Death In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

In Franz Kafka’s novella, The Metamorphosis, there are several themes interwoven into the text by the accomplished author. However, one theme seems to stand out amongst the others. Kafka shows the audience that death is the only true way of escaping and being free. Through his tone, word choice, and setting, the topic of freedom and escapism is evident and powerful.
Throughout the first part of the novella, the tone that Kafka uses is a pessimistic tone to describe how Gregor feels about his job. Gregor does not like his job, and he wishes that he could quit but for the sake of paying off his parents' debt, he continues to work. Kafka writes, "Once I've got together the money to pay off the parents' debt to him—that should take another five or six years—I'll do it for sure" (Kafka 138). In this sentence, the reader is able to see how, once he is able to pay off all his parents' debt, Gregor will quit his job. This is the way he wants to escape the life that he is living. Gregor feels bad for his family because they are in such high debt and he has trapped himself, making it his responsibility to pay it off for them.
Within the second part of the novella, Kafka's word
Gregor has lived a miserable life and wants to quit his job. He is seen being trapped in his room by his own family, causing him to be seen as an animalistic character. Kafka wrote, “From the window he witnessed the beginning of a general dawning outside. Then without willing it, his head sank all the way down, and from his nostrils flared weakly his last breath” (Kafka 177). In this quote, it describes the last scene Gregor saw before his death as ‘a general dawning’. Dawning’s, a lot of times, are seen as a peaceful scene that soothes the soul. Taking this into account, Kafka uses this description to tell the reader that Gregor’s soul has finally been put to rest and is free and