So let me get this straight: one morning, a man wakes up as a bug. He is not surprised by this fact, but worries about the potential career-threatening possibilities of such a transformation. Huh. That’s a rather atypical reaction to a sudden transformation into a bug—to be fair, one could argue that there hasn’t exactly been a precedent for judging such matters, but still. Right off the bat, the reader is both forced to suspend rational thought and given a rather unflattering portrait of the protagonist, Mr. Gregor Samsa. As the story progresses, one hopes that there will be some redeeming character traits to be found in Mr. Samsa. Nope. He becomes even more spineless (Ha. Get it?), as evidenced by his opinions on his newfound and undesirable role in the family: “He stayed there all night, spending the time partly in a light slumber… and partly in worrying and sketching vague hopes, which all led to the same conclusion, that he must lie low for the present and, by exercising patience, and the utmost consideration, help the family to bear the inconvenience he was bound to cause them in his present condition” (¶ 37). As I continued reading, I found that, in my rising disgust for the man, I had to put down the textbook several times to seek out cockroaches and other such large insects with the hope of squashing Mr. Samsa. Alas, it was all to no avail.
Anyway, Kafka’s characterization of Gregor got me thinking (Unintentionally, I’m sure) about the necessity of such a story. Is it like “The Death of Ivan Ilyich”? That is, a not-so-hidden sermon on how the reader should live his or her life? If so, then apparently we should be less cowardly and bug-like and more courageous and human-like. It is my opinion that this is indeed the case, and Samsa represents either Kafka’s own failings(or self-perceived failings) or a dramatic characterization and personification( bugification?) of the many cowardly, ingratiating people that he and we have encountered in our lives. In the end, however, one cannot help but feel pity for poor Gregor Samsa. His death is a dramatically pathetic and pitiable conclusion to an already pathetic and pitiable existence: “The decision that he must disappear was one that he held to even more strongly than his sister, if that were possible…Then his head sank to the floor of its own accord and from his nostrils came the last faint flicker of his breath” (89).Whether we hate, identify with, or pity his cowardliness, the reader strongly reacts to Mr. Gregor Samsa. That universality is what has made “The Metamorphosis” one of the most famous short stories of all time. And in the end, it’s really just a story about a guy who wakes up as a bug. (492)
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2 comments:
Ian--because of your ability to look at something from several angles, you are able to see that however weak and unsympathetic Gregor is in the story, we may easily find our way to a different opinion of him at the end. (You said, "Whether we hate, identify with, or pity his cowardliness, the reader strongly reacts to Mr. Gregor Samsa.") To which I would only add, that even if he submits too willingly to his own objectification in the beginning, no one deserves what he endures in the end.
PS--two reminders: 1) paragraphs are an aid to the reader; 2) "due by Saturday" doesn't mean the following Tuesday.
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