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289. Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

Vocab level: B2
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Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is a novella first published in 1915.
It tells the story of Gregor Samsa,
a traveling salesman who wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a large insect.
The book explores themes of alienation, guilt, family responsibility,
and the loss of identity in a modern, indifferent world.
The story begins with Gregor's shocking transformation.
Without much explanation, he finds himself unable to get out of bed due to his new insect body.
His thoughts, however, remain human.
He worries about missing work and supporting his family.
Gregor had been the sole breadwinner of the Samsa household,
working a job he dislikes to pay off his parents' debts.
His immediate concern is not the transformation itself but the consequences it might have on his job.
Gregor's family soon realizes something is wrong when he doesn't leave for work.
His sister Grete knocks on the door,
and then his mother and father also try to check on him.
Eventually, his manager from work comes to investigate.
When Gregor finally opens the door and his new form is revealed,
everyone is horrified.
His manager runs away, and his family is shocked and terrified.
Gregor tries to explain himself,
but no one understands him anymore, his voice has changed.
The family locks Gregor in his room.
At first, Grete takes responsibility for caring for him.
She brings him food (which he now only eats if it's rotten) and cleans his room.
Gregor starts getting used to his insect body and finds that he enjoys crawling on the walls and ceiling.
His relationship with Grete becomes the most important connection he still has,
even though they no longer speak directly.
As time passes, the family begins to adjust.
Gregor remains isolated in his room, slowly becoming more of a burden.
His father returns to work,
and his mother also begins doing more around the house.
The family takes on boarders to make money,
and Gregor is increasingly neglected.
Grete begins to lose sympathy for him, and the family grows resentful.
There is a turning point when Gregor accidentally reveals himself to the boarders,
who then threaten to leave without paying rent.
That event convinces the family that Gregor must go.
Grete declares that the creature is no longer Gregor and that they must get rid of it.
This is the emotional climax of the story.
Gregor, understanding that he has become unwanted and a source of suffering to his family, retreats to his room.
He stops eating and moving.
Eventually, he dies quietly during the night.
The cleaning lady discovers Gregor's corpse and informs the family.
They feel a sense of relief.
With Gregor gone, they begin to move on with their lives.
They take the day off work, go outside for the first time in a long while,
and talk about moving to a smaller, brighter apartment.
There is even a sense of renewal, as the parents notice Grete is now grown up and full of life.
Kafka's The Metamorphosis is famous for its surreal and tragic portrayal of a man's slow erasure from his family and society.
The transformation is never explained.
It functions as a metaphor for Gregor's isolation and dehumanization.
Despite becoming a literal insect,
Gregor's main concern is his inability to help or connect with his family.
His needs and feelings are gradually ignored,
and his family shifts from shock to indifference, and finally to hostility.
The novella explores how people can be discarded when they are no longer "useful."
It criticizes the pressures of modern life:
how work can consume identity, and how family obligations can trap individuals.
Kafka's bleak humor and matter-of-fact tone add to the absurdity and sadness of the story.
In the end, The Metamorphosis isn't about a man turning into a bug.
It's about being misunderstood, unwanted, and forgotten.
It's about how thin the line is between being part of a family and being cast out of it.