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Amya LawsonKitchen

Professor Beadle

English 115

28 March 2019

Metamorphosis the Metaphor

Books and stories are designed to teach valuable meanings. Each story is meant to teach

the reader something new about a certain topic or even unlock more information about their

internal self. The story, The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, accomplishes this goal perfectly.

The Metamorphosis is a story that captures the interesting life of a boy named Gregor Samsa and

his family while they are going through an inexplicable period of their lives. Gregor wakes up

one day as a type of bug. It is unknown what causes this circumstance, but he and his family

have to figure out how to make life work. With the many different personalities of characters

involved, it starts off very difficult for all of them to adjust. Throughout the story, it becomes

clear to the reader that the novel’s recurring theme revolves around the concept of change. It is

because of this that as readers are able to look at the story The Metamorphosis from an

allegorical point of view. Being that an allegory takes the time to slowly reveal a hidden meaning

or moral, our initial focus as readers falls greatly on the character arc of each individual within

the story. It is here that we begin to witness the recurring theme of change take place in the

characters themselves. We can then pinpoint our analysis on the overall development of each

character, paying great attention to moments of change in regards to how each of them adapt to

the situation throughout the course of the story. Focusing on Gregor and his sister Grete, readers
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are able to witness a transformation and create a correlation between the plot and the extended

allegory of metamorphosis by establishing an underlying moral of personal growth and

adaptation.

Gregor Samsa’s transformation is a straightforward example of why the story should can

be read as an allegory for change. Gregor had the biggest transformation between all of the

characters in which he woke up one morning as a bug. Obviously, randomly turning into a bug is

very bizarre and impossible in real life. However, we saw that Gregor had to learn a whole new

way of life due to the fact that now he was an insect. Turning into an insect was the start of the

many lessons he would begin to learn. Initially we see that Gregor's biggest problem centered

around his ability to get to work. Prior to this great change, Kafka illustrated that Gregor’s life

revolved around his job, quick to put his work before his own well being no matter the cost. For

example, Gregor stated, “Oh God, what a grueling job I've picked! Day in, day out- on the road.

I’ve got the torture of traveling, worrying about changing trains, eating miserable food,constantly

seeing new faces and no relationships that last” ( Kafka 1). This simple statement showing

Gregor pondering about having to go to work, paints an easy picture for the reader to grasp how

unhappy Gregor truly was within the livelihood of his job. Thankfully, the irony is not lost on

readers when it becomes apparent that as an insect Gregor becomes forced to abandon this notion

and look to do things that directly benefited him. He had to figure out what he needed to do to

not only keep himself comfortable but alive. He had to do things on his own to entertain himself

throughout the day instead of relying on work as something for him to do all day long. Not being

able to work was a hard pill for Gregor to swallow, being that he was the main source of income

for his family. He felt worthless not being able to provided for his family. Before he accepted the

fact that he was a bug he stated , “I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone
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understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.” (Kafka 22). This

quote shows how this change personally affected him, now left unable to provide for his family.

Readers witness the negative implications changing into a bug has on him both emotionally and

physically. Many readers quickly see how the change was able to take control of Gregor’s fate.

Quite similar to his attitude of becoming a traveling salesman. He became so consumed in his

life of work that he was unable to have a life of his own. He was controlled by the task of

providing for his family. As the plot progresses, readers see that it is this submissive nature in

the eyes of change that becomes Gregor’s downfall. Accepting of his new “fate” of being a bug

paired with his desire to always put his family before the needs of himself, becomes his own

personal detriment. This change forms an allegory because readers can see see the deeper

meaning within Gregor's situation. If he wasn't open to changing his mindset, he would've been

stuck upset at the fact that he was unable to provide for his family as he wanted. Gregor being

able to spend time for himself was something that was essential for him to be able to live his new

life as a bug.

Grete Samsa's transformation although not as literal as Gregor’s, still provides a

valid example of the recurring theme of change throughout the plot. Initially we see that it is only

Grete’s character that demonstrates the smallest amount of empathy and sympathy for Gregor's

situation. Leaving him food and tending to his room, she acts as Gregor’s caretaker as the rest of

the family shuns his existence. However, just like Gregor’s great physical change we see Grete

encounter a great change as well, only this one emotionally centered. We witness the gesture of

tending to Gregor transform from being an act of kindness into an act of duty that she soon

begins to resent. She transitions from being his greatest ally to suggesting that it was now time to

get rid of him entirely. For example, Grete stated that “he must go, that’s the only solution,
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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”( Kafka 38). This quote shows how the duty of solely

taking care of Gregor had a large effect on how she now viewed him. One may draw parallels

between her maturing and the change in her heart as humanity’s metamorphosis form child into

adult, practicality replacing childlike innocence. Metamorphosis is defined as, a change of the

form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one, by natural or supernatural

means.

In The Metamorphosis readers witness gerat change come upon characters Gregor and

Grete Samsa, both physically and emotionally. Both forms demonstrated a different perspective

on the recurring theme of change and called upon the underlying moral of personal growth. In

Gregor’s case readers witnessed a lack of personal growth and the destructive nature that comes

with remaining submissive to change as a whole. Gregor, a man who never protested change,

failed to realize the importance of speaking out against it, as well as the importance a playing a

leading role in direction of your own life. It is because of this that he lived a life centered around

the wants and desires of others, rather than taking the time to place value in the importance of his

own well being. In Grete’s case we saw change in a more emotionally based form, and that is a

change of heart, from her adolescent self helping her brother out of the kindness of her heart, to

her adult self resenting his very existence we saw the metamorphosis that occurs from child to

adulthood. When we sacrifice kind hearted innocence for the practicality of adulthood we

witnessed a drastic change in her character that criticizes the morals we often times abaddon as

we grow and graner more responsibilities.

Some readers of Kafka’s symbolical story may read the story for the literal meaning

instead of the allegorical meaning. Some readers may see the action of Gregor turning into a bug
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just part of the story instead of a symbol for a hidden meaning or the changing of Grete’s

mindset a tool to add to the plot. Since stories are meant to teach its readers something, it is only

right for there to be another meaning. The idea of personal growth is the moral of “The

Metamorphosis.” In a study by psychologist Ingrid Weigold, she states that, “personal growth is

the ongoing process of understanding and developing oneself in order to achieve one's fullest

potential. Personal development is a vital part in a person's growth, maturity, success and

happiness. It is the foundation of emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual health”( Personal

Growth Initiative in the Therapeutic Process: An Exploratory Study, Ingrid Weigold ). What

Weigold says gives proof to how much personal growth affects us as people. Throughout the

story, Kafka illustrates this by giving each character an unpleasant circumstance and shows the

audience how it is worked out individually. The readers get ideas from each characters on how to

handle their own personal life adversities whether bad or good. The importance of personal

growth is something physiologist around the world are doing research for. The same phycologist,

Ingrid Weingold, is doing personal growth initiative research on a group of clients at a therapy

office. This research measures both the cognitive and behavioral actions of a personal when

faced with adversity. (Factor Structure of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale-II: Evidence of a

Bifactor Model, Ingrid Weingold). This ties back to “The Metamorphosis” because of the action

of personal growth Gregor and Grete had to encounter when faced with adversity. Each change

their behavior and mind sets in order to try and cope with the big change in their lives.

In conclusion, “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, uses the extended metaphor of a

transition to demonstrate the recurring theme of change throughout the novel. Readers bear

witness to both a physical and emotional change in characters and witness firsthand how it

affects each of them. It is because of this that we are able to draw a correlation between change
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and personal growth and examine how their ability to handle change affected their

metamorphosis as characters. In the end we are shown how the concept of change, whether it be

physical, emotional, or just the passing of time has the ability to stall, fuel, or destroy personal

growth.
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Works Cited

Kafka, Franz, and Stanley Corngold. The Metamorphosis. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1981. Print.

Weigold, Ingrid K.; Weigold, Arne; Boyle, Rebecca A.; Martin-Wagar, Caitlin A.;

Antonucci, Stephen Z.; Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol 65(2), Mar, 2018 pp. 259-266.

Publisher: American Psychological Association; [Journal Article]

Weigold, I. K., Weigold, A., Russell, E. J., Drakeford, N. M. (2014). Examination of the

psychometric properties of the Personal Growth Initiative Scale–II in African American college

students. Assessment, 21, 754–764. doi:10.1177/1073191114524019