Writers never fall short on topics like musicians never miss a note. They have a strange internal quality of separating truth from fiction through the depths of depravity. That is why all novels, biographies, and short stories are interconnected. There are sixteen readers from the beginning and if the topic is catchy, the audience will go through a vocal journey within the pages. Scribes have that kind of influence on their readers.
You must be familiar with Kafka’s ‘METAMORPHOSIS’. It’s an amazing story with a creepy beginning and a dangerous ending. What if one fine day you get out of bed and find yourself transformed into a small insect? A cockroach, for example? Isn’t it a precarious and strange thought? This is what Kafka does to his readers here. It takes a subject that doesn’t fit into the ordinary universe and makes it psychologically attractive and very intense to believe.
The protagonist Gregor Samsa rules the book through his vile form. The writer has not shown much difference between the first and third person. The focus is on the world Gregor experiences through his cockroach form and how miserable his life is. His family does not consider him important and treats him below his dignity despite everything. The setting is within the four walls of the house excluding the last episode. Kafka portrays the daily life of his family related to the wise men of the world. A combination of true and illusory events makes this piece exceptionally interesting. The whole story is called “Absurd” and its themes are used in plays.
We all have that little animal instinct in us. This urge is symbolized by the lowest form of humiliation a human feels. Man thinks that he is so unworthy to live that he should be thrown into the cobwebs or should hide under the bed or sofa forever. Why is he so disgusted with her presence? What about him so unbearable that it makes you feel despicable of love? Let us travel his path and understand his condition.
Kafka’s portrayal of his pitiful protagonist becomes eye-catching when, even in insect form, he tries to get ready for the office or tries to sit down with his mother. It is a tearful situation for readers, as they believe that he has not given up hope of getting back to normal. He believes that this situation is a mere hallucination and it will pass but it does not and he falls into the depths of nowhere until everything is lost and he dies.
Gregor is a subjugated person. His family does not accept his breaking punctuality even in this condition. His father constantly examines his actions and feels like he is a puppet dancing to his melodies. They don’t care about your existence, they only care about your salary.
As we progress through the story, we witness his desperate attempts to make it seem important to his family. Gregor is happy when his sister comes to clean his room and looks at him with a strange face. Chew up the leftovers and it’s a gory description. This is how insects feed and no matter how hard Gregor tries, he never goes out of his way.
A small but significant part is shown when the office worker comes home because Gregor missed the train. He’s polite at first, but loses his temper when Gregor doesn’t answer his questions. This is truly an inhuman human situation where Gregor tries to be civilized by lowering his voice and being modest while communicating. He wants to speak out loud, but is afraid it may sound too harsh for his superior. It’s heartbreaking and pokes fun at false codes of civility. Even as a transformed insect, the protagonist does not lose his trace of courtesy. Kafka appears here as a brilliant writer. Mix the vile with the human and you are successful.
His family does not understand Gregor’s miserable condition, but he feels it all. You can hear the fabric fold as your sister Greta changes her dress. This insect man can feel and feel the slightest change around him and, suffering from this condition, he desperately tries to fight for the plight of his family. We can see the pitiful condition of our protagonist when he screams and pleads with his secretary. The saddest part is that his father without even trying to understand his motive, throws him back into the room and is defeated.
Gregor loves the accessories in his bedroom. He wants to remain in the same conditions but his dearest sister appears, takes everything from him and leaves him and his room empty and lifeless. This hurts him like hell, as he loved his sister more than anyone else.
Greta kept him connected to his family when he led a normal life. However, circumstances changed and so did his sister. He loves her and she vehemently despises him. It is clearly symbolized through his actions. The last episode shows an abyss in their relationship.
Gregor is unable to bear this vehemence and decides to die in the end. In a relaxing and serene atmosphere when the clock struck three and symbolized the time of dawn, our beloved protagonist entered the light in his soul. He fell to the ground, broke his head and took off into the sky.
Was over.
I’m not sure I could do justice to this summary of this great novel, but if you read it for yourself, you will go through that phase of “The Bloody Condition of Gregory.”
Metamorphosis is truly a legendary book in terms of portraying the humility, pain, and miserable condition of a living human being. So painful that he wants to transform into an insect to save himself and desperately craves some attention. Directly or indirectly, the novelist has reflected the psychological condition of people who suffer from an inferiority complex and instead of loving them, their family depraves and disgusts them to a level where they have no choice but to leave for the final exit.
