u/Comfortable_Diver494

On Metamorphosis.

A Brief Review.

Index-

This Review will be divided into 4 sections, The Vermin(Man), The Patriarch, The Sibling and Final Rating.

The Vermin(Man)-

Gregor Samsa is Perhaps the most recognizable character that Franz Kafka has written, After waking up one morning he finds himself turned into a bug, he goes through a journey that is indicative of Kafka’s own relationship with his Father as displayed in his letters to his Father and their strenuous relationship being quite known, But Kafka also dwells into the pitfalls of society that make Gregor Samsa himself. Samsa’s disillusionment with reality is similar to Kafka’s own disillusionment with it that was displayed again in works like The Trial. Gregor himself follows the ‘Stranger Coming into a town’ archetype, an archetype that Leo Tolstoy describes as one of the two ruling all of great literature, though this is inverted in a sense. Gregor’s loss of the self is displayed from the beginning, as even when he wakes up and finds himself a bug his first thought is- “……..What if I went back to sleep for a while and forgot all this foolishness,” and later on even when it is clear he truly is transformed into a bug and that his mind is not playing tricks on him he still tries to sleep it off “…… However hard he threw himself onto his right, He always rolled back where he was. He must’ve tried it a hundred times, shutting his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at the floundering legs…… ” These two statements clearly show that Gregor was ignorant of his own state, pressured by society and love to clear the debt that his fathers business incurred while still providing for his entire family. Samsa’s state is critique of how Kafka sees modern life, where the Individual is always secondary to his duties, his obligations that are prescribed to him without choice, where he is the one bearing this load that isn’t his, Where Gregor Samsa is more husk than human. This is further substantiated by the lines, “….. ‘Before it strikes to a quarter past seven I’ll definitely have to have got properly out of bed. And by then someone will have come round from work to ask what’s happend to me as well’…….”. Samsa is trapped in the dehumanizing cycle of Mock Slavery that his Boss has him in, He is the Nietzschean Last man, Someone content with comfortability, fully absorbed in his ‘Duties’ that are not even chosen by him, someone with an absence of will that dictates his own ambitions, he is someone who possesses Slave morality like suggested in the line “…… His boss would surely come round with the doctor from the Insurance company and accuse his parents of having a lazy son……” , where his duty survives the catastrophe that had mangled his body to that of an insect previously. This is what Nietzsche describes slave morality as- the external authority has been so internalized it outlasts the self. His want for self erasure also continues this sentiment as just moments before his death as Kafka says, “…..If it was possible, he must go away even more strongly than his sister….”, He has adopted his family’s judgement of Gregor in this state as he actively agrees with them in ceasing his own existence. He is The Last man because of his own unwillingness to be the master of his own destiny, Instead burying himself in the duties and obligations society pushes on Gregor. He is embodying the ‘Stranger who’s new in town’ because the loss of immediate ability to provide to the family trips Gregor down a trail of self loathing which ends with him wanting himself dead, He is the Stranger new in town because in moments when he enters this new town(The recalibrated expectations his family has from him) he is terrified of these, but here is where the comparison to Tolstoy inverts as instead of moving forward in spite of these, Gregor caves. He is the one disrupted by the town into eventual ‘Loss’ in form of acceptance of non existence instead of choosing to persist like the stranger does in Tolstoy’s archetype. The one Tolstoy defines is he who ‘Acts’ and ‘Persists’ against the changes forced upon him whereas Samsa caves, he is fine with inaction to change his own condition unlike the stranger. Samsa is functionally the shadow to Meursault’s own philosophy, he is the stranger who chooses to become one with the masses rather than actually form his identity at the cost of resistance. Meursault is an inversion of Gregor, someone who chooses his own path instead of adopting one forced upon him by society, Samsa saying “….If I didn’t have my parents to think about I’d have given in my notice a long time ago….” This shows that Gregor wants change, he wants to climb against the weight of societal expectations yet he, unlike Meursault, fails and becomes the husk that Meursault would’ve had he surrendered to these expectations.

The Patriarch-

The Patriarch of the Samsa household is perhaps the most crucial part of understanding both Gregor and Kafka, as The Father has played the most definitive role in both of their lives. He is like a Minister with a deep thirst for power and a short temper , but instead of it being Political it’s familial and power above those below him in the social ladder, here it is the Authority he holds over both Gregor and his household, His firing of the maid later on(As quoted below) can also be seen as an example of his loss of temper.He is like a slave to the search of Authority, Him trying to appease the men renting his rooms is a clear example of him trying to do so, making them wanting to stay there until he himself gets mad over it and forces them to leave. This is also illustrated by Gregor’s father seeming to play a rather imbalanced role, he is dependent on Gregor to pay off his debt which he incurred by a loss in his business, the expectation the reader thus sets for himself is that he must be patient with Gregor, he would be the one to understand Gregor far more than anyone else, but as it is revealed ’Gregor had believed the business collapse had left nothing — but the father had preserved some assets, "...a small capital that had accumulated from the wreckage of his father's business…”.’ It seems to mirror the dynamic Kafka had with his own father, it is more about the authority he held. He never seemed to care enough to indulge in this position of wealth that would’ve directly lead to Gregor choosing a better life, making Gregor work under a false premise, in a job that he hates but is forced to carry on due to the expectations set by society upon him. Gregor’s Father actively chooses to not help Gregor in his own pursuit of ‘happiness’ that is being in servitude to societal expectations. It is out of self preservation that he keeps this capital to himself, denying Gregor more stability, though this can simply be him preparing for the worst that occurs. This relationship is also similar to that of Kafka and his father as seen in their letters to each other, their relationship was one built upon authority that his father possessed, and the Guilt Kafka had of never being able to satisfy him. To him authority still matters over all as hinted at in the scene where he falls asleep in his uniform, his self is still below the authority the uniform provides, he falls asleep to mirror his own priorities, Societal Prestige and Authority over rest. The physical Intimidation Kafka describes in his letters is also clearly seen in The Patriarch’s own presence throughout like the use of the Newspaper to threaten him “…….The father drove him back, "...stamping his feet and brandishing his stick and the newspaper…”, A newspaper, the literal tool of the masses to raise their voice against injustice is used as weapon to silence the victim of a crime that this Mass itself committed. The Father uses the stick he takes from the clerk, someone who himself has benefitted from Gregor’s work to a degree and uses it against him in an act of ‘Discipline’, even here the authority is temporary yet able to push Gregor back into his cage. And this is continued in the scene that leads to Gregor’s demise, “…..”Just as I expected” said his father “Just as I always said, but you women wouldn’t listen ”……” As his own wife was near death due to shock his first thought is to undermine the assessment of others, to push for the veil of Authority, no matter how small it actually is. He commits the second most important act of the book, becoming the reason why Gregor is dead as he lodges the apple into Gregor’s back. “…….An apple thrown without much force grazed Gregor’s back and slid off without any harm, Another one however immediately following it hit squarely and lodged into his back…..” His act of ‘discipline’ is not actually that of it, rather it is one of projecting Authority, he is able to avoid what could hurt Gregor, and avoids to do so until he chooses to think of Gregor as Vermin instead of his own son becoming the cause of his ‘son’s’ death. This action portrays the ugliest side of humanity, not one that gives up after waiting for redemption or reaching the same state, rather through easy dehumanization. Gregor’s father is the first person in the immediate family of his to deny Gregor’s existence, though his ‘Love’ in the beginning is seen through his grief of losing ‘Gregor Samsa’ that is it, he never laments the loss of ‘His son’. In his eyes Gregor samsa is already dead, though he may be breathing the very moment Gregor loses his ability to provide, his father abandons the very Idea of ‘His son’. This is further displayed by the last section of the book “……”Tonight she gets sacked”……” this is right after the maid’s “…….”Well then, the thing in there, you needn’t worry about getting rid of it, thats all been sorted out ”……” The reason for his sacking of the maid is not the disrespect shown by calling his son ‘The Thing’, it’s because even a reminder of Gregor’s existence irks him to no end. To the Elder Samsa, the moment Gregor becomes useless, he is no longer even worth addressing. The moment he, the one breaking his back to pay off his father’s debt, becomes slightly annoying, it deserves death and no recognition as family. Gregor’s father plays the role of the priest that leads to the popularization of slave morality Nietzsche argues against in ‘On the Genealogy of Morality’ , he is the parts of society We don’t see exemplified, he is the one that pushes the mindset of bowing to his superiors no matter what into a younger more impressionable Gregor which leads to Gregor becoming one with a deep resemblance to slave morality.

The Sibling-

Grete commits perhaps the biggest sin throughout the entire work, she gives Gregor hope and then is the reason why Gregor wants the end of his conscious experience, her denouncement of him as even being human is what drives him over the edge. Her dehumanization of Gregor is perhaps the hardest hitting one throughout the story, as it comes not off of an expected outcome like the father but as a shock, something that Gregor doesn’t expect and something that breaks him. But her role is not solely that of the helpful to hurtful sister, she’s also the protagonist in a sense as she follows an arc of going from complete dependence of Gregor, Both Emotional and financial to one of complete independence from him, and perhaps this transition of dependence to that of independence is what causes Gregor the thoughts of suicide as he himself thinks that she should be the one member to the family not bothered by the finances. Her dependence on Gregor and her denouncement of gregor as her own brother in the first and last halves are crucial in understanding this. Her facing him the very next morning the incident takes place and her anxiety is present “.....his sister, nearly fully dressed opened the door from the front of the room and looked in…..” her dependence and perhaps pity upon Gregor is deep enough that she hasn’t really grasped what has happened and still wishes to see Gregor, now a malformed pest. This is contrasted with her final monologue “..... He must go,” cried Gregor’s sister, “that’s the only solution, Father. You must just try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we’ve believed it for so long is the root of all our trouble…..” Here there is a deep resentment and hate she feels towards Gregor, something developed by her having to work, take care of Gregor and her parents simultaneously. Her character arc is one of a kid becoming an adult and the sacrifices she must commit when there is no safety net. This is further illustrated in the last scene of the book “....... Lapsing into silence and communicating almost unconsciously with their eyes, they reflected that it was high time they found a decent husband for her. And it was like a confirmation of their new dreams and good intentions that at the end of their ride the daughter was the first to get up, stretching her young body…….” Here Kafka signals to the keen-eyed and subtly reveals that the Title of the work is not about Gregor, rather Grete as she is the one that metamorphoses from a Girl to a woman. Grete is also the inversion of Gregor himself, she moves with self determination, takes up a job, cares for both her mother and Gregor along with her father and is willing to go out of her way to be the one making the hard decision. If Gregor is the Last man then Grete is the one that rebels against the priests, she is the one who breaks through the cycle of slave morality. She may seem similar to Gregor and the last man due to the scene “....Now Gregor’s sister also had to help his mother….. ” and “....His sister would sometimes ask his father wether he would like a beer……. ” But when contrasted with the final few scene of the book it’s clear that she does not feel the need to provide for someone she doesn’t feel is ‘worthy’ of it. This is substantiated by her not even bothering to clean Gregor’s room toward the end.But even she is not able to break this cycle as the last line of the work indicates, in both the eyes of society and her parents she fills the void that Gregor’s ‘Death’ had caused. Her fate still will be astonishingly similar to that of Gregor, she will succumb to the nature of her ‘Duty’ as engraved upon humanity by the men of past long forgotten.

Final Rating-

My Criteria of Rating-

1 .Characters- How well written they are, Scale is from 0-1, as an example Alyosha Karamazov is a 1 where as Eren Yeager is a .72.

Prose- How well written prose is. Scale is from 0-1, as an example Lolita is a 1 where as harry potter as a whole is about .5.

3.Philosophy- How well the contrast in different philosophies is and how accurate their portrayal is. Scale is from 0-1, as an example The Idiot is a 1 where as Attack on Titan is a .65.

How Concise it is- The Length is not the matter, how much it tells in a single sentence, Scale is from 0-1, as an example Nietzsche is a 1 and Jordan Peterson is a 0.1 (ie word salad).
Structural Architecture- narrative pacing, relationship between form and content, if the ending is earned. Scale is from 0-1, as an example Anna Karenina is a 1 where as Code geass is a .72.

FINAL RATING-

Characters- All are very well done with great depth, especially the father. 0.9
Prose- does it’s job well enough, nothing too fancy but still good. 0.6
Philosophy- for it’s shortness the depth present is phenomenal, Kafka represents various Ideas very well despite them not having a lot of screen time. 1
How Concise it is- None of the sections overstay their welcome and the character’s motivations changing are still done well enough to the point you believe them. 0.8
Structural Architecture- The pacing is good and the two endings, that of Gregor and that of the family both hit hard when their context is completely understood. 0.9

FINAL SCORE- 4.2/5

Comunicado Oficial.(Regarding yesterday's situation)