Poor Gregor.

There is something superficially absurd about the plot of Kafka's The Metamorphosis. The sheer idea of transforming a character, your own, into a rodent is ridiculous and fascinating. It has perhaps never been pursued before seriously and that's what makes this novella stand out. And when an author is capable to generating something so bizarre and intriguing, his story will no doubt last for generations. I am terribly, perhaps guiltily, repulsed by and attracted to this idea of a metaphor comparing the mindless worker to an equally thoughtless insect for there is so much to be argued for this point: there's a dumb work, repetitive and looked down upon, done by these office workers that is similar to the actions of rodents, and there's a secondary status that they both share as well. The insects, perhaps not cockroaches, perform a basic yet important role in our world - they pollinate our crops, give us valuable raw materials and are even nutritious. And like the workers, they labor incredibly hard, perhaps all their lives, for a seemingly unknown purpose.

Given what I already know of Kafka's own background, I would like to argue that this story is his way of bemoaning the deprecated state of workers as well as the general ineptitude and ingratitude of parents. Of course, this is hidden beneath layers after layers of bitter irony, which is the reason why I find Gregor Samsa a pathetic and sympathetic character. His excessive groveling - please, he just wants to work - is endearing, and his family's complete intolerance, except in the case of his sister, of his condition is disgusting. Kafka himself seems to be struggling between making Gregor a pitiable creature and mocking him, and himself by extension.