Franz Kalfka’s Metamorphosis is by far one of the weirdest stories I have ever read. However, I found it quite refreshing to start a story with such a frank, “When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect.” (1) Short, sweet, and to the point, just my kind of sentence. What boggled my mind the most throughout the entire story though was how never once did Gregor stop and think “Whoa, I’m a giant bug, I wonder how that happened”. I even got slightly annoyed at one point because this man woke up as a giant bug and all he could worry about was getting to work on time. I guess this goes back to what we were talking about in class with Gregor having bug-like qualities. Now I cannot speak for all bugs, but I feel like Gregor shares the same one-track mind characteristic many insects possess. Frankly, I just found it frustrating how the story went on for roughly thirty pages and not once does anyone stop to think how Gregor turned into a giant bug. Why is it that no one was extremely confused by the fact that instead of a person there was a large insect in its place? I personally found it quite mind-boggling. Maybe Gregor did not question his new physical state because his mindset was already so bug-like it was only a matter of time before the rest of him caught up.
Another thing we talked about in class I was able to pull from the story was how even though Gregor turning into this monster and his eventual death was this awful event, some good did come from it. Maybe it was my inner optimist trying to find some silver lining in the situation. Gregor’s inability to work was the push his father needed to get out of his armchair and join the rest of working society. Also, I think it gives his father a bit of an ego boost because it seems he is so proud of himself once he starts working again, “ . . . he refused to take off his messenger’s uniform even in the apartment . . . as of he were always ready for duty and waiting even here for the voice of his superior”. (64) It just seems unfair that one person, in this case Gregor, had to lose their life in order for those around him, his family, to regain theirs.
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Hey Natalie--good to finally hear from you (I was hoping to get this Friday or Saturday). I think you're right, however, about the lack of concern for cause and effect in the story. It just happens, and everyone has to deal with the consequences, not waste time worrying about how or why. In the end, then, the how and why don't matter, only the way the various characters think, feel, and act about what has happened.
Probably a tough story for your inner optimist. I can definitely see that.
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