Franz Kafka's Metamorphos

People have always felt the pressure of conforming to societal norms, enough that they feel the need to change their personality. In The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, the protagonist Gregor struggles between meeting expectations and coming to terms with the darker side of himself. Through Gregor’s struggles, Kafka points out the underlying human weaknesses that cause a metamorphosis in each of us. Even after Gregor realizes that he’s turned into a bug, he still feels the need to fulfill the expectations of others. Gregor thinks to himself, “Before it strikes a quarter past seven, whatever happens I must be completely out of bed. Besides, by then someone from the office will arrive to inquire about me...And he made an effort to rock his entire
This is evident that Gregor doesn’t really recognize his transformation as a problem. Since Gregor doesn’t recognize his bug form as a problem, and in fact seems familiar with being one, then Gregor must have already felt himself to be something like a bug before. Where Gregor should be alarmed at suddenly metamorphosing into a bug, he instead feels the need to meet the expectations of his job. This shows that though Gregor feels the need to carry out his responsibility, he has also always felt like a bug while fulfilling them. Though Gregor makes an effort towards getting out of bed, he has difficulty as a bug with no human limbs. This is symbolic of how much of an effort Gregor makes to meet those expectations, and how important they are to him. Since a bug is something many people detest, the way Gregor feels like one while trying to meet expectations shows how little he values his own worth. This side of himself is also something he has trouble showing to others, through both his inability and reluctance to get up out of bed. Gregor is unable to get any help for his confidence issues, compounding the problem. The only thing motivating Gregor to even try at all is the need to
Though Gregor requires the approval of his boss and his family in order to validate his existence, he still expresses a desire to stop meeting their expectations. Gregor thinks, “He really wanted to let himself be seen by and to speak with the manager...If they were startled, then Gregor had no more responsibility and could be calm. But if they accepted everything quietly, then he would have no reason to get excited, and if he got a move on, could really be at the station around eight o’clock.” (23) In this quote, Gregor contemplates having no more responsibility, and continuing his same routine, depending on others’ reactions to him. This shows that he is actually tired of having to meet others’ expectations of him, and wants to be treated like a human and given a break. However, he still bases his decisions on what they will think of him, showing his dependency on society’s approval of what he does. Gregor does not want to confront the fact that he has turned into a bug because he is uncertain of what people’s opinions will be, further proving that Gregor has low confidence and self-value. Since Gregor has now transformed into a bug, a reflection of his true self, rejection would be crippling to his already low self-worth. This is representative of how everybody has multiple faces to hide part of what who they are, because of their fear of