Modern Versus Traditional in Metamorphosis by Kafka

Modern Versus Traditional in Metamorphosis by Kafka

“When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself changed into a monstrous cockroach in his bed”

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka was first published in 1915. The start of the Great War, as well as massive industrialization movement of the XIX century created a dilemma for an average person of that period of time. Traditional ways of life were breaking apart and new ones were thrown out before they could solidify. Every year some new development was shifting the fabric of life towards Western Europe. While some looked on this progress with pride and optimism, Franz Kafka saw it as a sickness in humanity. Gregor Samsa’s transformation into a bug in The Metamorphosis is a symbol for the alienation of modern man. We see the conflict between traditional and modern, new and old, in the way Gregor lives. Also, we can see this controversy in the way he relates to his family and eventually in the way he exists as a bug. Gregor Samsa’s transformation brings the struggle between traditional and modern, new and old ways of life.

We can begin our analysis of story in the title. The metamorphosis that it refers to, is not just a physical transformation, but mainly is a mental one. By the time the story begins, Gregor Samsa has already been “changed into a monstrous cockroach...” (210). The metamorphosis that occurs during the story is not obvious. It is shown in the shift from “human” to “bug-like” tendencies. It is reflected through Gregor’s shifting habits, his relationship with his family and his attitude towards work and life. This change in behavior reflects the effects of alienation on the modern man.

We can see the effects from alienation on Gregor through providing an analysis on his family life. Gregor is caught between two worlds. He works as a travelling salesman. The job of a salesman is considered to be a modern job at that period of time. He exposes himself to the “ordeal of traveling, worries about train connections, the irregular, bad meals, new people all the time, no continuity, no affection” (210-211). With his lifestyle, Gregor can never slow down; his life is very fast paced. He goes from city to city, carrying wares that he didn’t make, selling things he cannot use for money that doesn’t belong to him. He is unable to make friends or meet anyone significant, and this makes him both lonely and even a little nervous. The author remarks that Gregor had “the precaution, picked up on his travels, of locking every door at night, even at home” (212). This irrational and abnormal behavior indicates the relationship between him and his family; they are strangers to each other.

On the contrast to Gregor’s modern life, his parents live in a traditional lifestyle. They live at home with their daughter. Gregor’s father is finally retired in old age after a “strenuous and broadly unsuccessful life”. Gregor’s mother is an aging housewife, and Grete (Gregor’s sister) is a charming young girl who helps around the house and plays the violin (224). This life of tranquility and peaceful enjoyment is only supported by Gregor’s tireless labors. After becoming a travelling salesman, “Gregor went on to earn so much money that he was able to bear, and indeed bore, the expenses of the whole family.” (224). Although he has been providing money weekly, “only his sister had remained close to Gregor.” (224) It has been his hope to send Grete off to the Conservatory to learn music professionally. Gregor almost accomplished his plan, but unexpectedly he was transformed to a bug. Now that the family are unable to work, and he is unable to help either, Gregor can only hide under the sofa “because he was burning with sorrow and shame.” (225).

This shame arises because of Gregor’s failure to meet his obligation to his parents. The traditional way of life states that the eldest son is responsible for leading and providing for the family, but modern conditions had made it almost impossible for a person to do this. The reason Gregor worked so slavishly for his employer was because his father had owed his boss a large sum of money. Gregor could only be totally free once he had gathered enough money to pay off his parents’ debt, which would take five or six years (211). This is an interpretation of the sins of the father. The failures of the old generation have imposed themselves on the new generation, and made the life of the youth very uncomfortable.

Gregor is completely dominated by his boss in the modern age. Before the industrial revolution, one’s occupation was more than a way to earn money, it was a calling. To be a carpenter or a farmer meant that you had a specific place you lived, work you did and purpose you fulfilled. The rise of modernized factories and complex machinery had taken the individual out of the working process and replaced it with a nameless, faceless workers. Gregor is completely expendable, and realizing this, he works extremely hard to keep his job. (History of Technology and Work)

After Gregor realizes his body has been transformed into a bug, his first thoughts are about his work. He is worried that he slept through his alarm and tries to escape his bed, but can’t. These physical deformations do not disturb him. Instead he focuses on his boss. He complains about waking up too early, about the conditions of his work, and about his workmates (211). Gregor describes the office messenger as “a real piece of work, so utterly beholden to the director, without any backbone or nous”, yet the irony that he is no different escapes him (211). The only power he has on his boss is this muttering; Gregor would be too coward to say anything to his face. When the chief clerk arrives at Gregor’s home to ask about his absence, Gregor does not say a word about his complaints. On the contrary, Gregor is absolutely passive, and seeks only to pacify the chief clerk: “Chief Clerk, sir! Spare my parents! All those complaints you bring against me, they’re all of them groundless… I mean to set out on the eight-o’clock train… I’ll be at work myself presently. Kindly be so good as to let them know, and pass on my regards to the director!” (215-216). Gregor’s concern about work and pleasing the boss is Kafka’s implication to the modern workplace. The 20th century kept people from working to live, and forced them into living for work.

Gregor as an enormous bug and his transformation are a result of all of his previous stresses. His inability to live fully independently, tied to his parents but disappointing them, chained to his workplace and failing his duties, turned him into a non-human creature. Gregor’s adoptions of new tastes and habits as a bug are a reflection of the modern man who fails