Franz Kafka’s novella “Metamorphosis” is an absurd, surreal look at the life of a traveling salesman and his family. It begins immediately with Gregor Samsa’s transformation into a bug and continues with how he then deals with his life and how his family navigates around him. The novella ultimately becomes a piece of absurd and existential content that breaks some basic rules of sense and storytelling while simultaneously remaining compelling, disturbing, and forcefully provocative. These qualities strung together give the reader a whole new experience, which helps to define 20th century literature and thought.
Kafka keeps his story compelling despite its ambiguities and plot gaps by micro-describing each experience that Gregor has through the eyes of a bug. Every effort to crawl, climb, eat, and communicate becomes hyper realized, giving the reader a true sense of Gregor’s struggle through his new everyday life. At first one might guess that the existential breakthrough presents itself before the novel itself begins in that Gregor is forced to readjust his life in a completely different form, but it later becomes clear that even in this state he becomes complacent and monotonous. This can be seen in the family as well, as their initial reactions to Gregor’s transformation and their actions thereafter are all made compelling by the fact that they never, in fact, seem to wonder about how their family member got into his present state. That being said, Gregor doesn’t seem concerned with it either, and only seems concerned with how to deal with it (although in the beginning one might argue he copes through denial). His transition from human to insect is a slow process and spans the three parts, as he still seems to think he’s “able to provide a life like that in such a nice home for his sister and parents” (19) at the start of part II.
The disturbing part of this novella centers around his slow decay into the insect he has become and his ultimate acceptance of...