Kafka's Metaphor

The Metamorphosis, written by Franz Kafka is a short story that profiles Gregor Samsa. Throughout the story there are hints of existentialism, modernism, vampirism, and communism. Though existentialism is most prominent. From the existentialist view every action that a person commits has a consequence. The story is a metaphor for life in general. The main idea of the story is to go through life without the influence of modern society and understand the consequences of actions. Gregor in The Metamorphosis goes through life under the spell of his manager who symbolizes corporate hell in the modern world. Gregor is isolated from his family and disconnects with everyone that he knows for his demanding job. This is the classic example of people in society today so it is very important to go through life without regrets and without constant pressure and deadlines. Kafka purposely made Gregor a selfless, hardworking man that gets handed a large burden, and becomes stuck with a terrible spell. This is ironic because of how unfair life is, sometimes the worst things happen to the best people therefore it is important to live life the fullest because the future is dark and questionable. And there is always a repercussion for any action, whether that be good or bad.

Existentialism is philosophical thinking that begins with the human subject. One of the first existential philosophers Soren Kierkegaard, suggested that each person is responsible for giving meaning to life and living it with passion.  For example, Gregor continued to work for his family to pay off debt. "Day in, day out, on the road. The stresses of selling are much greater than the actual work going on at head office, and, in addition to that, I still have to cope with the problems of travelling, the worries about train connections, irregular bad food, temporary and constantly changing human relationships, which never come from the heart. To hell with it all!” (Kafka 1). Gregor has hit rock bottom with his work load, and driven himself to the ground. Soon his outsides will match his distraught insides, in reaction to the less than glamorous life that he has lived thus far.  Gregor's work has made him into a repulsive being who has become unable to communicate with his family. Gregor allowed his problems to build up and become intolerable. "What Kafka seems able to do better than just about anyone else is to orchestrate the pressure's increase in such a way that it becomes intolerable at the precise instant it is released" (Laughing With Kafka 1). Gregor had been living this life that was hazardous to his own state of mind, his work load continued to build up until one day everything came full circle and he became a bug in reaction to his work overload. Towards the end of the story Gregor has a revelation, and realizes that without work he has nothing to identify himself with. " 'What now?' Gregor asked himself and looked around him in the darkness" (Kafka 23). This is a very existential statement made by Gregor. He is asking himself what to do with life now, though there is nothing left. He has shut completely down, with the rotten apple lodged in his back that represents the "rotten knowledge that was once there. All of these examples again represent the consequence of all actions.

           
Acts of communion have notoriously brought people together throughout all of time. Sharing food or giving communion is often looked at as a religious or a sacred act.  A person usually shares food with a person that they can trust. "Two people are at dinner and a third comes up, quite unwished for, and one or more of the first two refuse to eat. They place their napkins on their plates, or say something about losing their appetite, or simply get up and walk away. Immediately we know what they think about the interloper." (How to Read Literature like a Professor 'Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion' 11). This statement relates back to how Crete would exclusively give food to Gregor, and his parents wanted nothing to do with it. This food that Crete would give to Gregor was often rotten, and leftover from the previous night. " There were old half-rotten vegetables, bones from the evening meal, covered with a white sauce which had almost solidified, some raisins and almonds, cheese which Gregor had declared inedible two days earlier, a slice of dry bread, a slice with butter, and a slice of salted bread smeared with butter" (Kafka 10). This rotten food, which was the only food available for Gregor, was slowing aiding in the decay of his body. This goes to show that food that is originally supposed to nourish the human body can also decay it and destroy it. The rotten food that Gregor is forced to eat is symbolic of the processed foods that society has "forced" onto the lower income people that perhaps cannot afford to purchase organic or healthy food. " Specifically, Tom and his lady friend, Mrs. Waters, dine at an inn, chomping, gnawing, sucking on bones, licking fingers; a more leering, slurping, groaning, and, in short, sexual meal has never been consumed. While it doesn’t feel particularly important thematically and, moreover, it’s as far from traditional notions of communion as we can get, it nevertheless constitutes a shared experience. What else is the eating about in that scene except consuming the other’s body? Think of it as a consuming desire" (How to Read Literature like a Professor 'Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion' 10). The way in which communion is consumed is also symbolic and has an underlying meaning. Just like how Gregor refuses to eat in front of his sister, this means that he obviously does not trust her enough. He would also eat his meals very fast which symbolized his lack of enjoyment of the food, because food is one of the greatest pleasures in life.

           
Vampirism includes characteristics like selfishness, exploitation and the refusal to accept the natural being of others. All of these characteristics explain Gregor's fathers attitude towards Gregor. "That’s pretty much what the vampire does, after all. He wakes up in the morning – actually the evening, now that I think about it – and says something like, “In order to remain undead, I must steal the life force of someone whose fate matters less to me than my own" (How to Read Literature like a Professor 'Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Vampirism' 16). Gregor's father snatches Gregor's potential for a career from him, and forces him to work in order to pay off his own personal debt. He treats Gregor like a peasant, unworthy of his attention or any recognition inside his own home. Modernism in the metamorphosis plays a very large role. Gregor's everyday life has a Modernists concern with the alienating effects of modern society. A person can easily be trapped if they don't change direction in their life for the better. Just like how Gregor never questioned or traveled different direction away from his parents. Gregor was likely sick for a long time though Gregor's parents didn't realize until later on. " "Alas," said the mouse, "the world is growing smaller every day. At the beginning it was so big that I was afraid, I kept running and running, and I was glad when at last I saw walls far away to the right and left, but these long walls have narrowed so quickly that I am in the last chamber already, and there in the corner stands the trap that I must run into," "You only need to change your direction," said the cat, and ate it up" (Laughing with Kafka 1). This quote is suggesting that if a person doesn't change direction in life they will eventually end up consumed by modernist society, just like Gregor. Humor in the Metamorphosis is very hard to understand because it is so blunt. It is definitely not vulgar like most humor in modern societies, therefore that is why most people have a hard time understanding it. " There's no recursive word-play or verbal stunt-pilotry, little in the way of wisecracks or mordant lampoon. There is no body-function humor in Kafka, nor sexual entendre, nor stylized attempts to rebel by offending convention "(Laughing with Kafka 2). Kafka uses more underlying irony than anything throughout the story which aids in the complexity of the story.

The Metamorphosis helps to explain some of the disconnects in modern day society. It profiles Gregor as the hardworking man who unfortunately gets dealt some unlucky cards. This is a metaphor for life in general, as life never plays out the way that a person expects it to. Kafka uses various techniques such as existential ideas that help to explain that a person shall always see repercussions for their actions throughout life. Kafka makes horrible things happen to Gregor so the reader can learn from them and not make the same mistakes again. It is most important to not allow existential and modernist views shape a person's life because they could end up running in one direction for ages without turning back, trapping themselves in a hole that is very difficult to come out of before it becomes too late.