The Metamorphosis by
Kafka
Vocabulary and
Personal Response
Vocabulary:
·
Amelioration: The act of improving something or
making something healed/better.
·
Draught: The act or process of drawing air.
·
Admonitions: Counsel, advice, or caution.
·
Entreaty: Earnest request or petition.
Personal response:
Kafka’s
“The Metamorphosis” is a depressing story about a young man who turns into an
insect and consequently puts strain on his family until he dies. While reading this story the mental image I
create of Gregor is a human-sized cockroach.
I imagine that the only human body part that Gregor has left is his head
that is being enveloped by the cockroach’s shell and fangs. Cockroaches are normally seen by society as
disgusting insects. They are widely
disliked and are usually thought to be nuisances or in extreme cases, vermin.
I believe that the metamorphosis
that Gregor experienced was an outside interpretation of how he felt toward his
job. Gregor gravely disliked his
job. He also hated the management and
how they treated their employees as small and replaceable. As a result, I think that Gregor’s body
morphed into something that is disliked in order to represent his inner hate
for his job. Furthermore, in the story
Gregor quotes, “Were all the employees then collectively, one and all,
scoundrels?” This reminds me of how
people treat cockroaches or insects around the house; they are seen as all
being bad without any individual thought toward the insect.
This idea of being disliked, or
being a vermin is repeated throughout the story. Initially after the change, Gregor’s father
uses a cane and a newspaper to push Gregor back into his bedroom. The father immediately loses any humanity
toward his son and instead treats him as a monster. Further into the story, the family
experiences hardships due to not having Gregor as the family breadwinner. This further exaggerates how the family is
affected by having such a nuisance in the house.
One thing that I found really
ironic in the story is that when Gregor was human, it became normal for him to
support the family financially and overtime his parents became less
appreciative of his role while his sister was always grateful and
supportive. Then when he turned into an
insect his sister is the person who abandons him when she gets a job and then
finally suggests that the family gets rid of Gregor! I think that the development of the sister’s
attitudes throughout the story radically changes and that is reflected in the
end of the story when her parents see her as a young woman.
I enjoyed this story a lot, but I
wish that Kafka explained more how and why Gregor died. I believe that Gregor died because his human
mind was holding on to his sister’s love for sustenance and as soon as she
stopped caring and finally wished that Gregor was gone, then he died because he
had nothing to live for.
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