The Metamorphasis - 2nd Book Reflection Part 2

 

In the previous reflection, I mentioned the first chapter illustrates Gregor Samsa's, a traveling salesman, plethora of mundane and inconsequential problems as he is faced with the transformation of a monstrous vermin (huge insect). What seems a terrible turn of events cannot be more horribly handled and executed. As the clock strikes 6am in the morning, which is overpassed his usual wake-up time by an hour, there are a number of people trying to get inside Gregor's room unassumingly thinking he has not yet gotten up from his sound sleep. As they were to try their best to get inside the room, Gregor's metamorphosis has begun to take place. The moans exuding relentlessly from him were enough signs to alert the family even more. 

Gregor's Relationship With His Family

The Samsa family was a family of 4, consisting of Gregor, his sister, father, and mother. Throughout the whole entire novel, apart from the main protagonist, the other family members were not given a name. They are always called "father" and "mother." This writing tactic was a clever way to have a better point of view of the main character, to actually be in his shoe. After the whole altercation at the front doors of Gregor's bedroom, they have finally seen what a monstrous vermin Gregor has become. While remaining conscious of his human past life and the inner complexity of human emotions, the metamorphosis initiates the indifferences with his family. Which cause another plethora of problems that made Gregor's relationship with his parents grow bitter, only seeing him as a 'challenge' or an 'impediment'. 

This reflects the author's relationship with his own parent. Having not the best father figure in the whole world, Franz endured indifference with his father. Franz was good at writing, but his father wanted him to follow the family business and attribute it to capitalism. He, then, suffered through years of drudgery. Only writing stories on the sidelines, never seeing his own potential. As we dissect even further into the name Gregor Samsa, the Czech meaning for "I am" translates to "jsem", and "alone" to "sám". If we put the words together, it generates the sentence "I am alone." As it was like in the novel for Gregor. As it was like for Franz in his own life. 

Reflection

Having my own indifferences with my own family, I could not help but feel at home at Franz Kafka's writing. In the book, Gregor lost his ability to speak human language but still remains his human consciousness. In some ways, I have felt the same thing with my own parents, and they have as well with me. A lot can attribute to the mutual silence, like the generation gap, idealogy differences or we are just not fit into talking the emotions out. Nonetheless, my personal unfavorable experience has become the backbone of my relatability and fondness over Franz Kafka. He remains my all-time favorite underrated writer of his own time.