The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka | Summary & Analysis

Course Hero Literature Instructor Russell Jaffe provides an in-depth analysis of the plot, characters, symbols, and themes of Franz Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis.


In The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, awakens one morning to discover he has turned into an insect-like creature.

As a traveling salesman, he is a reliable man and the key source of income for his family, and they are understandably horrified by his sudden change in form. Though his sister Grete attempts to care for him in his new incarnation, his father and mother both shun him.

His aging parents and sister are forced to take jobs and take in three demanding boarders to make ends meet as Gregor keeps hidden in his room by a mutual, unspoken understanding, spending his days reflecting on family.

Isolated in his room, he becomes increasingly depressed. Ultimately, his father throws an apple at him when he attempts to check on his mother, who has passed out at the sight of him. This sinks Gregor into a deeper depression and he loses the will to live.

Gregor’s death relieves the family and they treat themselves to a day in the countryside and begin to plan their future.

The Metamorphosis threads what might be taken as a simple horror story with observations about familial relationships and middle-class despondency. Though the main character is an insect, the story is profoundly human.

Jewish writer Franz Kafka is considered a master of 20th-century German literature, and The Metamorphosis was first published in 1915. However, the novella would not achieve popular acclaim until after his death. In fact, many of his unconventional stories were published posthumously against his wishes. Today the term Kafkaesque is used to describe the bizarre and fantastical.

The novella The Metamorphosis contains many powerful themes including mind and body, as Gregor no longer looks human, though his thoughts stay the same, revealing a disconnect between mind and body; alienation in modern life, as Gregor's transformation represents feelings of isolation; and family ties, as the emotions of Gregor's family range from love and compassion to resentment and horror. Important symbols include the woman in furs, vermin, and uniforms.


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[cifer]

Best part about this story I found was most inhumane looking character in this story was most human of them all

[TyMcLeod]

The fact that Gregor’s last few moments were spent in reflection over his love for his family tells me that he was the only one with his humanity still intact.

[threedogsinatrenchcoat]

I personally felt resentment towards the rest of Gregor’s family by the end of the book. Gregor had worked so hard his whole life to help provide for his family and even pay off their debts while his father sat around and did nothing but after only a few months of Gregor being helpless because of forces he couldn’t control, his family(especially his father)completely lost patience and turned on him.

[baldaiomir]

this book also shows how people, even your family, can change their attitude towards you once you turn into a "bug".
i personally interpreted "bug" as a person with some kind of a disability, a person that became helpless, that couldn't work and earn money anymore.
Gregor became a burden, emotional and physical. before his transformation the main thing that he did to his family was working and helping them with money. now he lost his ability to work and thus lost his main responsibility in the family

[AliHammadArtist]

"Society cares for the individual only so far as he is profitable."

Simone de Beauvoir

[mrgoldie]

In real life, the “Metamorphosis” is an uncanny parallel, deja-vue, a premonition of Kafka’s life and end of life cycle- death by starvation. He got a bug, i.e. laryngeal tuberculosis, and six years later metamorphosed into a helpless bedridden thing, cared for and fed by his youngest sister. One of his former girlfriends was a Greta. He had an oppressive father who was a traveling salesman. The main character was a salesman and the father wasn’t kind. Kafka died unmarried at 40 — dependent, silent, unable to eat and starving like the main character. After his death, family life goes on as usual like in the story.

[vinimysore]

At the end of the book, I felt the real transformation actually happened to Gregor's family members. As far as Gregor is concerned, he had always been a bug but never realised. His family gets to know what a bug he is when he is not going out nad not able to work anymore.

[cold_static]

Gregor's dad must have secretly resented him for years for replacing him as the sole-breadwinner and provider, emasculating him and replacing him as the head of the family. That would explain his reaction to Gregor's transformation being instant aggression and hostility.

[cynsterrr]

I don’t know why you guys don’t like the narrator. He’s great, and I loved the little bug noises they are so cute hehe

[ZKMsphere]

over the course of the story i can't help but feel how similar gregor situation is to that of your elderly parents. as they all grow older they begin to be harder to take care of and at some point become a liability both financially and physically. its sickening to think of your parents as such but that is simply the fact. and much like how grete eventually come to accept that fact, she too spurn the hand that fed them when it became a burden.

[LixtianShanghai]

i have not read too many fictions in my life but i will never forget about the impression this book left on me.

[haydengrooms]

Thanks for the explanation. The bug noises freaked me out.

[ShmeengusDingus]

Gregor’s tale is incredibly relevant to modern America. It’s horribly common for dedicated loved ones to be casted aside when they finally become a burden, as if love had an expiration date. As if all the struggles they went through for their family means nothing when they’re no longer of any use.

My mother suffered brain trauma and is nothing like how she was. But her love for us is still there and while it’s been a difficult seven years we still love her.

I always found the story to be heartbreaking when I was younger and having to live what it represents I see the complete tragedy.

Please never abandon your loved ones, love isn’t always painless, but don’t let the pain make you forget all they’ve ever done for you either

[amentia]

bruh my english reach spent 2 weeks on this and this guy did a better job of teaching it within 10 minutes

[brunokocinas]

I don't know why people complain about the narration. He's just trying to make this enjoyable for us. Stop being so gloom.

[davidhumphrey]

Just think, this youtube video is an entire course in English Literature in just these 11 minutes.

[ORANGE-ibjd]

if i was gregor i wouldve eaten my entire family
what makes me sad is that i think if gregor wasn't the bug and another family member was he wouldve never abandoned them

[ORANGE-ibjd]

from the beginning ive always interpreted him becoming a "bug" as him developing a disability. he could no longer work so he only served as a burden for their already troubled family, they abandoned him and wanted to get rid of him

[Gurci]

Gregor Samsa's story is a metaphor for sacrifice. His terrible state is directly due to overwork and personal dissatisfaction, which he burdened in order to give his family a life of relative comfort and security.
Gregor Samsa is one of the most pathetic, yet endearing figures in literature. Kafka's characterization of Gregor was perfect in representing his message throughout the story, because Gregor's evolution was the point and purpose of the entire novella.
Like Gregor, Kafka disliked his authoritarian father, and felt compelled to work a job he disliked in order to financially support his family. 1:58 [Amazon; Cram; Study]

[Gurci]

The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka's best works of literature. It shows the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others in a time of need. [123HelpMe] 2:15