I’ve used the opening line from The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka in writing exercises, but I’ve never actually read the novella. Well karma caught up to me. I’ve made some changes to my AP English course and the new anthology includes The Metamorphosis. So it was time for me to read it.
Wow. I think what got me through the novella was pure fascination with the point-of-view that Kafka so adroitly develops over the course of the work. While I don’t understand the point of the novella, I really appreciate the way that Kafka takes a human and puts him inside of an insect. For those of you who’ve never read this novella, that’s pretty much the best summary. A man wakes up and realizes he’s been turned into a giant beetle. His family doesn’t know what to do with him so they just keep him in his room. Since it’s a novella, there’s not much more I can say without spoiling the rest of the novella.
What I think Kafka is trying to explore, is how the way we see the world and how the world sees us is very different. The young man who is turned into the beetle is working at a job he hates so that he can restore dignity to his parents. His father was a somewhat successful business man who had to declare bankruptcy. So to get his family back into prosperity it fell on the young man to work and bring money in. Apparently the father, mother, and sister don’t work and rely only on the son/brother. And this is where I think Kafka is trying to warn families. The father spends his day reading papers and napping. The mother and sister to little chores around the house, but have a maid and a cook so there’s not much for them to do.
Once the boy is a beetle, the family suddenly has to pull together because their bread-winner can’t work. They each take on odd jobs and earn a living for themselves. Ultimately, this team effort of working and earning money draws the family closer. That’s the best analysis I can come up with, so I’m looking forward to hearing what my students think and see if they can help enlighten me.
