Frankz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” begins in a comical fashion. Gregor, the hard-working son of an unappreciative family, wakes up only to realize that he has transformed into a bug. After hours of panic, Gregor finally reveals his condition to his family that is both shocked and horrified. Gregor’s family’s reaction to his transformation is similar to that of Ivan Ilych’s family—they are terrified and only feel upset when they realize the loss negatively affects their well-being. This lack of understanding and compassion leads to Gregor’s death as he is locked up as a prisoner as opposed to being treated a loving member of the Samsa household.
Kafka, like Tolstoy, focuses on Gregor’s emotional state as opposed to his physical transformation. Though Kafka mentions his “little legs,” his “powerful jaws,” and the “brown liquid [that] poured out of his mouth,” (24), he focuses more on Gregor’s rejection from his family. When Gregor sees his family’s initial reaction to his transformation, he is hurt. He then spends the rest of his short life trying to hide himself from them in fear of causing further distress. The reader soon discovers that Gregor, when he was human, was taken for granted. When his family was in a financial crisis, “Gregor’s only concern [was] to do his utmost to make the family forget as quickly as possible the business failure that had plunged them all into a state of despair” (44). Although Gregor’s life goal is to provide for his family, he in turn does not have as much value to them. Once he becomes a bug, he is meaningless in their eyes.
Gregor is just like Ivan Ilych—he realizes he cannot fix his problem, and all he desires is compassion from his family. However, because he is “ill,” his family completely dehumanizes him. They speak about him as though he is invisible, “If he could understand us…then perhaps we would be able to reach some agreement with him…” (84). His sister’s initial kindness to Gregor is the only thing that keeps him alive for so long. But as her affection diminishes, so does his health. Gregor feels grateful when his sister does not discriminate against him because of his new appearance; but slowly, simple things such as giving him food and cleaning his room become burdensome to her. It even gets to the point where her addressing him (even though it is yelling) causes him great amazement.
When Gregor becomes too much of a nuisance, he is locked up in his room as a patient in an asylum with nothing to do but await his slow, painful death. Near the end of the story, Gregor is being referred to as an “it” (80), and his family is ready to end his life. When his family finally locks him in the room where he ultimately dies, he begins to feel numb. All his physical pain becomes meaningless and his death is the result of the pain he feels from being so alone. Gregor is even aware that his life is coming to an end, “It was true that his entire body ached, but the pain seemed to him to be growing fainter and fainter and soon would go away altogether” (89).
Kafka and Tolstoy both show in their short stories that love surpasses any materialistic endeavor. Although wealth and fame can make a person successful and can provide a comfortable life, that life means nothing without compassion (574).
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HDTV--One of my absolute favorite thiyngs about blogs is that people continually surprise me with ideas I wouldn't have thought of on my own. I've read twenty or thirty blogs in the last two days, and yours is the only one to compare Kafka and Tolstoy,or to point out the emotional similarity between Ilych and Gregor. Now that you mention it, I see it clearly--the isolation, the need for other human contact, especially a little compassion. Good job.
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