Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis

Throughout Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka gives clear examples on how Gregor affected the family. He tries to help the family by working a horrible job just to pay off the debts of the family. By using irony, imagery, and nostalgia, Franz shows how although Gregor seemed helpful, he actually held the family back from becoming closer and progressing in life.
Once Gregor, “Had changed into a monstrous, verminous bug,”(pg. 1) he discovered many new, but painful-forming qualities like, “The ball of his tiny limbs had a little sticky stuff on them”(pg. 13). He also had, “No real teeth”(pg. 13).
Gregor had a very boring life. The dismal nature of Gregor’s life consisted of him, “Constantly waking up from hunger”(pg. 23). The novel speaks of the family
hardly ever leaving their apartment. It also includes that during, “His five years’ service Gregor hadn’t been sick even once”(pg. 3).
Gregor’s dismal nature of life and absurd life changes led up to alienation from his family. Towards the end of the book, the family even starts calling Gregor an “it.” Them calling Gregor this definitely showed their lack of perseverance, and crushed Gregor’s motivation to carry on. One instance, the one who cared the most about him, the sister, said, “I will not utter my brother’s name in front of this monster, and thus I say only that we must try to get rid of it” (pg. 53). His parents even, “Could not bring themselves to visit him”(pg. 31). “Gregor was now shut off from his mother”(pg. 38). Gregor, doing all he can to help and provide for his family, now being completely cut off from his family. His family often talked about him in some way or another, even in secret. To make things even worse, the manager leaped over the stairs trying to get away from Gregor.
Now, with everybody alienating him, he had time to think.
Franz uses nostalgia to show what Gregor thinks about throughout the story, imagery to show how he felt during the time of struggle becoming a bug, and irony to show how weird and sarcastic the actions and speech of the family were. Gregor thinks about how, “They used to sit at the table, where in the earlier days the mother, the father, and himself had eaten”(pg. 49). He also sadly remembers that there, “Was no longer the animated social interaction of former times”(pg. 42). Even during his death, “He remembered his family with deep feelings of love”(pg. 57). This appears very ironic because he worked hard and loved his family, yet his family treated him very poorly. After his death, the sister ironically says, “It’s kicked the bucket”(pg. 57). Saying this, the sister seems to almost be happy that he’s gone. The sister also had the guts to say this, during the story, “When people have to work as hard as we all do, they cannot also tolerate this endless torment at home”(pg. 54). Gregor did all the work for the whole family, and that’s how his family ironically speaks about their small amount of work. Franz mentions several times in the book that Gregor was in his room in complete darkness. This imagery obviously shows him being abandoned and lonely. Franz also talks about Gregor’s transformation. The diction he uses definitely draws unpleasant pictures to your
mind.
Although all of these horrible things had happened to Gregor, including his death, the family became united.
They started, “Giving thanks to God”(pg. 58). During the first parts of the book, outside consisted of cold weather, but now, “The fresh air was partly tinged with warmth”(pg. 59). That surely gave some life to the story towards the end. In the beginning of the story, the father came off as lazy and timid, but now how was active and confident. “Then all three left the apartment together, something they had not done for months now”(pg. 61). All of this shows that the family merged together in the end, and Gregor was actually the person holding them back from becoming closer and progressing in
life.