Happy Endings /// Bug Olsen

        Throughout The Metamorphosis, Kafka’s personal post-modern views and reflections of his own life play a key role in the message and plot to the story. The character of Gregor reflects many of Kafka’s own feelings, such as his abusive relationship with his father and feelings of helplessness and uselessness. Many times throughout the story, the family would be better off with Gregor dead, much like Kafka’s own feelings that the world would be better off without him. When Gregor’s death finally comes at the end of the story, this is actually the case for everyone, including himself. Gregor is done with his miserable existence, and the family is overall better for multiple reasons. While much could be said regarding Gregor’s obsession with work, the postmodernist and absurdist views held by Kafka portrayed throughout the story, or the reflections of Kafka’s personal life in the story, the topic I found most interesting was this development and ultimate betterment of the family because of Gregor’s transformation.

            Initially, Gregor is essentially an enabler of the family, providing all the income and doing all the work. Since the family is later forced to work and does so with few problems, they were clearly able to work before Gregor transformed. Gregor’s transformation forces the family to become more independent and closer as a unit, giving them purpose and bettering them as individuals. Not only does this help the family, but Gregor is saved from his miserable existence both as an insect as well as from the life he lived before his transformation. The view of businesses and bureaucracy presented throughout the story reflects Kafka’s personal views towards the subject, as he largely felt like the worker was abused and it was ultimately a pointless rat race. Gregor was consumed by his work and did nothing else, and although he was content with it, it wasn’t truly a life. In reality he was saved from his monotonous, useless life of work through his death, according to Kafka’s views. Not only this, but his family was entirely unappreciative of his work, as shown their lackluster responses and hidden savings that could have helped Gregor’s personal life tremendously. If anything, Gregor has the happiest ending of all, according to Kafka, because he is the one who ultimately escapes the pointless tragedy of life. It also makes the family more productive and developed, and the last lines of the story ultimately demonstrate this through the positive word choice and structure of the family venturing off into new possibilities.

I commented on Emily Thullesen and Samantha Tedder's posts.