Kafka

"His sister no longer took thought to bring him what might especially please him, but in the morning and at noon before she went to business hurriedly pushed into his room with her foot any food that was available, and in the evening cleared it out again wit one sweep of the broom, heedless of whether it had been merely tasted, or - as most frequently happened- left untouched."(125)

In Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, the transformation of the character Gregor from a man to one of the most repellent insects, a cockroach, may seem exaggerated and ridiculous, becoming more so over the course of the story as the action builds and emotions become more charged. Kafka’s intention, however, is to expose and explore the impoverishment of human psychology with respect to the ways in which changes in one’s circumstances and conditions reshape notions of justice and mercy.

The story begins with Gregor waking up in bed and finding out that he’s just turned into a vermin, probably a roach. Upon discovering his state, Gregor’s mother sobs and later faints, while his father reacts with great anger. However, they make no attempt to change him back. Gregor does want to find a “cure”, but must give up almost from the start, when he loses his ability to speak. Once he’s unable to communicate, Gregor becomes a mere observer of the world around him. At the same time, this isolation evokes a series of startling revelations and actions from his parents and sister, triggered by their assumption that he can no longer understand what they say and their belief that he has lost all human traits.The revulsion he evokes leads to his mother's ill health and his father's violence. Mr. Samsa chases him with sticks, rolled up newspapers and even fruit "now pitching one apple after another." An apple lodges in Gregor's back forever in an act of abuse: instead of caring for family members, an abuser hurts them, often via withholding food, money, and love.What ultimately killed Gregor Samsa was not the physical experience of becoming an insect; it was people's cruelty to him as a result.Kafka’s The Metamorphosis is an exaggerated symbolic tale that tackles an ambitious number of themes. One of the most important of these is the collapse of justice and mercy, even among those people who are expected to be most fair and compassionate.