“I cannot make you understand
I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me.
I cannot even explain it to myself”
-Franz Kafka
‘Metamorphosis’ is a captivating novel on existentialism, written by Franz Kafka, a German-speaking, Bohemian novelist and short-story writer. I finished this book in about 2-3 hours. Though short, it is a deeply profound book, relevant in all times.
The protagonist Gregor Samsa, a salesman, wakes up one morning to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect . The story develops as Samsa and his family struggle to understand and cope with his transformation. Through Samsa's family’s perspective, the author reveals how society reacts to change or transformation. With his symbolic and cryptic
writing style, Kafka discretely plants ideas on alienation, existentialism, and disillusionment in the reader’s mind. Even though Samsa is physically transformed, at the core he is the same person. However, the change is overwhelming and confusing as well as very hard to deal with, without the support of his loved ones. We also watch how Samsa struggles to hold onto his humanity. Parts of the story are vague, since they do not clarify or describe how and why Gregor had transformed.
The story is a reflection of Kafka’s own life. His conflicts, dilemmas, loneliness and
transformation. I thoroughly enjoyed Kafka’s writing style. He does not impose his beliefs nor does he try very hard to explain his ideologies. This novel can mean different things to different people. I realize that, that is the beauty of his writing. Its all up to the reader.
Change is beautiful, yet it's complicated and challenging. Transformation happens from within, but if we have an emotional support system around us, it can ease the burden and pain of it. Usually, society is intimidated by the idea of change. Instead of welcoming a person's growth/ transformation, we isolate and alienate them. As George Orwell once said in his book 1984, “Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood. Yes. the least we can do is try to understand