The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis

By Franz Kafka

I just read this book twice in a row, read a lecture on the book by Vladmir Nabokav, and used a diagram of the layout of the house drawn by Nabokav to help me better understand and get a better picture of the book. Do not get me wrong, this book is not a hard read and it is written really straightforward but it does require thinking a little outside the box. You can read this book straightforward as a narrative, or you can read deeper into the meaning, and I found the second one being the far better option. 

Very brief synopsis: As readers we witness the life of Gregor after his transformation into a monstrous vermin and how his family reacts to this metamorphosis.

My first reading of the book left me wondering why in the world this book is studied in colleges across the United States. Ya, I liked the book but I did not understand why everybody praises it. I thought the book was innovative and as you can see from the book's first line, unique: "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin" but my understanding of the book was superficial and I understood the book at face value. I read the book for entertainment's sake, and although it was entertaining, I was missing out on a lot that the book had to offer.

I then found a few articles online that made me want to reread the book and approach with a different angle. Luckily the book is only 40-50 pages (depending on the publisher). My second reading of the book was a totally different experience than the first. I focused more on the concepts that Kafka presents and less on the fantastical storyline. In my opinion I think the book is centered around the idea of love, or lack thereof. Kafka seems to think that love is not altruistic. People only love another person when that person is meeting their needs. 

Further reading (referenced in my opening paragraph):

(http://www.kafka.org/index.php?id=191,209,0,0,1,0)

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