"How can death lead to revival? Matthew are you okay?"
Yes, I'm okay. Hear me out. Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis got the main character, Gregor, turning into an enormous insect: "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect" (Kafka 89). He still has human thoughts and tendencies, but he has the physical body of a bug... As the story progresses, humanity slowly parts away from him; things helping him to grasp onto humanity are gradually taken away from him. Becoming more and more like an actual insect, Gregor fails to engage with his family because of his monstrous appearance; the two become more and more distant. Having many confrontations, Gregor struggles to live through the discrimination, harshness, and increasing ignorance from his family members. As a result, Gregor dies. This is the death part of the equation. So how does that lead to revival?
Elaborating on the proliferating ignorance his family members demonstrated, this was due to an expired option of being able to rely on Gregor for money. The family realized that they couldn't live like they were before in order to have a stable living. Without Gregor, there is a revitalization in the whole family: even his lethargic father that was always sleeping! Gregor is shocked when he sees his father active: "And yet, and yet, could that be his father? The man who used to lie wearily sunk in bed whenever Gregor set out on a business journey; who welcomed him back of an evening lying in a long chair in a dressing gown; who could not really rise to his feet..." (Kafka 120).
While being so dependent on Gregor, the family forgot about themselves—their capabilities, their aspirations, and their purpose. After Gregor's death, they each are focused on themselves because each have a responsibility to take care of himself/herself. Everyone knows that in order for the family's survival to sustain, he/she must not be a hampering to someone else.
Even though Gregor's death is very depressing and frustrating, his death has actually brought this family together. Gregor's death has turned on the green light for his family. New doors are opened for his father, his mother, and most importantly Grete. Instead of being detached from society, they are now involved in life.
This is a new beginning for them: a revival of a family, a true and bonded family.
Intriguing. I never saw things from the family's point of view since we see Gregor as the protagonist and are inclined to be sympathetic towards him. For this reason, I never considered that the family becoming better off as something to be happy over. However, everything you say in this post is true in that each member of the family and the family itself is better off without Gregor. It's confusing to me why Kafka paints Gregor in a largely sympathetic way throughout the story (while making the family opposed to Gregor's goals of maintaining his humanity) and then paints a beautiful picture of the family without Gregor in the end.
ReplyDeleteWow, I had never thought of his death as a beginning for his family, largely because I the ending felt surreal and abrupt to me. However, you're right in pointing out that his death liberates them in way which they weren't able to be while reliant on or caring for Gregor. I think with this way of looking at it, we have to ask if the family knew that insect was Gregor. If so, did they feel a familial responsibility, as Gregor did, for caring for him? Great job, Matthew!
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting way to look at the Samsa family issues. TAs you mention, once Gregor is transformed into an insect, each member of the family finds their role to keep themselves clothed and fed. Not relying on Gregor for financial support has forced them to find ways to fend for themselves. However, I think that the idea that Gregor had to die for the family to come together is really saddening.
ReplyDeleteI like this! I think we definitely see evidence for the idea that Gregor's family undergoes a sort of rebirth following Gregor's unfortunate change, which mainly, as you summarize, manifests as their newfound independence. Without Gregor to provide for them, each Samsa must find work to earn the family money. Still, I wonder what the longterm ramifications will be- will the family stay united, or will Grete end up taking Gregor's role? We see this presented when Grete is the member of the family who ends up taking the responsibility of caring for Gregor, as well as at the end when the parents seem excited by Grete's marriage prospects. I do wonder if, for the parents at least, the level of independence they exhibit will remain or whether Grete will end up as the new caregiver.
ReplyDeleteNishant, you're very right. In fact, if you wanted to, you could almost look at it from a pseudo-Greek myth viewpoint. It is very clear before Gregor turns into a bug, there is an imbalance in the family. Some supernatural power turned him into a cockroach in order for the rest of the family to blossom into more prevalent roles in society. Once the rest of the family realizes they no longer need Gregor, he simply ceases to exist, and the balance in the family is restored. I'll admit it's a weird prism to look at the story from, but it actually makes a reasonable amount of sense.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting way to look at the story. In class we talked about how it wasn't really fair of the family to be happy after Gregor's death, but we never thought about the fact that the family really was better off after their son's death. They had improved chances and the family was a lot closer after Gregor was gone. Even though this is a bit gruesome to think about, being better off without your child rather than with a transformed child, in the end it is how the Samsa's reacted to the death.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting and in some ways a refreshing viewpoint on the story. There isn’t one point in the book where we see through any other eyes except for Gregor. We see his gradual decay and finally death, which leads us to believe that this is a very sad book. We are also lead to believe that Gregor’s outcome is a result of his family. However, if the book was narrated through the eyes of Grete (or even Gregor’s mother or father), we would see Gregor’s death as a blessing. To address the loss of Gregor’s work, I like to think of it as the family growing up and Gregor as their parents (hear me out). Initially, Gregor takes care of them. Then when Gregor gets sick, they are forced to grow up and take care of him. Just like in life, the roles reverse. Gregor becomes old and dies while the family grows up and establish themselves in the working class.
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