Symbolism In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis
Throughout the entirety of The Metamorphosis, Gregor and his transformation into a vermin is a key symbol of disabled people, how they are treated, and the severe negative impacts the solitude they are placed in has on the victim psychologically. This is not just limited to physical disabilities, but mental as well. The main purpose of the symbol of Gregor is that he represents the working class, but specifically, the working class that was once providing for a family but no is no longer able to due to a disability. The exact nature of his ailment is ambiguous and left up to interpretation. The lack of an explanation for the cause of his situation, and the lack of the specific nature of what he has become leads to him being able to be a symbol
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He worked for years in order to get his family out of debt, yet he is still at the mercy of his employers whose jobs are not only easier, but they have complete control over Gregor and demand him to follow their orders in order to even provide basic things for his family. This control is exemplified by the Head Clerk coming to his house because he wasn’t on time for the first time in his career. Rather than attempting to care about Gregor’s well being, his sole focus is on why Gregor was not at work to get money for their company, and threatens to fire him because he did not show up once. It shows the immense power that they have to destroy Gregor and his family’s lives in a split second, the moment he stops being beneficial to the company. This illustrates the way the working class is treated in our society, and the inescapable grasps of jobs and the economy. This further contributes to the aforementioned argument of Gregor being a symbol for the disabled because of the treatment he is forced to endure by his family. He is no longer considered a part of society because he is unable to provide for them, and so they no longer care about him, and even wish he would die because it would make their lives easier. The complete alienation of Gregor is a commonly found situation around those that are disabled and people feel like they have become a burden to the extent that the
He worked for years in order to get his family out of debt, yet he is still at the mercy of his employers whose jobs are not only easier, but they have complete control over Gregor and demand him to follow their orders in order to even provide basic things for his family. This control is exemplified by the Head Clerk coming to his house because he wasn’t on time for the first time in his career. Rather than attempting to care about Gregor’s well being, his sole focus is on why Gregor was not at work to get money for their company, and threatens to fire him because he did not show up once. It shows the immense power that they have to destroy Gregor and his family’s lives in a split second, the moment he stops being beneficial to the company. This illustrates the way the working class is treated in our society, and the inescapable grasps of jobs and the economy. This further contributes to the aforementioned argument of Gregor being a symbol for the disabled because of the treatment he is forced to endure by his family. He is no longer considered a part of society because he is unable to provide for them, and so they no longer care about him, and even wish he would die because it would make their lives easier. The complete alienation of Gregor is a commonly found situation around those that are disabled and people feel like they have become a burden to the extent that the