Metamorphosis

Change is a major theme throughout Franz Kafka's novella, The Metamorphosis. There is a significant relationship between the title, The Metamorphosis, and the theme of change. Kafka's main character, Gregor Samsa, undergoes many changes and his transformation evokes change in his family.

Several metamorphosis take place involving Gregor. First, a physical change occurs "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin."After that happened, Gregor's voice changes from human into the voice of a bug."That was the voice of an animal," Gregor's manager said, but the words seemed perfectly clear to him. Beginning to see things less and less, Gregor experiences a change in his vision. An example, found on page 29, would be Gregor seeing the hospital less and less distinctly. A mental change in Gregor occurs when he starts not caring about or having no consideration for his family. "It hardly surprised him that he was showing so little consideration for the others; once such consideration had been his greatest pride."

Everyone in the Samsa family experiences changes brought on by Gregor's metamorphosis. Since Gregor's physical change renders him no longer able to work, the family's financial situation changes. Gregor's mother, father, and sister have to get jobs. Mrs. Samsa, Gregor's mother, sews lingerie for a local clothing store. His sister, who took a job as a salesgirl to help the family, also learns French in the evening so she might get a better position in the future. Mr. Samsa, Gregor's father, takes a job as a messenger for banking institutions. Turning into a bug, Gregor causes a lack of harmony

among the family members. They keep away from him and will not even look

at him. Now, because they are afraid of