While the story is not completely finished, so far I've enjoyed the juxtaposition of reality with the surreal in The Metamorphosis. Gregor Samsa has become a giant insect but his greatest priority is still getting to work. He initially questions "What has happened to me?" but then immediately turns his thoughts to his job and how tiring it is. Not before long, he realizes that he's late for his train to work, and seems more shocked about this than inexplicably being an insect. The sentence "The next train went at seven; to catch that he would have to make frantic haste and his samples weren't even packed up yet" demonstrates this. (66)
Gregor attempts to get out of bed but finds himself unable to because of his unfamiliar body. The inability to functionally move should certainly alert him to something being wrong, yet Gregor still resolves to be on his way and eventually rocks himself out of bed. Eventually the Samsa family learns of his predicament with shock and sadness (but little horror). Despite their reactions Gregor begins a long speech directed towards the chief clerk concerning his job, defending himself from earlier accusations that he wasn't a good worker. The people around Gregor can't even understand him and are upset at his appearance, which should be another clue that something is amiss, but Gregor acts as he would if he weren't transformed.
I interpreted Gregor's preoccupation with his work as a sort of commentary on how people so absorbed in their obligations forget or are unable to further their own individuality. Gregor's mother describes to the chief clerk how "he never goes out in the evenings" and "the only relaxation he gets is doing his fret-work." (70) These insights and the fact of Gregor's obliviousness to the peculiarity of his situation suggest an unhealthy state of mind. He's so consumed by his job that even at home he doesn't go "out in the evenings" and doesn't realize he's become an insect. However, Gregor's thoughts reveal that he isn't really that happy with his job and only works there out of duty for his family. Even without a positive attitude towards it, he continues to focus on work heavily and since he's working for his family and not himself that even further diminishes Gregor's individuality.
These sorts of ideas are what struck me when I read the first few pages of the story. As an ending thought, Gregor's transformation is something that makes you wonder why or how it happened, but the answer will never be given. His attitude towards it only heightens the surreality.
I agree that this was a pretty surreal book when I picked it up. It opens with the fact that he's a bug, which is straightforward enough, yet still leads to some interpretation. Is he really an insect? Or is supposed to represent one? However, Kafka soon shoots down all these suspicions, saying, "It was no dream." On top of this, once his family gets to see him in his new form, it's pretty clear that he is indeed a large cockroach. Yet despite all this, I was still tempted to read between the lines and infer what greater point the author is trying to make in The Metamorphosis. Overall, it's a pretty confusing book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that gregor's transformation is a commentary on how he lost his humanity by becoming obsessed with his work. Gregor is always thinking of his work or his family and even when he is "relaxing" he is working on something. His family does not seem to support Gregor as their son, only as the breadwinner and that distances him even further from his own humanity. The majority of the thoughts we read Gregor thinking are not about him. You're right that this has to be unhealthy. Part of the reason I found The Metamorphosis so surreal is that while Gregor is a bug, he is still thinking the same logical (although insect drone like) thoughts that he thought before he turned into a bug.
ReplyDeleteI think what's significant is not only Gregor's obsession with his work, but the kind of work it is. Not to disparage traveling salesmen, but their work is typically regarded as somewhat menial and unimportant. Gregor's having such a mundane and meaningless job serves to further the commentary about the "cog in the machine" tone that Gregor gives off.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the surreality of the story. When I was reading the book it felt like someone was describing a bad dream where they woke up and had to live the rest of their life as a bug. And like in a bad dream, Gregor had absolutely no control over the situation and sorta just had to let the events afterwards take place. It's a terrifying experience and the fact that there's no explanation to how this transformation occurred just makes the whole situation seem like a "calm terrified feeling".
ReplyDeleteWhile Gregor is totally obsessed with his job I think it is somewhat justified as he is doing it for his family and he needs to pay off the debt his family gathered as well as provide for them since none of them realize they can get a job until Gregor transforms. We can see how dedicated he really is to his family when they tell him to die, he does, and then he proceeds to remember them pleasantly.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing when we discussed his job. The fact that he is worried makes sense since his work life seems to be a bad situation. He seems to be trapped since he has to repay debts, and his boss is always keeping a close eye on him as seen when they arrive at his apartment a mere two hours after he is supposed to show up to work. We have had many discussions about how he is defined by his work and thus it makes sense as to why he is so worried about being late.
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