Character Imagery In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis

Throughout life, we grow from depending on our parents, to becoming independent, and then to having people who depend on us. In Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” the main character, Gregor, has a family that has become dependent on him. As humans, we are all pushed into circumstances that we have no control over, just as Gregor was. When the story opens, we meet Gregor, whose family depends on him before his transformation into a bug, but afterwards he was dependent upon them. Gregor’s transformation gives an insight into how much people who depend on others are not so gracious.
Sheldon Goldfarb stated: “…it would be easy to conclude, as some have done, that "The Metamorphosis" is a depiction of the helplessness and disgusting nature of the human race…” (Goldfarb). Goldfarb is spot on with this statement. “The Metamorphosis” may include this as an addition to the story’s main points, but it is not the focal point of the story. The story is a depiction of how humans get so caught up in their lives that …show more content…
A parasite is an organism that lives off of another and may exploit them in the process, like in “Metamorphosis”. Gregor’s family exploits him in the sense that they rely so heavily on him and has little care for how he feels about having to work constantly. When Gregor’s family depends upon him, he becomes the parasite who takes what it needs to survive. Through this representation Gregor’s transformation becomes “… a literal enactment of metaphor” (Thomas Barry). The metaphor for the parasite in “Metamorphosis” is how Gregor and his family act as parasites to one another. As their roles flip, and the family becomes the ones that have to provide for him, the parasite metaphor is also flipped. Those who once depended on Gregor have to provide for him as he did for so long for