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A review by kartrick
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
4.0
Initially unable to make head or tails out of Samsa's twisted priorities, as the story progressed, my feelings changed to a kind of pity. It just showed how cruelly he had been conditioned into being a workhorse (for whom?). Grinding away his years in the hopes of a wishful trouble-free future, not realising that he was in fact just letting the fruits of life slip by.
It is unclear to me what exactly the metamorphosis represents - whether it means some sort of disease that crippled him, or whether it refers to some quirks in his character, or some sudden changes in his personality or philosophy. But the fact remains that his family pretty much disowns him for whatever it is; instead of accepting the man as he is, they pretend to never have known him. If we consider that his transformation into a beetle represents some quality or quirk of his, then the real metamorphosis would be the transformation of his family.
To be fair, change is one of the most difficult things we as humans deal with, and it always comes with trouble. However, the fact that they did not even attempt to search for a trace of Samsa inside the arthropod skull was terrible. They not only chose to ignore and forget their own son, but even found reasons to hate him!
Even ignoring the irrationality of the fear of insects, there is no excuse for the way he was treated. One would think that one would be able to overcome the initial shock, then rationalise and reset one's brain in a few days or even weeks. But the family was unable to do so, perhaps even because they took it as an excuse to react the way they did, once they saw he was of no more value to them.
The one person with whom he had truly connected showed some signs of affection and concern at first, but this soon turned into a haughty sense of responsibility and it eventually became boring and rewardless and she had enough of it as well.
I wouldn't disagree too much with their reaction to his death, however. This could be attributed to the part stoic in me; there is no point in crying over spilt milk. They would have to find a way to move on at some point, and they seem to have done so quite quickly. Although, I can't help but feel that his death might not have been as natural as it seemed. He gradually lost all hope, and could not find meaning in anything anymore, and his body and mind just responded naturally to his absolute despair.
The story definitely reveals things about Kafka, and his internal struggles. I am not sure to what extent the "family" represents his real one; he may have been thinking about his friends and acquaintances instead. The facades people put up coming crashing down once you are no longer valuable to them, is no novel tragedy, but Kafka has made this story into such a moving one.
This was not really what I was expecting from my first Kafka, but I am still eager to read more of his work.
It is unclear to me what exactly the metamorphosis represents - whether it means some sort of disease that crippled him, or whether it refers to some quirks in his character, or some sudden changes in his personality or philosophy. But the fact remains that his family pretty much disowns him for whatever it is; instead of accepting the man as he is, they pretend to never have known him. If we consider that his transformation into a beetle represents some quality or quirk of his, then the real metamorphosis would be the transformation of his family.
To be fair, change is one of the most difficult things we as humans deal with, and it always comes with trouble. However, the fact that they did not even attempt to search for a trace of Samsa inside the arthropod skull was terrible. They not only chose to ignore and forget their own son, but even found reasons to hate him!
Even ignoring the irrationality of the fear of insects, there is no excuse for the way he was treated. One would think that one would be able to overcome the initial shock, then rationalise and reset one's brain in a few days or even weeks. But the family was unable to do so, perhaps even because they took it as an excuse to react the way they did, once they saw he was of no more value to them.
The one person with whom he had truly connected showed some signs of affection and concern at first, but this soon turned into a haughty sense of responsibility and it eventually became boring and rewardless and she had enough of it as well.
Spoiler
I wouldn't disagree too much with their reaction to his death, however. This could be attributed to the part stoic in me; there is no point in crying over spilt milk. They would have to find a way to move on at some point, and they seem to have done so quite quickly. Although, I can't help but feel that his death might not have been as natural as it seemed. He gradually lost all hope, and could not find meaning in anything anymore, and his body and mind just responded naturally to his absolute despair.
The story definitely reveals things about Kafka, and his internal struggles. I am not sure to what extent the "family" represents his real one; he may have been thinking about his friends and acquaintances instead. The facades people put up coming crashing down once you are no longer valuable to them, is no novel tragedy, but Kafka has made this story into such a moving one.
This was not really what I was expecting from my first Kafka, but I am still eager to read more of his work.