Book Review

Basic information
Name of the book: The Metamorphosis
Name of the author: Franz Kafka
Name of the editor: Max Brod
Name of the translator: Jorge Luis Borges
Publisher that produced the book: Kurt Wolff Verlag / Losada
Country that produced the book: Germany
Basic setting (time and place of the story): Not revealed
Type of book: Novella / Short story
Genre: Absurdist fiction
Plot summary
One morning, after an uneasy sleep, Gregor Samsa tries to get up to attend his work, but
realizes that during the night he has become a giant insect. Realizing how late it is, he tries
to start his usual daily activities, but lying on his back, he cant get out of bed.
His family (his mother, his father and his young sister Grete) just asked about her
condition. Gregor has closed the three doors of his room and tries to reassure them, but no
one notices the uniqueness of his voice.
The manager of his work arrives at Gregor's house after asking the reason for the delay so
unusual in Gregor. After long and painful efforts, Gregor, whose peculiar voice, "a beastly
voice," tries to deceive him and refuses to open his door and run his head through the crack.
The manager is impatient for the lack of explanations of Gregor and begins to overwhelm
him with reproaches for his lack of performance, but, seeing him become an insect, flees in
horror. Gregor's family moves away from him and his mother avoids him in particular. No
one understands that Gregor, despite his appearance, understands and thinks still as a
human being. Blind with anger, Gregor's father takes the staff left by the manager and hits
Gregor violently with him.
The family of Gregor passes hard moments by the fear that it is known that they harbor a
monster like him in his house. His father begins to hate him. His mother still shows him
some pity since he is his son, but vanishes after seeing him. His sister Grete overcomes her
repulsion and feeds and cleans her room every day. Gregor hides so that she cant see him
and not make her suffer. However, Gregor wanted her to see him in order to receive a little
love. One day, when Grete and her mother discover that Gregor's new hobby is to move
around the room, both on the walls and on the ceiling, they decide to remove their furniture
to make it easier for them, Gregor, despite noticing the good deed, he feels stripped of his
material possessions, and once stripped of the majority except for his armchair and a
painting which he liked, he decides, as a last resort, to stand on the painting, when the
mother and Grete decide to re-enter to the room, they watch Gregor and the mother faints,
Grete leaves of this one to look for something to wake up and Gregor leaves behind of her,
worried, trying to help also. The sister returns to enter the room and closes the door, the
father arrives, and this thinking that he carried out a violent attitude begins to throw apples
to make him back, one hits him on the back and remains embedded, then rots and is one of
his causes of death.
No one cares for Gregor and his wound becomes infected. As Gregor can no longer work to
help his family, the family rents a portion of the house to three people. Despite his
disability, his family finally accepts it. In spite of this, one afternoon Gregor leaves his
room attracted by the music interpreted to the violin by his sister. Unfortunately, the three
tenants see it and decide to leave immediately and without paying, not for their presence,
since this was made curious, but because of the bad treatment they receive from the family
in trying not to see it. Faced with a situation without remedy, her sister tears tearfully to get
rid of Gregor. Everyone agrees because they believe they have done everything they can,
but they do not know what to do. But Gregor, desperate and who had not fed for days, is
found dead by the maid and thrown away. Slightly distressed, but mostly relieved, the
family is happy to start a new life and go out for a walk. The parents realize that Grete has
become a graceful young woman and they begin to plan how to marry her.
Interpretation
The story
Among the most obvious interpretations are those relating to the treatment of an
authoritarian and bureaucratic society towards the different individual, where it is isolated
and incomprehensible before an overwhelming institutional machinery and neither
understands nor is understood by it.
Another well-known interpretation refers to the split identity of Kafka, who on the one
hand feels nostalgic for the Jewish identity of his grandfathers and on the other he feels that
he cant make a foothold in the "gentle" world of Prague to which his father belongs.
Characters
Gregor Samsa: Is the protagonist of the story, is about 23 years old. He works as a business
traveler to support her sister and her parents. He wakes up one morning like a monstrous
insect. After the metamorphosis, Gregor is incapacitated to work, and this will force his
father, his mother and his sister, to work to support themselves. He spends most of his time
in his room and witnesses the abandonment and disdain of his family, which grows slowly.
Sometimes he leaves his room to walk the house in secret.
Grete Samsa: Is the daughter of the family, is about 17 years and a half. She becomes the
caretaker of Gregor since it becomes an insect. At first Grete and Gregor had a very
intimate relationship but will gradually change. Grete at first volunteers to feed and clean
the room, but each day is more unconcerned by him. She plays the violin and seems to have
qualities to go to the music conservatory, a dream that Gregor secretly wanted to enforce.
To increase family income, Grete begins working as a shop assistant. It is he who proposes
at the end the idea of letting Gregor die, after he had, in theory, chased away the tenants.
Seor Samsa: Is the father of Gregor. It contracted years ago a debt with the present head of
Gregor. For this, Gregor has to work and plans to pay off the debt in 5 years. When Gregor
is transformed, circumstances compel his father to change his lazy and vague character and
look for a job to support the family, which supposes a rejuvenation for him.
Seora Samsa: Is the mother of Gregor. At the beginning of the story she is shocked by his
transformation although she wants to enter his room. It creates an internal conflict, a kind
of struggle between the repulsion that produces the animal and its maternal instinct. She is
asthmatic, which prevents it from working. On one occasion she faints when he meets
Gregor, which makes Grete angry.
Authors style
Kafkas literary style is metaphorical, focusing on the nature of spirituality and the
absurdity of life. He digs deep into the minds of his characters and examines their
psychology and the motivation for their actions. The sentences seem to go on and on until
they end with a surprising or counter intuitive twist. His ability to portrait feelings in words,
so that a person can actually feel what he is expressing, is art.
Summarized opinion of the book

The Metamorphosis is considered one of the most important, significant and influential
works of modern literature, as well as one of the most controversial and difficult to
interpret.
This tale is a clear social critic. Through an absurd and incomprehensible story Kafka tries
to deal with the issues of identity, frustration, freedom, loneliness, helplessness, isolation,
social marginalization and the meaning of existence mainly. These themes will be the axes
that will vertebrate the literary production of Kafka and that will exert a capital influence
on later existential thinkers and writers such as Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir,
Albert Camus and Miguel de Unamuno. Franz Kafka stands as one of the forerunners of
literary existentialism, advancing to the grave and distressing problems provoked by an
oppressive collectivity dominated by only a few.
The Metamorphosis represents topics as current as the marginalization and loneliness
suffered by people who for one reason or another live isolated from society. The character
is socially rejected and is driven to depression, which leads to a reluctance towards life, not
wanting to continue living, which is what happens to Gregor at the end of the book. Chance
can cause any of us to live a situation similar to the one that Gregor has had to live with.
Gregor's example is a simple metaphor of a person who, for different reasons, is segregated
from society. We can all be Gregor at one point in our lives, we can all be victims of
rejection and social marginalization. Gregor is only a victim of society.
In summary, The Metamorphosis is an astonishing tale, with a very clear message.
If I have to rank this book, I would give it five stars. Why? Because the story is perfect:
well narrated, entertaining and meaningful.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the human nature. Who should
read this book? Everyone, especially those who enjoy good literature.
This book can be found on internet or you can buy it in sites such as Buscalibre.

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Basic information

Name of the book: The Metamorphosis

Name of the author: Franz Kafka

Name of the editor: Max Brod

Name of the translator: Jorge Luis Borges

Publisher that produced the book: Kurt Wolff Verlag / Losada

Country that produced the book: Germany

Basic setting (time and place of the story): Not revealed

Type of book: Novella / Short story

Genre: Absurdist fiction

Summarized opinion of the book

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