Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis Literary Analysis

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is about a man, Gregory Samsa, who has been transformed into a giant bug overnight. In this novel, Franz Kafka incorporates the unreal occurrence of Gregory’s bug transformation into a world that closely resembles reality. This mixture of the real and the unreal shares similar characteristics with fairy tales, for example, a person transforming into another creature or vice versa is a common theme in many fairy tales, such as The Beauty and the Beast and The Frog Prince. Also, the majority, if not all of the fairy tales have a moral and a happy ending, whereas The Metamorphosis does not have a happy ending, or at least not for Gregory. Overall, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka share some similar elements with
Although, The Metamorphosis is comparable to these fairy tales, this novel is also different because Kafka abandon’s the common happy ending. In addition, most stories’ problems have a cause, effect, and a solution, but Franz Kafka left this major plot point unexplained.
The Metamorphosis is comparable to fairy tales such as The Beauty and the Beast because metamorphosis plays a major role in their story. In The Beauty and the Beast, Gregory is like the Beast. The Beast is an outsider to Belle's village, just like how Gregory became an outsider in his own family. For example, "We must somehow get rid of it."(1419) and, “You must just try to get out of the habit of thinking it’s Gregory” (1420), are quotes from Gregory’s sister. These quotes depict how Gregory’s family is starting to refer to him as “it”, not Gregory, not an actual human being.
“Dead?...Thanks be to God.” (1421), is a quote from Mr. Samsa upon knowledge of Gregory’s death. This quote shows that Mr. Samsa is somewhat relived that Gregory died. Mr. Samsa is relieved because prior to the transformation, Gregory was put in a position to be the foundation of the family, to work and make money, but after Gregory was transformed into a bug, he could no longer support his family financially and therefore becoming a burden. This is similar to Cinderella because both were forced to put their families before themselves. For example, Cinderella’s stepmother made her serve the family by cleaning the house and tending to their needs. And for Gregory, he was forced to go to work to make money to pull his parents out of debt. Overall, Gregory and Cinderella’s stories are similar because they are both protagonist who are outcasts in their own home. And despite their conditions; Gregory’s transformation into a bug and Cinderella’s unfair treatment, no one in the family attempts to help them. Also, by connecting Gregory’s family with Cinderella’s, it gives the readers hope that there could be a happy ending for the