Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis

"Each character is an allegory for every aspect of human existence" -Vanna Bonta. In Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis", there's a strong allegory between the story and those people announcing their sexual orientation. After waking up to discover he is a bug and cannot speak, Gregor's family shuns him because they don't understand him. With his parents struggling to accept his new identity, he endures abuse. The "Metamorphosis" is a metaphor for many psychological events like physical abuse, willful blindness, and rejection. This story can be seen as an allegory for people reacting to a family member coming out. Physical abuse towards LGBT children by their parents results from the fear of not being to comprehend the situation. The narrator writes, "His father gave him a heafty shove from behind which released him from where he was held and sent him flying, and heavily bleeding, deep into his room" (19). Any kind of hit or push is an example of physical abuse. In result of Gregor's dad pushing him, he sustained many injuries. Like Gregor, kids are light and their physical strength is so little
compared to their fathers. For reasons not known why, some parents take out their frustration on their kids. In this case, Gregor's father is frustrated and has a hard time accepting who his son is now, just like sons coming out to their dads about being gay. Similar to physical abuse a child can endure from their parents, mental abuse can be equally harmful, especially if the child feels alone. It's common for people to avoid something they don't understand; they hope the situation will magically disappear. The narrator writes, "For the first fourteen days, Gregor's parents could not bring themselves to come into the room to see him" (29). For fourteen days Gregor's parents ignored him and in those fourteen days he became lonely and depressed. It's typical for parents to ignore something they don't understand, like why Gregor was all of a sudden a bug. Similarly to the parents of kids coming out, they are in disbelief when their son/daughter switches up once they once thought was true. In addition to the previous mental abuse, rejection is just another form of it. The rejection from a close family member is extremely painful to endure. His sister says, "It's got to go, that's the only way, Father. You've got to get rid of the idea that that's Gregor. We've only harmed ourselves by believing it for so long" (49). After a couple of weeks of facing Gregor's new identity, his sister says he must go. She doesn't accept Gregor for who he is and it hurts him deeply. Just like Gregor, LGBT people face rejection by their parents, peers, and strangers all the time. The ones who matter most to them that reject them is the worst out of all three. Despite many other psychological factors, mental abuse is the one on top of the list.
In brief, the "Metamorphosis" symbolizes the negative events a person that opens up about their identity to their family endures afterwards.
It's sometimes hard for people to be open about what they're going through. It's also especially hard for LGBT people to come out to their parents, because they're afraid of the reactions. The "Metamorphosis" is a great allegory for kids opening up to their parents because it gives others a chance to understand of what many face each day. Physical abuse, willful blindness, and rejection is something one should never have to experience. This issue reaches the heart of everyone who had no support first coming out to their parents, especially those continually neglected. People that faced similar situations can take away from the story that it's important to accept people for who they really are and not let them feel like a worthless
bug.