parents are working, Gregor had driven off the boarders before they paid the Samsa family, and overall conditions in the house are tense and miserable. I think that Kafka is making a statement about human nature through the sister's character. He shows that humans can only perform selfless acts for so long, and eventually there is a breaking point beyond which they must think of their own need to survive.