metamorphosis by franz kafka

this is quite a famous work. i think the story has a lot of symbolisms. mainly, it was about isolation. and i think his personal life was able to throw in a lot of ideas to the novel. i read about kafka's life and managed to find similarities between them and samsa. one can see it in their names, their families, the society they were part of, etc. they both just felt isolated. anyway, this is an interesting story. even the readers would be seized by that claustrophobic feeling. most of everything that was written took place inside the house. the only allusion to the outside world comes in the form of the sister would look out the window. there was also a hospital outside. maybe it's like telling them that there is life out there and only by going out will they be able to cure themselves? in a way, they were sick. sick of their lives, of not knowing what to do, of the uncertainty and sick of the burden that was the vermin gregor samsa. maybe they needed to get out and break free from all those things.

also, in the story, gregor was transformed into a vermin literally. i mean, people saw him as a vermin. it was understood in the story that it was indeed a physical transformation. but there was something more to it than just that. the metamorphosis itself could represent his isolation from the family and from the rest of the world. he was so into his job that he hardly had time for anything else. and what i did not understand about him was that he was being too kind. maybe it's because he loved his family so much. they were very dear to him. and i think the fact that his family appeared to be mean and he still loved him made us want to empathize with him more. the parents, on the other hand, were rather antagonized. they were just leeching money off of him. in the end, it was revealed that the parents were really like that. the ending was a bit satirized. it was happy, all right, since there was new hope, new beginning, but then they'd be using their child again. what a happy event. such mockery.

what's interesting, too, is the supposition that gregor likes his sister. it's nasty, i know, but that could be true. why the hell would you kiss your sister's neck.