Honors English III

Ms. Lehre (2B)

Metamorphosis Theme Essay
Before a butterfly receives its elegant patterns and beauty, it ust live the life of a
soe!hat lesser cherished insect, the caterpillar. "he caterpillars strives for survival,
through the countless perils it faces fro its predators and environent. "he final step of
the aturity of the caterpillar involves the etaorphosis phase. #ran$ %af&a's The
Metamorphosis proceeds along a siilar course of action, allo!ing the protagonist
(regor )asa to face the hardships of huanity before liberating hi into the blissful
life of a verin, !hich eventually leads to death as !ell as freedo fro the claps of
society. "hrough the course of the novella, #ran$ %af&a incorporates nuerous instances
that depict the various hardships an individual faces in a succession to!ards his*her
etaorphosis.
#ro the start of the novella, %af&a characteri$es (regor as the sole bread!inner
of the faily. "his portrayal of the protagonist highlights the financial+based relationship
shared bet!een the faily and its only son. "he poverty stric&en lifestyle led by the
)asas places great strain upon such a relationship, thus leading (regor's parents to vie!
their son not as a part of the faily, but rather as an asset. (regor, though in the prie
years of his life, attepts to ,get the oney together, !ithin five to si- years, and pay off
.his/ parents' debt01 (2345). (regor's faily obligations force hi to stay under the
burden created by his parents. (regor feels the constant need to attain oney for his
faily by !or&ing at an e-ceptionally grueling occupation that re6uires his utost focus
and concentration. His stressful vocation furthers in severity !ith the &no!ledge that the
people of his faily possess no viable !ill po!er to !or&. (regor ,!or&.s/ !ith special
ardor1 in order to ,earn enough oney to eet the e-penses of the entire faily1 (2375,
2378). In essence, (regor's etaorphosis signals his lac& of vitality to continue his
seeingly never+ending 9ourney of financial uncertainty. :espite the transforation's
purpose of helping (regor alleviate his stress, his ind still lingers on the fact that all the
,peace, the cofort, the contentent .!ould/ coe to a horrible end1 (237;). "his
further ephasi$es the fact that (regor is in dire need of a change in his life in order to
allo! hi to reevaluate the iportance of life.
<long !ith the over!heling aounts of stress, (regor feels the isolation that
accopanies the life of a travelling salesan. His profession entails the ,0torture of
travelling, eating iserable food, and constantly seeing ne! faces, .!ith/ no relationships
that last or get ore intiate1 (234=). )iilar to the relationships that he shares !ith his
faily, (regor's interactions !ith others are &ept to a bare iniu. He depicts the
persona of a !or&aholic !ho sees no otives in life other than those pertaining to !or&.
"hroughout the story, this unfortunate isolation reains evident, as ,(regor shuts hiself
off altogether1 and only rarely a&es contact !ith the ebers of his faily (237>).
"his seclusion stes fro his grotes6ue appearance, !hich causes a violent reaction
!hen seen by ebers of his faily. #ro the very first oents (regor notices his
change, (regor feels a sense of an-ious anticipation to!ards the shunning that !ill ta&e
place subse6uent to his failies' discovery of the etaorphosis. He cae to the point
!here he 6uestions !hether ,he should really call for help?1 (234>). His trepidation
indicates his ac&no!ledgent of his faily's feelings to!ards hi for the fact that they
!ill no longer find hi useful due to his verinous for. (regor's transforation
teaches (regor the true iplications of eternal seclusion and ho! the continuation of a
constant state of solitude leads to ultiate deise. <fter the first fe! !ee&s of his
transforation, ,(regor hardly ate anything anyore1, since he proved unable to
deterine an ade6uate reason to aintain his vitality (223=). Even his sister, the one
huan for !ho still attepted to &eep contact !ith (regor, distances herself as a result
of not receiving ac&no!ledgeent fro her brother. <fter his sister begins to stop
perforing her duties, (regor feels unbelievably isolated and thus decides to stop
consuing food. (regor's etaorphosis taught hi the sheer destruction caused by the
neglection of others.
@learly evident fro his original life style, (regor fails to assert a clear identity
for hiself in society. <fter the years of laboring for his faily, (regor's iage of being
a part of the faily slo!ly deteriorates to the point !here his role in his faily no longer
holds the value it used to. (regor's etaorphosis gives (regor a chance to start ane!
!ith his faily and their perceptions of hi. In addition to the faily, the cleaning lady
also guides (regor through the process of creating a ne! identity. Essentially, she sees
to regard (regor curiously, as if he is an individual rather than a onster. Anli&e
(regor's faily ebers, the cleaning !oan purposefully ais to catch a glipse of
(regor, as she tends to ,open the door .of (regor's roo/ a crac& every orning and
every evening1 (223=). "his tendency reveals that outside individuals ay regard
(regor's appearance !ith a!e, since large bugs lac& prevalence in everyday life. "his in
turn, helps (regor reestablish his identity. Ho!ever, (regor's faily vie!s hi !ith
disdain, ainly because he used to serve as the source of incoe for the faily. In this
!ay, it sees apparent that the faily's desire to ,try .and/ get rid of .(regor/1 stes
fro the disappointent that the faily feels as a result of the transforation, not
(regor's appearance itself (223>). "his preise gains further authority based upon the
actions of the individuals !ho rent a roo in the )asa household. Bhen they initially
see (regor, they see to act enthralled and only gro! irritated after Mr. )asa attepts
to disguise (regor's appearance. )o, in essence, the cleaning !oan's reaction to the
situation differs fro the )asa faily's reaction ainly because the situation does not
onetarily ipact the forer in the !ay that it affects the latter. "hrough the conflicting
vie!s of his faily and strangers, (regor reinstates his individuality through his
verinous for.
:espite the enority of the contribution that (regor provides for his faily to
sustain soe!hat of a living standard, the etaorphosis overshado!s his benevolence.
In addition to d!arfing his unificence, the transforation helps uncover the faily's
perspective of the role of (regor. Crior to the transforation, (regor's oney sees as a
anifested right for the )asa faily. Ho!ever, follo!ing the etaorphosis ,His
father considered only the strictest treatent for dealing !ith hi1 (2377). Mr. )asa's
polari$ed vie!s fro before and after the change clearly portray his vie! of (regor as a
ere investent ,gone bad.1 In addition to the reinforceent of rules, the father also
decides it necessary to &eep vital financial inforation fro (regor. Mr. )asa's
decision to !ithhold inforation about the business' collapse fro (regor deonstrates
his soe!hat underhanded character, since he prefers to force soeone else to !or&
e-treely hard for oney !hile he sits bac& and rela-es. In short, he causes (regor to
ai to ,do everything in his po!er to a&e the faily forget the business disaster1 by
a&ing oney through his grueling occupation (2375). Bithout a doubt, this !ithheld
inforation ade (regor !or& doubly as hard, since it forced (regor to consistently
&eep the faily's struggles in ind. Ho!ever, in fact, Mr. )asa had not lost all of his
oney in this business collapse, since he still possessed a sall strongbo- filled !ith
oney fro his business. "he father continues to increase his level of cruelty by
physically abusing (regor !hen in his verin for. :uring an ,encounter1 of sorts
involving Mr. )asa and (regor, Mr. )asa inflicted an apple deep into the e-os&eleton
of (regor's verinous body. "he apple ,reained ibedded in his flesh as a visible
souvenir since no one dared to reove it0reinding .(regor's/ father that (regor !as a
eber of the faily0!ho could not be treated as an eney0but !as to be endured,
and nothing ore1 (2232). Essentially, his father seeed to constantly act in a oody
anner and thus lac&ed patience in certain atters. "his constant flo! of disgust and
contept to!ards (regor ade it iperative for (regor to ,finish1 his etaorphosis.
"hough facing an innuerable aount of probles, (regor )asa thrives
through it all, allo!ing hi to free hiself fro the constraints of a close+inded society
through his etaorphosis. #ran$ %af&a's Metamorphosis portrays the grueling
endeavors an individual faces in an attept to reach his*her o!n transforation. (regor
)asa's etaorphosis redefines his role as a eber of society, giving hi the
freedo he desired, and his faily the !ill po!er they needed.
Work Cited
%af&a, #ran$. D"he Metaorphosis.D Prentice Hall Literature: World Masterpieces.
Engle!ood @liffsE Crentice Hall, 2772. 234=+223. Crint.