“The
Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka is one weird little book! In it Gregor Samsa a traveling salesman, wakes up one morning
to find that not only is he late for the train, he has somehow been transformed into a giant cockroach. His predicament only becomes worse when he is seen in this state by not only his family but also his boss. Things get worse for his family. Gregor has to stay hidden in his room like a criminal and both his father and sister have to get jobs. It is particularly hurtful to Gregor to see his sister working. He was hoping to send her to the music conservatory when he earned enough money.The book is steadily downhill after that for Gregor. He is depressed and seldom eats. His father hits him in the back with an apple leaving the apple imbedded and a wound that won’t heal. Life comes to an end for Gregor one night after he learns that his sister doesn’t even think the cockroach is him.This is not the end of the story. Importantly, Kafka has Gregor’s family leave the house that next morning. They travel to the country where it is agreed that they will move to a smaller apartment and see that the
daughter gets married. Their fortunes pass from Gregor, who was the bread winner, to her.There is tremendous speculation about what Kafka meant by
Metamorphosis; some speculate that Gregor was a homosexual, for example. This extractor feels that it is the brief section after Gregor’s death that reveals the true metamorphosis. If the story were about Gregror, it would end with his transformation but it is not until the family is reborn on the opportunities of the daughter that the story ends. The whole family undergoes the metamorphosis.