In Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, the transformation of the character Gregor from a man to one of the most repellent insects, a cockroach, may seem exaggerated and ridiculous, becoming more so over the course of the story as the action builds and emotions become more charged. Kafka’s intention, however, is to expose and explore the impoverishment of human psychology with respect to the ways in which changes in one’s circumstances and conditions reshape notions of justice and mercy. These themes will be explored further in this character analysis of Gregor in “The Metamorphosis”.

While it is the subject of this character analysis, Gregor who has been mysteriously and inexplicably reduced to one of the lowest forms of animal life in this story by Kafka representing the absurd, it isGregor’s family in “The Metamorphosis” whose psychological development is least human and humane. Gregor has changed physical form, but Kafka clearly indicates that his essential being has not changed in any fundamental way. Gregor still has human feelings and needs, he still wishes to relate with his family and other members of society, and he still wishes to be responsible. As this character analysis of Gregor in “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka suggests, his mother, father, and his sister have not changed form, but their metamorphoses are the most profound because they demonstrate how easily one’s beliefs, values, and basic treatment of others can be compromised because of a failure to adapt psychologically.

From the opening of “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, the character of Gregor is portrayed as a whole and complex human being. Like many people, he detests his job, but he recognizes that his work is necessary because it supports his family. He applies himself “with great earnestness” (Kafka 35) to his grinding work as a traveling salesman, not only because he wants to support his parents and pay off a debt that they incurred, but because he dreams of sending his sister, Grete, to a conservatory where she can learn to play violin professionally (Kafka 37). At this early point in Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” in fact, a character analysis of Gregor would yield rather little in terms of character depth. However, this devotion demonstrates just how thoughtful and compassionate Gregor is.

In a brief time, however, it will be shown both in the Metamorphosis and in this character analysis of Gregor that his family members are not nearly as kind and considerate; in fact, they completely lose their capacity for justice and mercy. When Gregor wakes up one morning and learns that he has metamorphosed and Gregor has been transformed into a cockroach he is shocked and incredulous, as any human being would be. Yet he comes to accept, as he must, the irreversibility of his new condition. Though unwanted, there is nothing that Gregor can do to change his situation. The only action that he can, and does take, is to adjust his attitude about this unbelievable change. His family members, however, are apparently incapable of making the same kind of psychological adaptation.

Bloom contends in his broad character analysis and study of “The Metamorphosis” by Kafka, that symbolically speaking, Gregor’s metamorphosis from man to cockroach represents his “judgment on himself by his defeated humanity” (21) because he cannot find a way to leave his job behind and assert his own needs and identity because of his loyalty and sense of obligation to his family. Upon closer analysis, the judgment of Gregor’s family, however, is even more severe and distorting. While they initially try to accept him, his external characteristics preclude their fair treatment of him. They react irrationally, exercising neither justice nor mercy in their response to his condition. They come to a point at which they can no longer connect the new Gregor with the person he once was, and though only his physical characteristics have changed, they view him with disgust and without compassion. While Gregor is the family member who has become literally dehumanized, the psychological and symbolic dehumanization of his mother, father, and Grete are more profound and severe.

In his new state, Gregor is particularly vulnerable to his family member’s abuses. His parents and sister, the people who should accept him unconditionally and protect him according to the traditional code of family relationships, are those who abuse him the most. His father wounds him deeply with a newspaper and a walking stick. Poor Gregor remains undeterred. Though wounded, he repeatedly attempts to connect with his family, and he remains capable of being moved by beauty and human expression. The most poignant scene and the one where many of the points touched upon in this character analysis of Gregor in “The Metamorphosis” are realizes, not to mention the one that demonstrates the complete collapse of mercy and justice in the family, is when Gregor creeps from his room to hear Grete play her violin. Hearing Grete’s music, Gregor feels, as is stated in one of the important quotes from “The Metamorphosis” by Kafka, “as if the way were opening before him to the unknown nourishment he craved” (37). He is erroneous to think that he can connect with Grete by expressing his appreciation for her music, and the stage is set for his complete dismissal and condemnation by his family. He is essentially given a death sentence.

Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is an exaggerated symbolic tale that tackles an ambitious number of themes.One of the most important of these is the collapse of justice and mercy, even among those people who are expected to be most fair and compassionate. Gregor’s metamorphosis is indeed terrible, but more terrible still is the psychological corruption of Gregor’s family. Their inability to adapt to the changes that have occurred signal a total breakdown in the family structure, and offer a cautionary tale about the fragility of notions of justice and mercy.

Other essays in the Literature Archives related to this topic include :   The Themes of Claustrophobia and Guilt in Kafka’s Metamorphosis   •   Transformation & Narration in Metamorphosis, Gulliver’s Travels and The Death of Ivan Ilych

Work Cited

 Bloom, Harold. Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. New York: Chelsea House, 1988.

Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. New York: Crown, 2003.

It seems only natural that Kafka’s story with the title, The Metamorphosis, should entail such an event, but it is not clear until the end of the tale just how much both the main character as well as the reader have been transformed or undergone the process of metamorphosis. The story begins with the simple concept that the character of Gregor has been somehow transformed into a giant insect, but as the story progresses, we see that the title is not just referring to this simple act, but to Gergor’s understanding of his life. Through the narrator, who tells us of the strange events of the protagonist’s life, we able to begin picking up on the more revealing details of Gregor’s life and learn that perhaps it is not insignificant or random that he was turned into an insect.

Nearly everything about Gregor’s existence prior to his physical transformation was already insect-like as he scurried about, almost undetectable, and performed various useless functions for the larger “hive” of society. Through illustrating a real transformation that is tangible and physical, the narrator allows us to understand the fuller implications of Gregor’s status as a true insect (both physically and because of the way he lives.) As a result, the reader, by understanding these aspects of the central character’s life undergoes his or her own metamorphosis as the importance of not living like Gregor did becomes clear.Gregor’s feelings of insignificance becomes clear to him by the end of the story and threat of living in such a way imparts deep meaning about life to both reader and character alike. This is also the case in bothGulliver’s Travels and The Death of Ivan Ilych as the central characters in both are put in odd or intense situations that demand interpretation, internalization, and finally, transformation on the part of the reader.

The experience of transformation in Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is similar to that of Gregor in Kafka’sMetamorphosis in that the story itself involves an ordinary man who has been plunged into extraordinary and absurd circumstance and later realizes something vital or important about himself or the world he inhabits. Unlike Kafka’s tale, Gulliver’s Travels uses satire combined with the central characters strange position to tell us something about life and the ideal (or not so ideal) society in “Gulliver’s Travels”.  During Swift’s time the monarchy had a direct influence, even in the realm of law although there was a growing bureaucracy developing.

This is satirized in Gulliver’s Travels by the Lilliputians who take extensive inventory of all of Gulliver’s possessions and are prone to making “official” edicts governing the lives of Gulliver and the rest of the citizens. At one point, amazed with the gall of the little people, Gulliver remarks in one of theimportant quotes from “Gulliver’s Travels” “I could not sufficiently wonder at the intrepidity of these diminutive mortals, who durst venture to mount and walk on my body, while one of my hands was at liberty, without trembling at the sight of prodigious creature as I must appear to them” (2338).

This overwhelming self-importance is key to Swift’s satire as even the most minute issue is made to be of vast political and bureaucratic importance. For example, a war broke out between Lilliput and Blefuscu because of the proper way to break eggs after an Emperor many years before cut his finger on an eggshell. “Whereupon the Emperor published an edict, commanding all his subjects, under great penalties, to break the smaller end of their eggs. The people so highly resented this law, that our histories tell us there have been six rebellions raised on this account” (194). This makes the squabbles that resulted in great strife in England seem equally as silly, especially since so much of the debate was based on the “proper” way to interpret which end of the egg was the smallest. Although for the reader, the introduction to Lilliput sounds much like a miniature and more absurd England, as the description of the land and government continues it becomes clear that although the Lilliputians suffer from the same flaws inherent in English society(pompous government, rebellions over relatively minor issues, and a tendency to over-regulate the more mundane aspects of life, to name a few) they posses many beliefs that allow them to be more utopian—especially when compared to England. In the end, both the reader and Gulliver have come away from the situation (or story) transformed and able to clearly see a political and social situation differently. For Gulliver, it is what happens to him that creates a change in his understanding of the country he comes from and for the reader, it is the narrator’s use of satire that causes our transformation and how we view Swift’s England and societies in general.

A method similar to satire is also used to bring about a transformation in both the reader and the central character in Tolstoy’s “The Death of Ivan Ilych”, although the satire is far less apparent. Many might argue whether it is satire at all that the life of the main character, Ivan Ilych, is made to be so boring and full of superficiality, but when put in the context of Swift’s work, this is not much of a stretch. The many details of Ivan’s personal life are meticulously detailed in the text and the reader is able to see just how boring and self-absorbed his life was. While Tolstoy could have easily made his central character exciting, the purpose would be lost—letting the reader understand how a life has been wasted and a death is now meaningless without the character’s realization of its emptiness.

By using many superficial details about Ivan’s life the reader is able to comprehend the full extent to which it was meaningless and the extent to which it was is so severe that it borders on satire. For instance, Ivan’s wife’s thoughts are realistically represented by the narrator who tells us, “She began to wish he would die; yet she did not want him to die because then his salary would cease” (73). This is almost absurdly cruel but it allows the reader to undergo the transformation of learning how one view’s the life and death of a shallow person and later, it allows the central character of Ivan to see this as well. As in the case ofGulliver’s Travels, an intense situation (the process of dying) is put into narrative to reveal something of lasting importance to the reader and both the central character. The Death of Ivan Ilych is also somewhat like Kafka’s Metamorphosis as well because the central character is forced into understanding because of an intense situation. In sum, the narrators of all of these stories have the same function—to reveal the underlying meaning about life and to push us (and their characters) toward a greater understanding of self.

Other essays in the Literature Archives related to this topic include :   Character Analysis of Gregor in “The Metamorphosis”  • The Themes of Claustrophobia and Guilt in Kafka’s Metamorphosis    •    Realistic Utopias in “Gulliver’s Travels” by Jonathan Swift    •  Analysis and Short Summary of “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift   •  Comparison of Use of Irony & Satire in “A Modest Proposal” and “Gulliver’s Travels”  •  Literary Modernism in “Heart of Darkness” and “The Death of Ivan Ilych”