Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis Essay

In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka illustrates the difficulties Gregor faces after transforming into a bug. While Gregor is the main character of the story, the relationship he has with his sister, Grete, plays a fundamental role in depicting the novel’s theme of the limits of sympathy and causes Grete to undergo significant character development. Furthermore, the correlation between these two aspects of the novel compels the reader to question what it means to be an adult, bringing out the novel’s existentialist ideas. Kafka began The Metamorphosis with Gregor’s realization that he has transformed into a bug, not giving much background on who the characters in the novel were before this incident occurred. However, through exposition, Kafka enables the reader to later make inferences about Gregor and Grete’s relationship prior to Gregor’s transformation. An example of this occurs when Kafka details Gregor’s long held desires of …show more content…
Surprisingly, Grete is the one to finally decide that the bug is not part of their family. To her parents, she remarks that, “I am unwilling to utter my brother’s name before this creature, and therefore will say only: we have to try to get rid of it.” By depicting Grete as maintaining that the bug isn’t really Gregor and not part of the family, Kafka makes it evident that Grete’s sympathy towards the bug has fully run out, coming a long way from the genuine care she displayed at the novel’s beginning. Additionally, in the moment she makes this statement, Grete exuberates a confidence she did not have before. By being the character who finally announces that the family must get rid of Gregor, it is clear her role and influence in the family has dramatically