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Metamorphosis by Kafka, through an unusual story of how a traveling salesman turned into a human-sized insect, manages to paint a striking picture of the affects of isolation and negligence on the overall wellbeing of a patient, and the direct relationship between a patient's health and the doctors affirmation of the patient's humanity.

In the beginning of the novel, in the day's following Gregory's strange transformation, we see that despite the sudden hardships it brings into the family's circumstances, there is a certain recognition of Gregory's humanity - the juxtapose that that recognition is there despite his new appearance. Even though the family member who primarily provided for them is no longer there, there is still a certain attempt of understanding by Gregory's family member's to try and understand his new situation, and more importantly their ability to separate Gregory from his strange new condition. An example of this is when early in the novel, Gregory's sister, despite her fears of his new appearance, attempts to gauge his food habits by bringing him an assortment of foods (Kafka 57). This action ties into a critical part of the health humanities: being able to show compassion and trying to incorporate personalized treatment into patient care. Her actions are a clear indicator of her belief that her brother is still under there, which is a stark contrast to later in the novel.

As the novel continues and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight to Gregory's condition, we start to see negligence and further isolation in Gregory's treatment by his family. This is further portrayed when Gregory observes, "Great streaks of dirt extended across the walls, with balls of dust and rubbish lying scattered about" (Kafka 92). This sudden shift in his family's behavior's, reflects partly due to their weakened ability to shift Gregory from his condition. And when they're not able to separate him from his condition, they lose sight of his humanity and only identify him with his new transformation. So it's no coincidence he dies shortly after.

This storyline by Kafka serves as an incredibly powerful metaphor about the power that the beliefs of medical providers and a patient's loved ones can have on the long-term health of a patient. It also serves as a key lesson to future medical providers, about the importance of continued patient care despite there being a lack of a positive prognosis. Furthermore it speaks truth to the realities of mental health and capabilities of the loved ones who surround a patient, and is an urgent guidebook on finding different ways to create new modes of communication with those who no longer have the ability to do so- and thus give them the care that they deserve.

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A specific image from Metamorphosis that represents a specific impact of illness is the dirt on Gregor’s walls. At first, Grete took reasonably good care of him. She made sure he had something to eat, that his room was reasonably clean, and that he could move around his room. His father wanted to kill him and his mother fainted at the sight of him, but Grete made sure he stayed alive. However, in chapter three, that changes. Everyone in the family has to work now, as Gregor is no longer bringing in money. They are tired, and Gregor is now a burden in their eyes. Grete says, “I am unwilling to utter my brother’s name before this creature, and therefore will only say we have to try to get rid of it. We have done everything humanly possible to care for it and show it tolerance, I don’t think anyone would reproach us on this account” (Kafka 105). She experiences extreme caregiver burnout, to the point she wants her brother gone. It is not clear if she wants to kill him or throw him out, but ultimately she is just done caring for him.

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When I think of legs, I only think of them as something that gets me from one place to another. However, in Gregor's case, his legs meant much more than a means to move, they represented his abilities. Throughout the story, he had “hoped those tiny legs of his would take on some meaning,” (Kafka 31) but they never truly developed. If anything, his ability to use his legs and his overall health continued to decline with each passing day. However, rather than thinking of those legs in just a literal way, if you really look into the text, you can discover those little legs can represent the immense amount of vulnerability he went through. The use of the phrase “little legs” (Kafka 47) was repeatedly used which highlighted how little he could accomplish on his own and the sense of helplessness he experienced.

The use of little is a representation of how he feels about himself and how many other patients feel in the real world. Illnesses, whether it's mental or physical often leave patients feeling isolated, and small in the world. It leaves you feeling vulnerable, tired, and overall alone, and that’s what Gregor's little legs represent. The entire story represents the isolated feeling of being ill. Even the idea of Gregor turning into a giant insect. It represents the idea of feeling out of place and unwanted, and the idea of feeling like a burden to the family. The entire story represents the life of a patient in a unique perspective that makes you stop and think about how we can treat these patients better.

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In "The Metamorphosis" by Kafka, the metaphor perception of illness is demonstrated through the main character Gregor, turning into a bug. Gregor waking up one morning in the body of a bug instead of a human can be interpreted as being representative of the alienation of an illness. Being alienated by family and friends is common in medicine, especially when the diagnosis seems tragic or extreme and takes a visible toll on the patient. How the people surrounding the patient, in this case, Gregor's family, view the patient (i.e. Gregor) changes drastically. Even when Gregor had first turned into a bug and he realized his family could no longer understand his words he felt immediately alienated. This is demonstrated by his excitement as he worked to unlock the door as "he really wanted to let himself be seen" (p. 16, Kafka), and "he felt himself included once again in the circle of humanity" (p. 17, Kafka).

Even after his transformation, Gregor remained the same inside and could understand his family and their visitors even though they had lost all hope in that. This can be seen through their refusal to enter his room for some time, talk to him, care for him, and even just look at him. The person who cared for him most was his sister and even though Gregor could feel the love she had for him, it still felt hostile as she could not hide her disgust. This can be translated to real-life cases where the patient's support system fails them and they do not receive quality care (if any) throughout their treatment. Still, it is important to note that Gregor's family did still love him, they just did not recognize him - which fed into his alienation - and were not able to handle the situation in a way that they were capable of providing the support he needed. This is often reflected in real medical cases too, of course in different circumstances e.g. financial, physical distance, trauma, etc.

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The Metamorphosis uniquely captures the isolating and foreign experience of illness through its symbolic tale. Depicting a man who turns into a beetle and consequently is shunned and alienated from his family, it serves as an analogy for the experience of going from healthy to ill.

Gregor’s sudden metamorphosis “plunged all of them [his family] into a state of utter hopeless-ness.” (Kafka 63) The family suddenly lost their financial backbone on which they heavily relied upon. Gregor took pride in being the provider and “whenever the family came to speak of the necessity of someone earning money” he would mentally retreat “burning with shame and sorrow.” (Kafka 66) The entire phenomenon revealed the families true thoughts on Gregor; some loved him though others only loved the financial stability he brought. Although his family tried to help in aiding his condition, they eventually gave up when it became too much of a burden. Seen as unworthy and unable to remember his humanity, they let him die. Illness is not a personal matter; it affects an entire family. Its financial, caretaking, and social implications drastically shift the family dynamic. Although situations of illness reveal opportunity for true care, support, and love, they are not always met with such saintly arms.

The symbolic approach taken by the author on the topic of language reveals the vitality of communication between man-kind. Unable to communicate his condition to his family, Gregor was further isolated and dehumanized from his human form. “Even though the others were no longer able to understand his words-though they had seemed to him clean enough, clearer than in the past.” (Kafka 40) Illness is an experience difficult to fully express in words, making it difficult to understand from a foreign eye. Although fully felt by the patient himself, its expression to others is difficult, only adding to its misunderstanding. Gregor was unable to communicate his feelings and inner state to his family members, but his story communicates it to his readers. To a certain degree, the Health Humanities serve as the ultimate language for illness. They attempt to paint the experiences of sickness and disease through a narrative and symbolic language, not just words alone.

Although human illness is far from becoming a beetle, the experiences strike a resemblance.

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One specific image from “The Metamorphosis” is the door to Gregor’s room that separates him physically and emotionally from his family and the outside world during his transformation. At the start of his transformation, “The door could not be heard slamming; they had probably left it open, as is the custom in home where a great misfortune has occurred” (Kafka). This was initially after the transformation but as time went on Gregor, who used to be very financially responsible for the family and now could not work, was seen more as a burden to his family. The door then closed. Gregor tries to open this door and connect with his family but they are horrified by his appearance. This door becomes a barrier that prevents his family from fully acknowledging his humanity. Gregor becomes very confined behind this door which is his imprisonment and he begins to see his fate. This feeling of isolation has significant impacts of illness, not only affecting the patient but those responsible for taking care of them.

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A symbol that resonated with me was the bedsheet Gregor covered himself with in order to relieve his family. For days, Gregor painfully watched the fear on his sister's face and listened to his parents' grievances. Eventually, to spare his sister, Gregor “spent four hours carrying the bed sheet over to the couch and arranged it so that he was completely covered” (Kafka, 35). I think the bedsheet is representative of how patients' feelings can be overlooked in an attempt to make family members happy. Sometimes, illnesses make patients unrecognizable. For Gregor, his experience was more extreme as he became a bug and his family viewed him as a monster. However, his attempts to cover himself while hoping to ease his family's discomfort reminds me of Audre Lord’s cancer experience. Similarly, Lorde was expected to cover her chest in the case that she refused breast implants. But this expectation was for the comfort of others, not herself. For patients, this expectation of putting others' needs before your own is also representative of the loneliness illness creates.

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The image of Gregor’s family in the living room doing work describes how illness changes family dynamics. Before Gregor turned into a beetle, he was the only one supporting the family financially. After he becomes a beetle, however, his family picks up jobs to be able to continue the lifestyle they currently live. The book mentions that his mother “would be sewing ladies’ underthings for as dress shop,” his sister, “would had taken a job as a salesgirl, was studying stenography and French in the evenings so to possibly to move to a better position later on,” and his father, prior to this, picked up a job as a Porter (Kafka 86). All the family had to scramble to find jobs once Gregor became a beetle/’ill’, adding more stress to the situation. This also represents how in real-life situations when someone must be hospitalized, families sometimes must produce extra money to live their lives and pay the hospital bills.

Kafka, Franz, and Susan Bernofsky. The Metamorphosis: A New Translation. WW Norton & Co, 2014.

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The metamorphosis story by Franz Kafka started with a salesman named Gregor who finds himself transformed into a bug in the morning. "As Gregor Samsa awoke from unsettling dreams one morning, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstruous vermin “(Kafka 7).

After his transformation, Gregor becomes a functionless and embarrassing eyesore in his house, where the family he used to take care of neglect him to the point of death. In the end of story, he died due to lack of food and we can clearly see his family’s feeling of relieve and comfort after his death. Looking at the dead body of Gregor, “let’s give thanks to God for that”, Mr. Samsa said (Kafka 42). The major theme for the story is the ugly side of human nature which is alienation. In this story, Gregor is clearly alienated after he transform into a bug while his appearance only changes (while he could feel everything)– his mother faints at the sight of him, his boss runs away, and his father violently forces him back into the room.

The character of Gregor shows a dedicated man who was taking care of his family and working to pay for their debts. Even after he transformed to an insect, he was thinking about his job. This part of story shows us how we are prioritizing secondary things in our lives and forgets about our essential needs.

In other hand, if we looked to the story, we would realize that metamorphosis depicts physical and mental illnesses that people are struggling with. This story shows how important care giving and the way taking care of patients should be done is important. Behaving with a patient like a human without considering his/her illness, giving them the respect, support, feeling of being heard and seen forms a big part of healthcare. This story truly says that healthcare is not just treating a disease throughout a medical procedure; it also addresses the patient's anxiety, psychological status, personal, social, and spiritual factors that may affect the healing process and communication.

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In Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis", we can observe the struggle of a family to adapt to a whole new situation, both emotional and financial. A phrase that represents a specific impact of illness is "Hearing these words from his mother made Gregor realised that the lack of any direct human communication, along with the monotonous life led by the family during these two months, must have made him confused-". In this part of the novella we can understand the direct effect of an illness, being more lonely and also the impact that it has on the family because he needed help and his sister had to sacrifice many aspects from her life so that she can take care of him. Also, reffering to the family situation, the other members of the family had to find jobs because Gregor couldn't take care of them anymore. We can actually say that time froze for the family.

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Gregors transformation to an insect serves as a powerful metaphor on how illness can isolate and dehumanize the individual affected. In Gregor's new state, his family now perceives him as an incomprehensible, non-human entity. "For since he himself could not be understood, it occurred to no one, not even his sister, that he could understand the others." (Kafka 60) Although Gregor is still mentally intact and capable of understanding his family's words and actions, he is unable to communicate his thoughts and feelings effectively. This miscommunication and isolation contribute to the overall sense of despair and disconnect, emphasizing the emotional and psychological impact of Gregor's transformation on both himself and his family. While this quote represents the breakdown of communication barriers as a result of Gregor's metamorphosis, the isolation and lack of understanding he feels are in many ways similar to a serious illness. The patient may feel alienated from their loved ones and society, as their condition may alter their ability to communicate in familiar ways.

Kafka, Franz. Metamorphosis. 1915. S.L., Arcturus Publishing Ltd, 2018.

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An image that stuck out to me was the apple from the scene where Gregor gets into a fight with his family and his father becomes violent against him. It really struck a cord with me in terms of GHH because people become weaker when they find themselves with a new health condition. The feeling of weakness brings defenselessness which is a horribly isolating feeling. It says, "his father gave him a hefty shove that sent him, squeaking faintly, flying across the floor of the landing", using language like "squeaking" and "faintly" to show his subservience to his father who was once the same physically as him. Already suffering with the feelings of isolation and alienation from the person he once was, having the people he loves not be there for them adds to the isolation. It also reminded me of the importance of family visiting hours. When feeling isolated, being denied things you find comfort in can be traumatizing to patients. Another idea that the apple and attack against Gregor reminded me of was the difficulty that families have coming to terms with the new form of the person that they have always known. While his father is clearly in the wrong for the violence, coming to terms with changes in a loved one is difficult.

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A symbol in this novel that I thought was interesting is the door to Gregor's room. In the beginning of the book Gregors state was hidden by a locked door undiscovered, unknown to his family. It took time for Gregor to eventually open the lock on his door revealing his new state,  but once he did he was meant by surprise,  disgust, and fear. The doors in the scene were said to be a double door,  large enough for everyone to see him and large enough for him to get out. But in the midst of the chaos one of the doors closes leaving an opening barely large enough for Gregor to squeeze through. Symbolizing almost shoving feelings and unwanted thoughts in a box and tucking them away Gregor's father then forces him back into his room “But when he finally succeeded in positioning his head in front of the doorway,  it turned out that his body was too wide to fit through the opening. And of course and his father's current state it could not possibly have occurred to him to open the doors of another wing to create an adequate Passage.”(Kafka 50). The small door i believe represents the outlook Gregor's family has on him.Not having an open mindset about his condition. Knowing about his illness they want to hide it away and pretend like it does not exist, much like some people do with diagnoses in healthcare today, it's what I do with a lot of problems I have, I just tape anything that hurts, take some advil and hope it goes away while not doing much to help it. As the novel progresses the door crack gets smaller leaving him trapped in a dark room with almost no contact to the world around him, forgotten. Towards the end of the book he is so ignored and forgotten by his family that even though the crack in the door is large enough for him to look out of, no one even realizes he's there. Illness is not something that can be put into a box and ignored, because even though you can no longer see it or choose to ignore the signs it is still there.