Society often works against itself in one way or another. In
reading Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka one could presume the work to
be a social criticism. Throughout this story Kafka shows how
society can be split into into different sections, with Gregor
representing the working man at the time, and his family
representing all the other kinds of people throughout society.
This story shows how Gregor has worked for his family in the
past, and how he subconsciously thought he had control over them.
He works at an intolerable job of hard work to support his family,
and gets little respect for this. It shows what happens to him
when he stops working for them, he transforms into a huge
cockroach. He is rejected by his family, and he is not cared for
properly which results in his death. Following Gregors death is a
gleeful ending, which eventually implies that the cycle will be
repeated, though this time through his sister.
Gregor Robertson, Founder of Happy Planet
Gregor Robertson, Founder of Happy Planet
gregor at loch duichIt is apparent even in the first sentence "As Gregor awoke
one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed into
a gigantic insect" (P862, Ph1) that Kafka meant something
underneath the surface. Awakening from uneasy dreams could mean
awakening from an uneasy, labored life by quitting it all. His
transformation could mean how society can compare him to a
cockroach for his giving up on them and treat him as if he was
less than human.
Gregor has obviously had a life of hard labor at a job that
he finds to be unbearable; as he states "Oh, God what an
exhausting job I've picked" (P862 Ph4). He feels that he must
work though. He feels that his family is incapable of supporting
themselves. His mother has asthma, his father is old, and his
sister is very young.