Metamorphosis

I've had nightmares because of work, but I''ve never had Gregor's out of body exxperience where he wakes up one morning and finds that he's become a giant beetle. Kafka's surreal novel - perhaps the first to employ magical realism - .is a tour du force. Gregor, who has been supporting his family (why is left unclear), now must remain locked in his room because his appearance is too unsettling to everyone. Faced with the necessity of survival, his parents and sister now find employment and gradually become more self-suffcient. As this happens, Gregor finds his life draining away. When he finally dies, his family becomes fully actualized.

A fascinating and fast read. A bizarre coming of age story under the ruse of a thriller.

A great classic.

A truly strange story. I actually found it more sad than anything else, people stuck in impossible situations just trying to find some sense of normalcy again, forever out-of-reach. I read it a bit as a metaphor for having an chronically ill or disabled member of the family, someone who suddenly is not the active, capable breadwinner they once were, presenting a double-burden to the family which had built its lifestyle around their contributions. A really thought-provoking weird tragedy.

My rating: 4.5 of 5 starsSource: BBC Radio 4 Extra'I cannot make you understand. I cannot make anyone understand what is happening inside me. I cannot even explain it to myself.'Imagine you go to bed one night with nothing out of the ordinary occurring only to wake up to find you have transformed into a monstrous insect overnight. Your family can no longer communicate with you, they no longer can even stand to look at you. You've become repulsive and abhorrent for seemingly no apparent reason. What do you do?Everyone has heard of The Metamorphosis, Kafka's literary masterpiece, a book that is obviously more than meets the eye. The story possessed a dream-like quality where nothing is ever considered appropriately, as Gregor accepted his transformation into insect form a lot more readily than one might normally. Many have attempted to form their own interpretations of the story but I personally can't see it being anything other than a metaphor. While there are bound to be several different opinions on this, this is what I came up with:Up until that life altering morning Gregor led an uneventful life where he worked constantly to support his family and in turn they steadily grew unproductive the more they began to depend on him. Gregor travels so often for work that communication between him and his family begins to cease and most importantly his family stops being appreciative of all he does for them and instead begins to simply expect it. That fateful morning he woke and began to contemplate his job and how terrible he finds it and if he didn't have his parents to worry about he would have "given in my notice a long time ago, I'd have gone up to the boss and told him just what I think, tell him everything I would, let him know just what I feel." The more and more he dwells on this the more he realizes what he does for them, what they don't do and how his work ethic in order to support his family has in turn alienated them from him. By becoming the sole breadwinner of the family he transformed himself into an outsider, the transformation only becoming a physical interpretation when he realizes that himself.I've never read Kafka before having always found myself intimidated by his works. When I discovered that the BBC Radio had produced a recording of this being read by Benedict Cumberbatch I jumped on the opportunity and I am so glad I did. I had listened to a clip of the audiobook that was released by Blackstone Audio and narrated by Ralph Cosham... that audiobook sat on my phone for so long I forgot about it because it sounded dreadfully dull. Benedict Cumberbatch truly brought this story to life and made this a real treat for me.

I read that Kafka should be tackled before Camus. I believe it is true.

The first I have read of Kafka's works, and one I was more than happy to engage in. Short and sharp, with an eeringly beautiful approach to human isolation and emotion.

Great audiobook, I'm not sure I liked the story, though ?

At first, I can't bear reading this book. It was about a person who turned into a bug. It was disgusting. I hate bugs. But towards the middle and end part you begin to feel sympathy for Gregor. Who wants to be a bug? It was something he did not choose. i just felt bad for him and how his family treated him. It actually made me cry in the end. This one classic book everyone should read.

Cool cult book. The story is is sufficiently creepy and interesting to make you want to read it till the end.

We all undergo transformations throughout our lives which changes our perspective, our behavior and the way we see others. It can also radically change the ways in which our friends, family and acquaintances see us. This Kafka novella takes this premise to the extreme, and asks what would happen if one were to transform into the most hideous thing possible- a giant repulsive bug. One could substitute almost anything for the bug analogy and the story would seem just as relevant. This is a remarkable experiment in creative fiction that has not aged one bit.

the family of Gregor provide a morbid, yet griping view of the human souls' capacity for compassion.

Like all great books there's something for everyone - in that I mean the many layers that exist can be pentrated (or not) depending upon your entry point, perspective or state of mind at the time of reading the novel. A bad dream, a schizophrenic nightmare you cant wake up from, the viscereal reaction of the community to a misunderstood or feared disease or the simply the sense that most people suck. The fact that the "the great one's" are thought to have found inspiration in this novel should tell you everything.

A tight story that’s more than just about a man who turns into an insect: it’s a family tragedy.

Metamorphosis is a novella written by Franz Kafka. It's a tragic parable about a man who wakes up as an insect and the subsequent exclusion from society and eventually, his family.
This is so wonderfully written and paced and the message, so strong in its dark tones, is very balanced with the narrative, making it a pleasure to read.
In trying to find a similar work, I can think only of Orwell's "Animal Farm", with its strong message also perfectly intertwined with it's narrative. The difference is I find Kafka's writing style more alluring, more poignant.

I opened it, planning to read only a bit of the beginning and ended up reading all of it without getting up from the chair.
I suspect I'll be reading this many more times.

I feel sorry for Gregor..??? should explain why he turned into an insect..

A man wakes up one day to find he has been changed into a large insect/beetle. The story follows his efforts to deal with this, and his family's reaction to the change. But it's not just a story about a man turning into a beetle, it's a clever way of writing about how a family would deal with the main breadwinner in the house becoming unable to work, and also on a wider scope, the way a family (and the world at large) reacts to someone who is disabled, or terminally ill. It could also be an analogy for how a family treats a member of the family who is now old and needs to be cared for. The man who is now a beetle, is forced to live in his room, shut away from the world, for fear that he will frighten anyone who enters the house. The man who once provided for the family, and thought of them above himself, has now become a burden on them, as they are now short of money, and have to find employment. The once able and hard-working man, transformed into a beetle, is now rejected, and his family blame him for their financial situation and the fact that they cannot move to a smaller house, because they need to have a room to keep him in.The descriptive quality of the writing is excellent, and although it is a sad and gruesome tale, it is also very funny in parts; I couldn't help laughing out loud a couple of times.The main thing that struck me, was that even though this story is nearly 100 years old, it is still totally relevant to today's world (and I'm not sure that's something we should be proud of).

What an odd short novel. If you have never read this before, it is basically about a guy who wakes up as a giant bug. He can't leave his house or communicate with his family. We read his thoughts and he is very optimistic that his family will help him out. Then we see his family repulsed by him in every possible way. That is really all there is to the story and I found it to be really bizarre. Good to have read, but I am not sure I was in the right frame of mind to deeply analyze its meaning.

Better than I remembered. Gregor transformed from a miserable drone working for an unappreciative family and an unappreciative employer into a miserable bug who is forced to hide in his room from his family. This family, little by little, transforms themselves into actual living creatures. All get jobs, all "come out" of their shells (bad pun), all improve. Only Gregor declines and dies, never once feeling any resentment toward those who transformed him from a person into a bug by their parasitic dependence. Fantastic story, incredible matter-of-fact narration.

I came across this book by accident, having learned that it was considered classic, and having missed it during my schooling days, and on whim finding it free on Project Gutenberg, and realizing that it's small story worth reading in few sittings.Opening premise in first line sends a shock wave. It's strange, mildly amusing, and not yet clear where the story will go. However, story is captivating from get-go. For once, this classic lives up to its such designation. For another, despite my surprise at myself, I wasn't bothered about reason of this metamorphosis nor did absence of that took anything away from the story. Usually, ridiculous hypothetical premise of story which is not resolved till end is buzz-kill for me, but Kafka's work transcends that feeling, perhaps by not pretending to be anywhere close to science fiction and by tugging heart at right places. It is science fiction in its premise, but it is not, otherwise.Of course, somethings in story bother you. I am amazed that rest of world wasn't throbbing Samsas' house to see the transformation, and that they could keep it as mildly horrifying novelty, despite their maid, Gregor's senior clerk, and their tenants having observed themselves. How could neighbors, police, scientists, and crowd be kept at abeyance from such rare happenstance? Another convenient coincidence was Gregor's end, brought out without much premonition.What's most amazing is that while story isn't really fast paced, it just seems to keep you on hook. Story from perspective of vermin, of course, helps a lot. Challenges of adjusting to new life, phases of grief displayed by family in handling him, poignancy of whole situation tugs your heart and brought tear drops in my eyes near the end. I am tempted to be angry at his family, but I cannot be seeing what they did under such extraordinary circumstances. I cannot be unsympathetic to Gregor though, for he is such a gentle soul, struggling himself yet always keeping his virtues and noble character to guide his actions.It's simple story, with multiple interpretations, all likely wrong, but which will keep you haunting long after you have read it.

A very realistic story about a completely unrealistic event. I love how Kafka describes an absurd occurrence like it's a very natural thing and nothing to be surprised at, and how he gives a completely realistic account of the consequences and behaviour of the people involved.

As vivid and horrid the writing and description of each scene was, I still find the ending rather bland. It might be mt fault for missing the entire point of the story, but I can't help but feel that, I expected more from the ending.

You have to read Kafka at least once in your lifetime. To tremble with the hero of a story, to hope for an happy ending? Not with this author. With Kafka, one learns quickly that the ending of a story is closed to any possible influence by the reader; the ending just has to happen and the reader cannot do anything against it. When you read how Samsa is being transformed into a bug and is then being treated to death by his family, than that is quiet kafkaesk.

"Die Verwandlung" ist wohl eines der meistinterpretierten Bücher im deutschsprachigen, als auch im englischsprachigen Schulwesen. Hier entführt uns Kafka in eine Geschichte, in der der Handelsreisende Gregor Samsa, der alleine für seine Familie sorgen muss, sich plötzlich in einen Riesenkäfer verwandelt, sodass die Familie auf sich selbst gestellt ist. Von allen Interpretationen gefällt mir immer noch die am besten, dass sich Gregors "Inneres" nach "außen" gekehrt habe. Kafka hat gerne lange Sätze geschrieben, sodass es für ungeübte Leser am Anfang schwierig erscheint, der Geschichte zu folgen. Man kann über "Die Verwandlung" denken, was man möchte, aber diese Geschichte lässt einem aufgrund ihrer Surrealität äußerst viel Raum für Interpretationen und das allein zeugt von einer gewissen Qualität.

            Throughout time, the great reads occasionally change and morph from one generation to the next, one century to another; however, some works of literature have withstood the test of time with miraculous vigor.  One of these exceedingly antiqued pieces is The Metamorphosis, a bizarre web spun for us by Franz Kafka.  Although originally concieved in Austria-Hungary nearly a century ago, The Metamorphosis has been affecting lives and, through them, history, all this time.  As long as readers continue to recognize the timeless truth revealed in The Metamorphosis about both humanity and life, people will continue to ponder over it and assign a meaning of their own.There is much debate over the purpose of Gregor's transformation in Kafka's abstract masterpiece and despite the ambiguity (and universality) of such a piece, many critics claim a self appointed truth.  However, as a reader, difficulty becomes stressed upon the necessity to form unique and valued opinions even when alternative realities presented without question bombard said reader at every turn.  The sheer obscurity of The Metamorphosis alone is enough to topple anyone's perspective of the difference between dreams and reality, and yet even that is made abundantly clear by the second paragraph of Kafka's slim novella: "It was no dream" (Kafka 3). Although Kafka’s intent may seem clear, settling down with the idea that perhaps The Metamorphosis lives in a setting with it's own standard of universal normalcies causes discomfort.  Alas, Kafka provides no explanation for Gregor's unexpected transformation, and rather strands the reader after sentence one.  "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed. . .into a monstrous vermin" (Kafka 3).  Unlike the typical style of writing, Kafka introduces the climax of his masterpiece in the first sentence of the novella and leaves the rest of the story to gradual degeneration.  Not to say that Kafka's writing is, in any way, less superior throughout the rest of The Metamorphosis, but rather that the highest point in the plot is Gregor’s transformation from human to bug; nothing from the remainder of the novella tops that.  But the point remains that finding an anchoring idea from The Metamorphosis is challenging; the conflict between knowledge and reality remain extraordinarily pertinent but are left for the reader to decide based on their own standards.In order to decipher any meaning from The Metamorphosis, the reader must first question the reality and knowledge of the Samsa household.  In our realm of reality, waking up as a bug is considered an impossibility, yet when Gregor is first revealed to his family they appear to recognize him as their son and brother.   It is clear that although Gregor states that he is a dung-beetle, the family recognizes him as the person they have always known: "Let me go to Gregor, he is my unfortunate boy!"  (Kafka 31).  In the novella's closing commentary, Luke states that Kafka succeeded in creating a bitter reality in The Metamorphosis by reminding his readers that the responses of those around Gregor "are always psychologically 'true'" (Corngold 67).  One could draw from this that there is a possibility that Gregor has not gone through any transformation at all and is merely suffering from a series of delusions.  Binion repeatedly validates this idea, stating that "It all falls within the narrative convention, corresponding as it does to the hero's ironic attitude toward his own symptoms" (Corngold 64).  However, the theory of delusion also has its gaps.  If one were to assume that no real transformation has occurred, and perhaps suspect another alternative –for example, Gregor's metamorphosis as a metaphor for sickness– then one would have to deal with the parts of text that treat Gregor in distinctly animalistic ways.  Not only is Gregor literally sleeping under a couch, but the Samsa family simply does not treat Gregor like a human. Upon Gregor's first appearance from his room, his father has the sole intention of causing harm to Gregor; "...and stamping his feet, started brandishing the cane and the newspaper to drive Gregor back into his room" (Kafka 18).  This act of violence suggests that Gregor does not merely believe himself to be a bug, but rather has gone through a physical transformation.  But it is not just the father who treats Gregor with cruelty.  Although the women of the house do not commit crimes of such brutality, they still occur.  Midway through the novella, Gregor accuses all three family members of ceasing communication with him: "...not a soul had addressed a word directly to him" (Kafka 33).  Gregor says this, and other similar ideas, with bitterness toward his family for his new found treatment.  But surely if Gregor is merely sick, the family would do all that they could to comfort him, and yet they do not.  Gregor's narrative also supports this conclusion of Gregor's remaining sanity; not only does Gregor describe his bug-like characteristics, but also his daily activities which all indicate that his transformation is literal and real.  After a short adjustment period, Gregor is eating garbage, climbing on walls and supporting a festering apple in his "armored" back. So why then -one must ask themself- has Gregor gone from a Family Supporting Salesman to a Dung-Beetle in the course of a night?  This question has troubled many scholars even if the Samsa's are not particularly bothered by it.  Reader responses vary with individual perspectives, however the main ideas revolve around analyzing The Metamorphosis as either a tale of religious interpretation, or that of Kafka's autobiography.  Weinberg views The Metamorphosis in religious perimeters but also considers Gregor's transformation as incredibly negative, which he supports with the original translation of the German word used to describe Gregor, namely "an unclean animal not suited for sacrifice" (Corngold 66).  It should also be noted that although Gregor does his best to make his existence as an insect painless for his household, he is slowly banned from all contact with the other members of his family.  Weinbergh also mentions that he sees the religious references as "a literary play with the religious connotations of [Kafka's] images" (Corngold 63).  And after studying Kafka's diary entries from the time, Corngold adds that "Kafka's deepest concern in 1912 is for literature and not for religion..." (Corngold 63).  Holland however was able to find numerous biblical references in his reading of The Metamorphosis: "The description of Gregor's boss has breadth enough to apply not just to a petty office tyrant, but even to an Old Testament God...  Read this way, the debt that Gregor assumed for his parents and must pay resembles original sin"  (Corngold 73).  Although this interpretation is extreme for some readers, Holland does bring up a fair point that, like Christ, Gregor gives up his life and could arguably be dying for the sins of others.After studying Kafka's diary entries for himself, Sokel provided perhaps the strongest evidence that The Metamorphosis was meant as a biography: "The position of Gregor's room is, by the way, an exact duplicate of the position of Franz Kafka's room in the apartment of Herr Hermann Kafka..." Sokel goes on to quote an excerpt from Kafka's diary in 1912 that states, "When I lay on the sofa [I hear] the loud talking in the room on either side of me, by the women on the left, by the men on the right..." (Corngold 69).  The members of both Kafka's and Gregor's families communicate through his room "as if [he] were not a human being at all or in any case not an adult, a situation which actually becomes a reality with his transformation" (Corngold 69).    And so it becomes increasingly apparent that perhaps Kafka was merely depicting his own life and his self image through The Metamorphosis: his family relations, self-value, and the way he views his role in the family.  If that is the case, then it is easy to conclude  how demeaned one in that position might feel in relation to their family.  The extreme lack of affection and respect (particularly demonstrated by his father) causes great pain to both Gregor and Franz Kafka.  But more similarities between Kafka's life and The Metamorphosis exist, as Dalmau Castanon points out: "Gregor's 'slight dull pain' is one of several signs pointing to a concealed symptomatology of tuberculosis within The Metamorphosis" (Corngold 71) and it is noted through historical references that Franz Kafka had already been afflicted with tuberculosis in 1912 which would eventually kill him. The debate continues over right and wrong, but with a well-rounded understanding, one can easily communicate and sympathize with one another's opinions.  Religion, family, and Kafka himself all play a role in deciphering The Metamorphosis, but ultimately there is no grand conclusion, no final answer.  Until a time has come that we can all hold different opinions in peace, I'm afraid that we must stick to the Reader's Response theory of analytical critique, after all, The Metamorphosis means nothing to me if I had never assigned it meaning. 

This has to one of the most unique stories ever written and is testament to Kafka's genius in conjuring up such powerful nightmarish, weird, absurd and enigmatic, but ultimately deeply moving and human in few pages.

read this twice, once in college and again in 2009. It is a creepy book but that is not the point. The point is that it examines identity and alienation. It is a classic of existential literature.

One of the most famous opening lines in literature: "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect." Well, this will certainly be a day unlike all others.A classic work of expressionism. A metaphor for what happens to an individual when he lives a life he loathes, for extreme alienation and rebellion. What the reader brings to the text will inform his or her interpretation, and that makes the work all the more extraordinary.

This story made me sad for Gregor appeared to be unappreciated. He worked so hard to provide for his family but they are quick to dismiss him as nothing but nuisance when he was no longer productive.

Gregor Samsa lives with his parents and younger sister and lives a perfectly normal life until one morning when he wakes up and finds he is now a human-sized roach. The story is an examination of how a family might react to such an event and how one might feel if this happened to him. I loved trying to imagine life as a roach.