The Metamorphosis: Analysis
Don’t Judge a Book by It’s Cover
The Metamorphosis is a book about a man who wakes up finding himself physically changed from a human into an insect. Gregor, the main character, is a hard-working, traveling sales person that only wants to provide for his family. His mentality, demeanor, personality and thought process does not change one bit when he becomes aware of his physical alteration.
To understand The Metamorphosis, a reader must first understand the main character Gregor and his demeanor, thoughts and reactions to his surroundings. Gregor’s character over the course of The Metamorphosis does not change, besides his physical appearance. Both as a man and as an insect Gregor accepts the hardships he faces with his job and now his physical appearance without complaint. When his father’s business failed, he readily accepted his new role as the money-earner in the family without question, even though it meant taking a job he disliked as a traveling salesman. Similarly, when he first realizes he has transformed into an insect, he does not bemoan his condition, wonder about its cause, or attempt to rectify it in any way. On the contrary, he quickly accepts that he has become a bug and tries to go about his life as best he can in his new condition. The narration in the story mirrors Gregor’s calm forbearance by never questioning or explaining how or why this odd transformation occurred or remarking on its strangeness. Instead, the story, much like Gregor, moves on quickly from the metamorphosis itself and focuses on the consequences of Gregor’s change. For Gregor, that primarily means becoming accustomed to his new body.
The Metamorphosis has 3 sections. In the first section, we begin to learn about the daily routine and mentality of Gregor’s human life, and get to experience his feeling of becoming more distant from those around him. As Gregor lies in bed, unable to get himself up, he begins thinking of his job as a traveling salesman. There are
The Metamorphosis is a book about a man who wakes up finding himself physically changed from a human into an insect. Gregor, the main character, is a hard-working, traveling sales person that only wants to provide for his family. His mentality, demeanor, personality and thought process does not change one bit when he becomes aware of his physical alteration.
To understand The Metamorphosis, a reader must first understand the main character Gregor and his demeanor, thoughts and reactions to his surroundings. Gregor’s character over the course of The Metamorphosis does not change, besides his physical appearance. Both as a man and as an insect Gregor accepts the hardships he faces with his job and now his physical appearance without complaint. When his father’s business failed, he readily accepted his new role as the money-earner in the family without question, even though it meant taking a job he disliked as a traveling salesman. Similarly, when he first realizes he has transformed into an insect, he does not bemoan his condition, wonder about its cause, or attempt to rectify it in any way. On the contrary, he quickly accepts that he has become a bug and tries to go about his life as best he can in his new condition. The narration in the story mirrors Gregor’s calm forbearance by never questioning or explaining how or why this odd transformation occurred or remarking on its strangeness. Instead, the story, much like Gregor, moves on quickly from the metamorphosis itself and focuses on the consequences of Gregor’s change. For Gregor, that primarily means becoming accustomed to his new body.
The Metamorphosis has 3 sections. In the first section, we begin to learn about the daily routine and mentality of Gregor’s human life, and get to experience his feeling of becoming more distant from those around him. As Gregor lies in bed, unable to get himself up, he begins thinking of his job as a traveling salesman. There are
Cited: Kafka, Franz. “The Metamorphosis.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Shorter Third Ed. Vol 2. Ed. Martin Puchner. New York: Norton, 2013. Print. 1201-1235