First off, I would like to illustrate how much i loved this story! I started reading it the day it was assigned and couldn't put it down. So there I was, all tucked in and ready for bed thinking I would only read ten pages or so before I fell asleep, when suddenly I found myself captivated by a story about an insect. I'm sure you can tell by the way I talk about this story in class that I am very sympathetic towards Gregor. I actually cried so much during the end of the story that my vision fogged up and I had to stop to regain my composure.
Enough about me. This story is significant because it describes an unlikely physical transformation in the place of a very common emotional transformation. Gregor, like many other stressed out, suppressed working people has given up his identity for his profession and therefore has become as disposable as a dung beetle. Coincidentally, his job and his family are intimately linked. Gregor is forced into the role of "bread winner" when his parents find themselves indebted to his employer. Gregor's mother, father, and sister then proceed to take advantage of his kindness until one day they wake up to a Gregor that is no longer able to perform his expected duties.
Once Gregor's transformation is complete, Kafka's story focuses in on a different transformation--that of his family. Without Gregor's assisstance, his parents and sister finally have to face the real world. They have to get jobs and earn a living after many years of living in an alternate reality in which everything was handed to them. I believe that Kafka circles in on the family's pitfalls as a critique on the way that our society is constantly searching for a faster, easier way to do things. Appreciation is so lost in our day to day lives that we often forget how lost we would be without someone to lean on.
What is upsetting about this story is that Gregor's mom, dad, and sister never truly realize how invaluable Gregor is to them. As his last act of kindness, Gregor wills himself to die so as to discontinue his burden on the family. Instead of thanking Gregor for his thoughtfulness, the family doubts that he can even understand what they're saying and they begin to loathe how long they put up with the charade that this hideous insect could actually be their son and brother. The story ends with a sigh of relief from mom, dad, and sister as they look forward to their life following the tragedy that they just endured. What meanies!
Therefore, I am going to end my blog by saying that I strongly dislike this family and I couldn't be more happy that I will never turn into an insect and have to endure what Gregor did.
R.I.P. Gregor.
1 comment:
Uno--even though you posted this Saturday, I just got it today (Monday). Needless to say I was very glad to hear from you.
I can never predict which students are going to get hooked on this very odd story. Some people always get turned off just by the strangeness of the premise, while other, more perceptive readers (such as yourself) discover how carefully Kafka has invited our emotional involvement in the story and therefore find the story rewarding, even fascinating.
You are even able to read the story on several levels, from oppressed worker to identity loss to the plight of the chronically unappreciated. Thanks for a good entry.
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