The first sentence of Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis simply tells the reader that one morning Gregor Samsa woke up as a bug. This implies an abrupt transformation where one day he is human and the next instantly a bug, but the story seems to take a different path than this. Since we have finished the book, we see the full transformation of Gregor during his time as a bug. His changes are mostly seen in his physical abilities (or lack there of) but more importantly how his mind changes.
At the beginning of The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa is just learning how to use his body. He has difficulty turning over and tries to walk on two legs which ends up hurting him. At this point you can still see the thoughts of a human because he is thinking about his job and trying to do normally human activities. Although there is on main turning point in his physical metamorphosis, the change in how he thinks is a multi step process. He starts out mostly human as we see through his attempts to talk to his boss but he is also having trouble communicate with his family members. The first time that we see an obvious mental change is when he eats for the first time. We see here how much of a bug he is because he avoids the food that humans might eat and is drawn to the old cheese.
From there the next step where his mentality seems to become less and less human is seen when his mother and sister start to take out his furniture. When they first start to move his things, he simply points out how nice it is of his sister to do this. Then when his mother says her reasoning why its a bad idea Gregor immediately changes his mind which seems to show that he has no identity. For a moment, he had the mindset of a bug in that he was going to be happy with them taking away his human possessions, but instantly snaps back into human mindset when his mother makes that comment. He has now made a change from having his own thoughts to being in between human and bug. This is just one step of his mental metamorphosis.
Gregor Samsa’s unfortunate death makes it so this intermediate stage is the most bug-like he gets, but I am certain that his metamorphosis would continue. The book tells the story of a son who wakes up with the body of a bug, but there is also the deeper, slower change of his mind turning into that of a bug.
It's an interesting topic you bring up, of the dissonance between Gregor's mind and his physical form. There is Gregor's body at the beginning of the book, and at the end. Same for his mind. There are clear changes that occur, with his insect body deteriorating from familial abuses, and his mind's will to persevere being siphoned through familial neglect. I agree that his mind changes more slowly, but one point we brought up in 8th period was that it's possible Gregor's family is the one "metamorphosing", and Gregor stays relatively the same. Almost like some force has already drained Gregor of his self-motivation (outside of his possibly parasite-like parents, who contribute to Gregor's helplessness by depending on him.)
ReplyDeleteI think we can draw an interesting parallel with what you have gotten at there and Gregor's mindset before the transformation even started. It seems as though even before he was actually turned into a giant bug, Gregor exhibited vaguely bug-like features through his physical, and even mental practices (always thinking about work, studying time tables, etc). Thus, it is not surprising that when the transformation actually occurs, Gregor drifts more and more towards this insect mentality, as the prevalence of his human emotions dwindles ever so slowly. I agree with the point you make about how Gregor's "metamorphosis" would continue had he lived on for longer. Because his mentality was already akin to that of a bug's before the metamorphosis, it only makes sense that he would continue to drastically change when actually transformed into a "monstrous insect."
ReplyDeleteI think it's a great point that he's becoming an insect mentally as well as physically, but I think it's more complicated than that. Humans are a social species, and by being cast out and put into confinement, we slowly go a little nuts. Gregor's seemingly cool facade, I think, is actually his way of going insane. His reaction to being unwanted has gone from low to lower and all this time he has just been accommodating. By using his submissive nature as a crutch, he fails to show signs of insanity in the ways we'd look for. His humanity is slipping away, and yet, as it slips away, it becomes more pronounced, as nonsocial species, perhaps like Gregor's kind of insect, would not react negatively to being alone.
ReplyDeleteI think you bring up a really interesting point here, addressing one of the many metamorphoses that we see throughout the novel. There is the change in the Samsa family’s mentality, Gregor’s transformation into an insect, and Gregor’s sister through puberty. I think the title reflects all of the metamorphoses throughout the story, not just Gregor’s change into an insect.
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