First published in 1915, Metamorphosis is an absurd novella written by
Kafka. It begins with Gregor Samsa waking up as a monstrous vermin.
There is no possible sense to how this can happen but within the
Kafkaesque world, the protagonist functions in a chaotic and surreal
society. The text deals with several questions that Gregor contemplates
as a proletariat: who would earn a living now that he cannot go outside
his room? Who will feed his family?
As Kafka weaves his text with dark humour, his focus remains on the lack
of sympathy directed towards Gregor by his own family members who are
concerned more about the scandal that he may present to the world than
his well-being. Their shock comes not at the suddenness with which
Gregor's metamorphosis occurs, but at the idea of him coming into the
public eye.
The depravity that Gregor experiences only increases throughout the
novel. Stripped off of his speech, mobility, dignity and his human body,
Gregor grows increasingly alienated from the family, and society at
large. The novella is a deep study of what it takes to live in a modern
society, and how people struggle for acceptance, often from their own
people in a time of great need.
