Entrance into the Kaleidoscopic Kafkaesque

Turning the Kaleidoscope of the Surreal

The main character of the story, Gregor Samsa, is a traveling salesman, who works hard to take care of his parents and sister, even though they are not as appreciative. But one morning he wakes up and finds himself transformed into a giant insect. He notices this when he lay on his armour-hard back and has a glimpse at his brown, arched abdomen that is divided up into rigid bow-like sections. All of this makes it hard for him to even stand because his legs (as he notices) are now thin in comparison to the rest of his body. Then, he begins to worry as his alarm sounds. The first thing to come to his mind is: “How am I going to get to work?” Once he gets to work, he is late and ultimately his boss is careless about his misfortunes and as a result fires him from work for being late that one day.

Gregor was once considered the sole provider of the family, but now he has suddenly become the burden. After his death the family feel srelieved and they seem to be unbothered with Gregor’s absence. They just continue on with their lives, planning their future again, completely forgetting about Gregor, like as if he never existed before. The story highlights the theme of irony and unfairness in life.

Kierkegaard and Nietzsche were one of the most confusing yet intriguing philosophers I have so far studied. A bit complicated but mostly, because what pieces have been passed on through the sieve of history, didn’t necessarily match their original philosophies. Although this study took place a long time ago, and I was a different person back then, when I recollect the events, I remember how they spoke about finding your own meaning in life: A life uncertain, in which mankind has killed the divine. I really couldn’t agree more because self-mastery is better sometimes! The traditions of our forefathers are beyond idiocy since it sends the world spinning itself off into insanity.

Kafka being an existentialist, draws on many of these humanist concepts. The metamorphosis flips the script, and instead of Kafka calling the world alien and bizarre, he turns the main character into a bug—different from the rest of society a joke, a satire in and of itself. But its theme is very identifiable, even in its absurdity. Sometimes I feel the daily grind transforming me into a creature I scarcely recognize anymore. Fatigued constantly, bearing the burden of responsibilities not my own, the harsh past and the meaningless of reality make me so depressed that I too whisper for Death more than once a week–since I like Gregor longed for help and acceptance too.