Metamorphosis: A Kafkaesque Nightmare

Metamorphosis: A Kafkaesque Nightmare

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."

Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to discover he's been transformed into a giant beetle-like creature. Can he and his family adjust to his new form?

The Metamorphosis is a book that, as Poe suggests, can be read in "half or one hour." Memes based on The Metamorphosis drew me to the book. Honestly speaking, Kafka's pessimistic tone can make others feel similarly pessimistic. His portrayal of Samsa is quite harsh, and he questions the structure of the story in a truly absurdist manner.

Translated from German, The Metamorphosis is the story of how Gregor Samsa's transformation tears his family apart. I feel like there are hidden meanings that are just beyond my grasp. I suspect it's a commentary about how capitalism devours its workers when they're unable to work or possibly about how the people who deviate from the norm are isolated. However, I mostly notice how Samsa's a big frickin' beetle and his family pretends he doesn't exist.

There's some absurdist humor at the beginning. Samsa's first thoughts upon finding out he's a beetle is how he's going to miss work. Have you ever felt trapped by the grind of work?  Gregor Samsa, the unfortunate protagonist of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, is a prime example of someone who's been pulled into the vicious cycle of work-life balance, or lack thereof. It's like we're trapped in a system where work is our lifeblood. 

Fail to show up, and you're essentially failing your family, your society, and yourself. The guilt and desperation that come with this can be overwhelming. It's as if we're climbing a never-ending mountain like Sisyphus of Albert Camus, just to reach a destination that seems constantly out of reach.

Aside from that, the main thing that sticks out is what a bunch of bastards Samsa's family is. He's been supporting all of them for years in his soul-crushing traveling salesman job and now they're pissed that they have to carry the workload. Poor things. It's not like Gregor's sitting on the couch drinking beer while they're working. 

Even Kafka's relationship with his father was strained, with his father losing all hope in his son. Similarly, in The Metamorphosis, Mr. Samsa is bitter in his behavior toward Gregor.

"what mainly prevented the family from moving was their complete hopelessness and the thought that they had been struck by a misfortune as none of their relatives and acquaintances had ever been hit." 

All kidding aside, the ending is pretty sad. I'll bet Mr. Samsa felt like a prick later. The Metamorphosis gets four stars, primarily for being so strange and also because it's the ancestor of many weird or bizarro tales that came afterwords. It's definitely worth an hour or two of your time.

I would surely recommend the book to hammer your mind and to ask existential question to yourself give your time to the book. 

Thank you.