Smoke and Mirrors

In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa awakens one day to learn that he has turned into a "monstrous vermin" (Kafka 1). Whether or not Gregor literally changed into a bug is not made clear by Kafka, so the entire novella is up for interpretation. Although Gregor's physical characteristics are described as being changed, it becomes clear that he did not literally turn into a bug. He only believes he did because he has been treated like a vermin for so long by his family that it has affected his sanity. Gregor's metamorphosis was just an extended metaphor portraying his feelings of separation from his family that have been built up over time.

Gregor's assignment to work to pay off his parents' debt is the key factor in the separation from his parents because it makes him feel as if they are only using him. He understands that his father isn't able to work because he "had gained a lot of weight and as a result had become very sluggish" (28). It isn't very fair considering his father can control his weight gain, but unlike his father, his mother had a reasonable excuse because she "suffered from asthma" (28). His parents' inability to work puts the responsibility of overcoming the debt on Gregor's shoulders and causes him tremendous stress because his job is pure "torture" (4).

Although Gregor feels that it is unfair for him to have to work to pay off a debt that is not his own, he still strives to make his family happy. It is obvious that he only truly cares about one person, his sister, Grete, because she is the only one that has "remained close to Gregor" (27). He, as a buttress to Grete's wish, desperately wants to be able to help send her to the Conservatory next year to play violin because he knows that she deserves it. His parents want nothing to do with the thought of Grete going, and they were never happy to "hear even these innocent allusions" (27). His parents were never bellicose because they were not interested in confrontation; they simply dismissed the subject and turned away. Gregor knows how badly Grete wishes to go, and despite his parents' disapproval, Gregor devised an arcane plan and saved a little of his paycheck each month, without his parents knowledge, to help her on his own. His secret saving is only a slight indication of how the relationship with his parents was