A Lack of Meaning in a Bug's Life | by Emory Cooper

In The Metamorphosis, the whole story revolves around Gregor turning into a bug. The man's alteration, however, goes further than his bodily form. The change renders him useless; Gregor turns from his family's productive breadwinner into their greatest nuisance! And perhaps more bothersome still, he has no hope that anything can be done to improve his situation. Gregor is thus left without any real reason to live. As a bug, Gregor's life is a meaningless life.

There is an interesting framework called the Four Pillars of Meaning that may help one understand how Gregor lacks meaning in his life as a bug. First, Gregor lacks a sense of belonging, meaning he has no healthy relationship with another person. This is made abundantly clear as the one person he admires most, his sister, tells Mr. and Mrs. Samsa that "we must try to get rid of it. We've tried to look after it and put up with it as far as is humanly possible" (page 20, 1st full paragraph). Second, Gregor lacks a core project--like providing for his family-- to give him a purpose. Third, Gregor lacks a personal storyline; although this whole story is about him, he has no tangible records of his life that he can personally look back on or plans to look forward to. Finally, Gregor lacks transcendence in his life, which means he needs to understand and appreciate some sort of objective reality outside of, and larger than, his own existence. No one should be surprised that he gave up and died.

I commented on Braylan's and Lily's posts.

Comments

  1. Samantha TJanuary 24, 2022 at 10:33 PM

    Emory, seeing Gregor broken down by those four categories makes me wonder if this piece was a commentary on how people during this time were seen as expendable by factories. Their value in what they could give, not because they simply were humans. It's quite sad how bleak his life turns as soon as he is unable to provide. Even sadder that those he has supported resent him and forget what he had done for them up until his morph into a bug. - Samantha

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  2. IsabelleJanuary 25, 2022 at 8:02 AM

    Hi Emory! Another instance where it is shown that Gregor lacks connection and purpose is shown through his mother. She tells the chief official that Gregor never goes out, and that the only time she sees him relax is when he does puzzles at the house. While I am not surprised that he gave up and died, I am slightly disappointed that he ended his life with the thought that the world was better off without him. Great post!

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