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The story begins with the introduction of traveling salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes up in bed transformed into a large insect. After discovering his state, he decides he will just go back to sleep and forget about his transformation. Gregor discovers, however, that his normal sleeping positions no longer work. Gregor then begins to reflect on life as a salesman, and says how if his family didn’t rely on him then he would quit his job. After looking at the clock, Gregor realizes he is late and therefore missed the train to work. One by one, Gregor’s family members ask if he is alright. Gregor hears the Deputy Director voicing his displeasure with Gregor's work behind the door. Gregor opens the door with his mouth and begs him for forgiveness, only to receive looks of horror. He is pushed back into the room for good by his father. Gregor is given minimal food and care that decreases in quality as the story progresses. Gregor notices that the family's state of poverty has gotten worse, but that the family have gotten jobs and look healthier. The family had taken on three boarders to help pay rent, but when they discover Gregor they are disgusted. Grete tells her parents that they must get rid of Gregor because he is ruining their lives. Gregor understands what Grete says, and goes into his room and dies. Grete and her parents feel relieved and move into a more accommodating apartment. The story ends with the parents noticing how Grete is strong and beautiful and they will need to find her a husband soon.

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When looking at The Metamorphosis through a Marxist lense, you can see how the story can be told in a way that resembles the type of world Karl Marx saw.  When looking through a Marxist lense, you can see a different levels in society, the higher ups are snobby, and look down at everyone below them.  The lower class are seen as expendable, people who will work and work for low wages because they need the money.  Money is seen as power, something that can be seen with Gregor.  He hates his job, yet day in and day out he works just to get money to support his family.  In the five years that he has been working there, he hasn’t missed a day, or been sick once, yet the one day he is late, his consistent past as a worker is thrown out the window and he is thought of as expendable.  As we move along in the story, as the family is starting to come to terms with him being a bug, they start treating him as a lowlife, someone who doesn’t belong in their family, even though he was the one supporting them for so long, and was and is their son.  His possessions are moved from his room and he is fed scraps of food that the rest of the family don’t want anymore.

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“... neglect your business responsibilities in an unheard-of-way.”

“It is funny, too, the way he sits on the desk and talks down from the heights to the employees, especially when they have to come right up close on account of the boss’s being hard of hearing.”

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When we look at The Metamorphosis from a psychoanalytical lense, we see that Gregor Samsa is confused. While he wants to help his family, he also wants to grow as a writer. This, along with some deeper desires that we’ve speculated about, keeps Gregor paralyzed in his room. His family sees no point in helping him, because Gregor is no longer working to support them. Consequently, they care for him less and less, refusing to get him help. Though they might not actually physically abuse him, the apple in the back and cane to the head both represent crushing blows of opposition to his views and desires. Finally, Gregor becomes fed up with the growing neglect and makes the courageous decision to “come out.” This could mean a number of things. Gregor could just be reinforcing his desire to pursue his writing passions, or he could be ending an even greater internal conflict, such as battling with homosexuality. Regardless of what the cause may be, the significance of this event is that Gregor Samsa put faith in the good of his family and society to accept him and was turned away one last time. This event fuels the suicidal thoughts Kafka voices in his “Letter to Max Brod.” In this particular story, Kafka’s character, Gregor, chooses to end his life, burdened by the desires to be himself and to be accepted by an authoritarian father and a passive mother.

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Quotes Supporting the Psychoanalytical View

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Quotes Supporting the Psychoanalytical View

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“Anyway, who knows if that wouldn’t be a very good thing for me. If I didn’t hold back for my parents sake, I would have quit long ago, I would have marched up to the boss and spoken my piece from the bottom of my heart.”