I feel that of all the excerpts about interpretations of Metamorphosis, excerpt four has the most merit. I agree that Kafka was attempting to portray the idea that Gregor’s family treated him like a bug, through their bitter hatred, their taking advantage of his income, and their carelessness about his happiness and well being. They showed neither love nor understanding for him. The idea that he is a bug in the eyes of his family was the factor that ultimately turned Gregor into an insect.
The main reason that Gregor was unhappy prior to turning into a bug was that he worked an unsatisfying and frustrating job and his family expressed no gratitude for his efforts. Gregor clearly had no passion for his occupation, but was forced to keep working this menial job because he was the only one in the family who was making an income. Gregor hated being the bread-winner of the family, but was obliged to do so because of his father’s, mother’s and sister’s laziness. They placed an unfair burden on poor Gregor by making him earn everything for them. Gregor was not happy with this situation. More importantly, however, his family did not understand that Gregor was not content with being the only bread-winner. Nor did they appreciate all that he did for them. They simply took the money he made for them and continued to make him labor tirelessly while they guzzled up his earnings. By not understanding or appreciating all Gregor did for them, the family treated him as a mere insect who was forced by nature to worked for their benefit. Gregor simply filled the role by transforming into one.
The way that Gregor tirelessly worked for his family while they showed no appreciation or love for him is similar to the way insects help humans while we simply disregard them. The bugs we despise and slaughter are the same creatures that pollinate our flowers, help our farming crops flourish, and keep our atmosphere clean. As humans, we do not show appreciation or gratitude to these insects for their help. We ignore, kill, and express our hatred and disgust with them. Our relationship with bugs is much like the family’s relationship with Gregor. Although he was the driving forced behing their well-being, keeping the family pollinated and flourishing (with money), they showed no appreciation for what he did for them. Gregor was a working insect for a family who cruelly disregarded the work he did for them, while they lazily lounged around the house. By turning into an insect, Gregor filled the role that his family gave him. 437
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Gary--Tireless work, frustrating job, lack of love, obligation, unfair burden, cruel disregard, and lack of appreciation--in one brief entry, you manage to hit just about all the notes of Gregor's unhappy song. Just going through your paragraphs and jotting down key words is a good exercise to see how many ideas you have packed into this week's post (which was supposed to have been done yesterday but my wife is sticking up for you, reminding me you were in Tucson all day and I should just quit whining and give you a little slack here). Nice job. How did the games go?
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