The
Metamorphosis is one of those stories that sticks in
your head, maybe because it’s troubling, a little funny, and thought-provoking
all at once. In this post I’m going to write about what I’m going to remember
from this story the most (other than that Gregor wakes up as a roach).
Gregor never fully adjusts to his new body. When he
wakes up, he is entirely confused and doesn’t know what is going on. The most
striking image is his legs waving in the air “helplessly before his eyes” (Kafka
64). He dislikes his new body and the fact that he is unable to control it: “he
shut his eyes so as not to have to watch his struggling legs” (Kafka 65).
Throughout the first section, he attempts to get out of his room to explain
what is going on to his family and boss. Though he views his body as a
hinderance to getting out of the room (think him desperately trying to roll
over), he doesn’t immediately perceive any issue with his going to work as a
roach.
Gregor sustains major bodily harm throughout the
story. In the end of section one, Gregor is shoved into his room by his father,
who doesn’t understand that Gregor is still acclimating to his new body. By the
end of section two, Gregor has an apple permanently lodged in his back. After these
experiences, Gregor seems to recover. Rather than staying still after his
injuries, Gregor, instead of thinking about how he is a burden to the family, “set
himself in motion and crawled up and down the room” (Kafka 80). Habit has
taught him how to place the needs of his family before his own, but when these
are too unbearable for him to think about, he turns to crawling and moving
around to distract himself. He learns to find enjoyment in crawling around the
room. What else can he do, in this insect form?
Later, Gregor walks out of his room to listen to Grete
play violin, but is forced back into the room when the lodgers see him: “He was
amazed at the distance separating him from his room, and failed to understand
how in his weak state he had recently covered the same stretch almost without
realizing it” (Kafka 106). His weakness is emphasized much more towards the end
of the story. We’ve discussed in class how the story is anchored in Gregor’s perspective
for the most part, and as Gregor nears the end of his life, he thinks much more
about how much of a burden the cockroach form is, to himself and to his family.
Right before Gregor dies, he contemplates how the pain
he had gradually disappears. He collapses and is unable to move, but “this
caused him no surprise; he was more inclined to think it strange that he had,
until now, managed to propel himself at all on those thin little legs” (Kafka
106). For me, this thought is incredibly sad because he thinks it was odd that
he had been able to sustain himself in this somewhat unfriendly environment,
both as a human and as a roach. And I can’t totally fault him for being
surprised, because, to some extent, I am as well (which is also sad!).
What parts (if any) of The Metamorphosis are sticking with you?
