Throughout all three parts of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, there is a lot of change and degeneration of the main character, Gregor. Gregor obviously goes through the physical transformation from a young door to door salesman to a dung beetle, but he goes through many different levels of mental and emotional change too. When Gregor was initially turned into a bug, he was still the same person on the inside. But as time dragged on and Gregor's condition worsened, his human traits began to disappear along with his state of emotional being. "He could eat only if his entire panting body worked in a coordinated way—but also because the milk, which otherwise
was his favorite drink and which his sister had certainly placed
there for that reason, did not appeal to him at all." (Kafka, 9) Even though he is still a conscious human being on the inside, his outer beetle appearance doesn't work with him. His emotional status is slowly being chipped away, and the things he loved in his human form now seem somewhat lesser. Even though being turned into a beetle could be the worse thing that could happen to a person, Gregor does get one advantage out of it. He begins to do what he never had time for in his human body-reflect. Now that all Gregor can do is sleep, think, and roll in his own filth, he finally found time to look back on his life. As he recalls, he also begins to realize just how little he lived for, and how plain his life was. "People don’t like travelling salesmen. I know that. People
think they earn pots of money and thus lead a fine life. People
don’t even have any special reason to think through this
judgment more clearly." (Kafka, 7) As Gregor tries to remember the happy times of his life, he realizes that not enough of it was spent with the ones he loves. He was ripped from his real life and put into a fake one every day when he woke up to go to work. He was so caught up in keeping his family together and paying off his parents debt that he forgot all about his own personal happiness and the bond to his significant others. As Gregor begins to to lose moral, his physical condition worsens. He gets sicker and smaller. His body is giving up, and taking his emotional worth down with it. Gregor can barely move and has already given up eating. He is of no use to himself. "No request of Gregor's was of any use; no request would even be understood." (Kafka, 8) Finally, after dwindling in a half-alive state, Gregor dies to a demeaning burial. His family has accepted the fact that he is no longer the person he used to be, and that there is no trace of Gregor in this bug they no longer feel the need to take care of. Gregor died a long time ago, the bug he was condemned to has only just passed. No memory of Gregor is left except for the tiring burden he became to his family. The life of Gregor was interrupted abruptly, but not a lot was interfered with. He found that the only thing he could not do in his beetle form that he was doing in his past life was working, and knowing that is what ultimately made him give up.
Another central theme in The Metamorphosis is the perception of Gregor's room, and what it represents in comparison to his life. When Gregor wakes up and before he knows he is truly been turned into a bug, his room is described as plain and tidy, ready for the work day. His walls are surrounding him like a coffin, and the door to his room is locking him in. The window is dull and grey, leaving no escape from his life he has cornered himself into. The picture of the elegant woman he has cut out and frame on his wall shows just how lonely and disconnected he is from himself. He unlocks himself from his room to go to his abusive job where he gets paid to work off his parents debt by getting doors slammed in his face. He has ended his life without even knowing it. "He was only just inside his room when the door was pushed
shut very quickly, bolted fast, and barred." (Kafka, 24) His family has only had a part in trapping Gregor, he had himself demoralized long ago. His attitude, his lifestyle, and his actions have all but become automatic and sad. He no longer has any characteristics or even a personality. He has no preference, no disgust to himself, and most depressingly, no self respect. "Gregor squirmed his way through the accumulation of junk and moved it. At first he was forced to do this because
otherwise there was no room for him to creep around, but later he did
it with a
growing pleasure, although after such movements, tired to
death and feeling wretched, he did not budge again for
hours." (Kafka, 21) Gregor has given up on his life. He is still living, but his identity is missing. He does nothing more than a beetle, and that is why he has turned into one. Gregor knows that something is missing from his life, he just can't pinpoint what. He is too far lost in the sadness, and too far detached from the life he was meant to live. "For him it was as if the way to the unknown nourishment he craved was revealing
itself." (Kafka, 22) Gregor knows that true happiness is always through the ones you love, but he is still lost in the way of expressing that. He wishes he could send his sister to the Conservatory, but he doesn't even remember why. His social appearance is torn to nothing, and his kind heart has been crushed by every agonizing day with no yielding or reward. The message so relentlessly driven in Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is simply this: life your life to the fullest, and the happy moments should never be traded for money. Don't let yourself become a bug, work not to see your family less, but to see them more. Happiness is not wealth.
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