Symbolism In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

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Register to read the introduction… Kafka is saying that unconditional does not exist. He is also saying that we all feed off of each other, and our love is an extension of this. When the ability to function as we always had is gone, so is the love we once thought we would have forever. Gregor’s father exhibited a “mulishness that had obsessed his since he became a bank manager.” Gregor’s father not only neglected his son, the son who attempted to provide and take his father’s place as the breadwinner for the family, but also developed a hatred for Gregor. Gregor presented a profound love for his family, which was not reciprocated after Gregor could no longer be of service to …show more content…
Gregor became the source of income for his family, and yet once he could no longer help the family, they stop loving him. Without his initial function, he became an outlaw of family life. Gregor eventually wanted the family to give up all hope in him, a hope that he wanted to exist but did not. “He thought back on his family with deep emotion and love. His conviction that he would have to disappear was, if possible, even firmer than his sister’s.” Immediately after this line, Gregor Samsa committed suicide. As a the family came to learn of Gregor’s death, the father said, “Well, now thanks be to God.” The sister appears to not be upset, but rather in a state of disbelief that the burden on their family is finally gone. When Gregor’s mother learns of his death, she questions it, to check the validity, and then tell her daughter to come join them with a “tremendous smile.” However, it is arguable whether he killed himself, or Gregor died of a broken heart.
     The story of Gregor Samsa and his metamorphosis is one of sorrow, but more a story to unveil the cruelties of Humankind. Kafka’s brilliance and understanding of human nature can not be fully grasped by quickly reading the story, but instead divulging into the hidden messages Kafka inserts

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