Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

Gregor Samsa- Human Or Insect

Gregor Samsa, an unhappy traveling salesman wakes up one morning as a cockroach. Many readers believe that his transformation is a metaphor for self sacrifice and isolation, however some readers take this information more directly and believe his physical form is an insect. Personally I took this transformation as a metaphor for how Gregor was feeling about his life and the isolation he felt from his family. In Franz Kafka's novel The Metamorphosis the main character Gregor portrays more human qualities than insect.

Gregor displays many human qualIties throughout the course of the novel, mainly the guilt and resentment he feels toward his family. As the sole provider in his family Gregor was constantly working

Kafka highlights Gregor's guilt with an insight on Gregor's thoughts “Gregor spent the days and nights almost entirely without sleep. Sometimes he thought that the next time the door opened he would take charge of the family’s affairs again, just as he had done in the old days.” (Kafka 40) After Gregor's sister Grete closes the door to his room, as she does everyday Gregor reflects on his past. He thinks about how he was once the person his family relied on. Gregor feels so guilty about not working because his family completely ignores him in this state, showing they never cared for him. Since he's a bug and can't work anymore he feels useless to his family and like he has lost his purpose. Gregor has no identity to his family other than a provider and readers can see this based on the way they treat him after his metamorphosis. Gregor starts to resent his family because of this. He realizes that when he isn't useful to them they treat him more horrible than before. Kafka emphasizes this by saying “Gregor was a member of the family in spite of his pathetic and repulsive shape, who could not be treated as an enemy; that, on the contrary, it was the

Gregor does everything for them and always considers their feelings. For example whenever a family member enters the room he covers himself up with the sheet because he knows they won't want to see him. After his metamorphosis he still worries about his family and their financial situation. Mainly we can see that he still tries to maintain a relationship with his sister. He really cares for her and believes she is very talented. This is the reason he wants to put her through music school. After the metamorphosis Gregor is still very moved by Grete’s music “ Was he an animal that music could move him so… He was determined to force himself on until he reached his sister… to let her know in this way that she should bring her violin into his room, for no one here appreciated her playing the way he would appreciate it.” (46) This highlights how human he is, he still loves and cares for his sister and is moved by her talent. This is a scene that takes place in the third act close to his death. Even while he is the most “insect” he's ever been he still possesses human-like qualities such as the way he thinks about his sister as well as the empathy he feels for her since she needed to get a