It’s quite remarkable how differently people react to change; how one could be so rebellious while the other embraces it. In “The Man in a Case” written by Anton Chekhov, Byelikov is not only a reserved, quiet man who revolts against any form of change, but is also a man who makes no exceptions to his mental disciplinarian handbook of rules whether it was for personal or professional purposes. On the other hand, “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka begins with Gregor Samsa treating his change from a human being to an insect with complete disregard as though his transformation is a natural occurrence in his life. Chekhov and Kafka, in their respective works of literature, use profound figurative references and discuss the different reactions to change, which as a result intrigue and arouse the reader’s curiosity.
Beginning with the individual protagonists of each story, they’re
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With such a title, one might expect that this story will express the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a beautiful butterfly, but with Kafka’s troubled upbringing, abuse and feelings of being devalued for most of his life, it’s easy to see how Kafka felt the need to symbolically dehumanize himself. Kafka’s choice of human-to-insect transformation exudes self-loathing because there’s nothing lower than a cockroach. While Gregor is the one who took on the grotesque transformation, it’s actually his family’s behavior towards his change which conveys complete hostility. Grete, for one, had enough near the end when she said, “If it were Gregor, he would have realized long ago that it isn't possible for human beings to live with such a creature, and he would have gone away of his own free will” (Kafka). It’s very disheartening knowing that his own family couldn’t handle his transformation when his first thought in the morning was getting to work on time for their