Dealing With Change

In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, Gregor undergoes a major, and quite unfortunate, physiological change. He awakes one morning to find himself in the body of a large insect. Some find this to be too far fetched, even for the story, and choose to interpret the change on a metaphorical level as opposed to reading it as if Gregor is actually a giant bug. I'll analyze both sides, and eventually show why I believe Gregor has actually undergone this metamorphosis, despite the fact that it is anatomically impossible.

Early on in his state, we learn all about Gregor's life and how he feels about it throughout this change, such as his feelings towards his job. Later we see his family's reaction to his state and realize just how serious of a predicament Gregor is in. He also must deal with the chief, who seems to feel as though Gregor is a highly expendable asset to the company. He works hard during terrible hours just to help relieve his father's debt that he has accrued while his family lives a comfortable life. Consequently, Gregor is one of the hardest workers the chief has, and Gregor expresses how he feels while everyone is in a state of shock. He begins to worry later on about how he will not be able to support his family any more in the body of a bug, and sees how much they have depended on him. The fact that he has worries about this and directly correlates his state to his work shows how Gregor actually could have transformed into a bug. An argument for his human state could also be made though. He still has human thoughts and reactions, so he could just be hallucinating the entire thing.

To rebut the hallucination theory, Gregor shows very bug-like tendencies. He shows no interest in his previously favorite foods and even hides under the sofa. Gregor is very scared of humans and seems to be very shy; he has the personality of a bug. His family's reaction is probably the most convincing piece of evidence that Gregor had indeed turned into a bug. The way his family deals with the transformation shows how much of an effect he had on them. The consequences of his form are a lack of support for the family. The family eventually had to refocus on the future once Gregor was found dead, something that probably didn't happen while he was working to keep their lives comfortable. It is frustrating to see such a hard working man take the sacrifice like that, but he taught the family that they basically needed to stop being lazy. His metamorphosis put his family back on track and made them realize that he couldn't be the one paying the price for his father's debt.