Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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72 of 80 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Are we all Gregor Sassma? Maybe, Franz, maybe..., January 4, 2002
For all the debate and argument over what this story means, the plot of the Metamorphosis is refreshingly simple. Gregor Sassma wakes up one morning and discovers that, over the course of the night, he's been transformed into a giant insect. The rest of this novella deals with Gregor's attempts to adjust to his new condition without providing a burden for his parents (who he has spent his life supporting and, it is made clear, veiw their son as little more than a commodity to be exploited) or for his sweet younger sister who Gregor views with an almost heart breaking affection. For his efforts to not bother society with his new insect identity, Gregor is both shunned and eventually destroyed by that same society, which of course now has little use for him. As dark as that plot outline may sound, what is often forgotten (or simply ignored) is that the Metamorphosis is -- in many ways -- a comic masterpiece. Instead of engaging in a lot of portentous philosophizing, Kafka tells his bizarre tell in the most deadpan of fashions. Ignoring the temptation to come up with any mystical or scientific explanations, Kafka simply shows us that Gregor has become an insect and explains how the rest of his short life is lived. This detached, amused tone makes the story's brutal conclusion all the more powerful.As well, for all the theories on what Kafka's "saying" with this story, the reasons behind Gregor's transformation are not all that complicated or hard to figure out. Kafka, as opposed to too many other writers since, declines to spell out the specific reasons but still makes it clear that Gregor (and by extension, all the other Gregors in the world) had allowed himself to become a powerless insect long before actually physically turning into one. As someone who as selflessly sacrificed whatever independence he may have had to support his uncaring parents and their attempts to live an "upper class" life without actually having to suffer for it, Gregor has already willingly given up all the unique traits that make one a human. For me, even more disturbing than Gregor's fate, is Kafka's concluding suggestions that, now that Gregor has outlived his usefulness, his parents will now move on to his innocent sister. In short, despite the example of Gregor's own terrible fate, society will continue on its way with the majority of us giving up our own humanity to support the whims of a select few. From the brilliant opening lines all the way to its hauntingly deadpan conclusion, The Metamorphosis is a powerful and satirical indictment of the bourgeois condition. Over the past few decades, the term Kafkaesque has been tossed around with a dangerous lack of discretion. It seems any writer who creates an absurd or dark trap for his main character ends up being labeled Kafkaesque. However, as this story especially makes clear, Franz Kafka was more than just an adjective. He was a unique and individual writer whose brilliance cannot be easily duplicated.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Man Turns Into Bug: The Perfect Interpretation of Human Nature, November 10, 2007
Literature throughout history has tried to exemplify the personal identity of human beings, but none has done it so creatively and as hilariously as Franz Kafka's masterful novella, "The Metamorphosis". Kafka has created the most absurd situation; a traveling salesman wakes up one morning to find that he has turned into a giant dung beetle. Yet Kafka uses the absurdity of this premise to exemplify how the unfortunate Gregor Samsa (the man-bug) frees himself from a life of servitude and monotony, to assert his own personal identity through his metamorphosis. Franz Kafka uses brilliant symbolism, hilarious tone, and unique characterizations to exemplify the plight and transformation of this unfortunate salesman and it is through these tools that Kafka creates an absurd experience that any reader can relate to.
The use of symbolism throughout this story is what truly allows the reader to understand and appreciate Gregor's push towards independence. Gregor was transformed into a bug, but Kafka uses this transformation as a symbol for Gregor's metamorphosis towards humanity. Before Gregor's transformation, he only lived life to serve others, but through his metamorphosis Gregor slowly comes to meet his own desires, seeking a more personal independence and even coming to appreciate music and art. But most importantly, it is through Gregor's final understanding of love that Kafka truly exemplifies how human the insect truly is. Kafka uses the symbolism of Gregor becoming a bug to represent the tragedy of the life that Gregor was leading, and his metamorphosis symbolizes a more gradual metamorphosis towards an individual humanity. By physically disassociating Gregor from humanity, Kafka perfectly exemplifies how human Gregor has really become. Kafka's use of symbolism is what truly makes the reader's experience relatable to the tale. Although nobody could ever experience what it feels like to wake up as a giant insect, Gregor's struggle for an identity is a trial that is real and relatable to all of us. Kafka represents independence as what truly makes Gregor human, and this same truth exists within all of us. It is through the symbolism of the metamorphosis that Kafka relates this to us, the readers, and he does this brilliantly.
The tragedy and emotional connection that Kafka elicits to the reader is of true merit, but the book's success lies in its ability to tie this tragic tale with such a humorous tone. "The Metamorphosis" is an obvious tragedy and it expresses a very serious message. Kafka leaves us no choice but to pity Gregor for the eventual state of his life, but despite all of this, Kafka has written one twisted and hilarious story. The dark, humorous tone that Kafka injects into his words is apparent from the very first sentence, as the story begins with an immediate shock: "One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous, verminous bug" (1). Kafka's very light and nonchalant voice perfectly emulates the tone of the entire book, and it makes this absurd, while admittedly unfortunate situation to be incredibly laughable. Even when Gregor's family is contemplating murdering him, Kafka injects a satirical wit into the tone of the dialogue that the obviously tragic situation is unfortunately funny. Kafka uses humor perfectly to further exemplify the pain that Gregor and subsequently his family experience as they live through this "metamorphosis" and it ultimately makes the sorrowful events that much more apparent. The absurdity of the story makes the connection between reader and bug an ironic parallel that intensifies the humor of the story. Kafka has created a storyline that readers relate to and appreciate, but the sheer humor of the story allows the reader to appreciate this connection even further. The storyline is absurd and unbelievable, but because the reader is forced to relate to this situation, despite the logical impossibilities, we as readers can appreciate the connection we make with Gregor even more. The absurdity of the story enriches our ability to connect with the text.
Kafka's ability to interpret humanity through this great piece of work was ultimately in his ability to invent the perfect character. Gregor Samsa is one of the most pathetic, yet endearing figures in literature. Kafka's characterization of Gregor was perfect in representing his message throughout the story, because Gregor's evolution was the point and purpose of the entire novella. In only forty-five pages, Kafka creates a character that is interesting and dynamic. We see him grow and fall, all the time evoking certain responses within the reader. Franz Kafka has brilliantly invented Gregor so that all readers can appreciate him, pity him, and relate to his struggle and growth throughout the book. This is what makes the book so enjoyable to the reader, we want to respond to the protagonist, and Kafka has invented a conflict within Gregor that is seemingly universal to the development of mankind. There is no background to the tragic figure given before we are lunged into the heart of the story and the author has made it so that there is none needed. Kafka makes it obvious how miserable Gregor's state of being was before his awful transfiguration, and the reader is forced to be emotionally connected to this struggle. Kafka creates a character that is realistic, seemingly simple, but with complex thoughts and emotions as his struggle progresses. Franz Kafka has created a character that resonates with readers that familiarize with his struggle; this is what makes his story such a success.
Franz Kafka is clearly a masterful writer and completely unique in his style and approach to storytelling. He has reinvented a storyline that is seemingly ordinary if not overlooked and recreated in a hilarious, yet completely intricate drama. Kafka has created something that all readers can appreciate as the simplicity and ambiguity of the story allows for people to interpret Gregor's tragic story in many different ways. Franz Kafka was blatantly purposeful in his creation of this obviously ridiculous storyline, because the symbolism that he creates and the characters that he invents allow the reader to experience and interpret this story for themselves. "The Metamorphosis" is just great writing; it will leave the reader feeling sad for the tragic hero, while laughing hysterically at the absurdity of the situation that Kafka creates. This book is a literal classic and is a story that will leave you feeling enlightened and slightly bemused, but ultimately more appreciative of life, family, and the personal humanity that each one of us has created for ourselves.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A brilliant nightmare, August 23, 2000
Kafka knew so well how to make us feel trapped, estranged and lonely like the characters in his stories. He struggled with anxiety and feelings of inferiority in his own life, and his writing expresses the passive realization that life is a dark and confusing nightmare where we in no way are masters of our destinies. A young travelling salesman, Gregor Samsa, wakes up one morning and realizes that he has been transformed into a giant bug. Having been the provider for his elderly parents and his adolescent sister, he is now forced to crawl around in his room all day, hiding his hideous self from the sister who brings him food, unable to communicate and barred from the world outside. It is a story about being dehumanized and alienated, of being useless and unwanted, of becoming a burden to oneself as well as to others. Kafka is such a phenomenal writer that the mere absurdity of the plot is completely overshadowed by the vivid and somehow realistic descriptions of the emotional and behavioral responses of Gregor and his family to the unreal situation. It is as if Kafka is telling us that this circumstance is no more strange or hopeless than the predicaments faced by the average family.
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