The Metamorphosis: An Analysis

In The Metamorphosis, we begin with the protagonist Gregor as he is waking up from a troubled or distressing dream. After waking up he realizes that he has become a vermin but this fact has no effect on Gregor as he tries to continue his daily chores. Gregor works as a traveling salesman, even though he very much despises the job, he works to pay off the debt his family owes. This causes him to be sad as he just wants to leave his job and never return and he often fantasizes about quitting. After Gregor became a vermin he begins to anger his family as he was the main financial support and since he could no longer work that responsibility spread among his other family members especially Grete his younger sister. When reading The Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka, one can use the Marxist Lens to show readers that Gregor lives in a capitalist society in which he is struggling to live in, also the biographical lens which is going to help illustrate the theme that isolation can lead to rejection as we often see Gregor being left alone, and finally the reader response lens to highlight the fact that Gregor is being pushed away by his family which will help to further explain the theme that isolation can lead to rejection.