In the first half hour of chat I spent a lot of time talking about the author's motivation for choosing an insect as Gregor's new form, as well as talking about the characters and their motivations. I believe Kafka chose an insect because it was a grotesque creature. If he had chosen a dog, for example, the family would have had an easier time relating to him and taking care of him. They may have even decided to keep him and treat him as a pet. Because Kafka wanted the family to react negatively to Gregor's change, he chose an insect--not a widely loved animal. After I switched to talking about the characters, we discussed Gregor's motivation in the novel. Before he was turned into an insect, his whole motivation was to take care of his family to the best of his ability. When he was turned into an insect, at first, he still clung to that purpose, however, when it became clear to him that he could no longer function as any kind of breadwinner in his family--when he realized that they no longer needed him--he died quietly, accepting of his fate. The family's reaction was another thing we discussed: If you went into a family member's room and saw a giant insect in it, what would you do? There is, of course, no right or wrong answer, but in today's society most people would freak out or, as the saying goes, "shoot first and ask questions later." This family freaked out, tentatively accepted him and then dumped him when it was convenient. When it was realized that he couldn't work, all of the sudden they could. All of their old infirmities didn't seem to matter anymore and then it was inconvenient to have their son around. I think the lecture said this was Kafka commenting on nihilistic philosophy--that the family had no moral obligation towards him.
The questions I still have more revolve around how big he was as an insect--as that was unclear--and how he got to be that way. Also, was it a dream? Was it just symbolism, or are we meant to believe he actually turned into a bug?
The insect-like creature is repulsive and very alien like. It is too foreign for any of us to ever relate to. We don't understand insects at all and in fact many of us are afraid of some types. The choice for a repulsive creature, such as an insect is a perfect choice to bring distraught to the family.
ReplyDelete-William valeri
I think your analysis for why Kafka chose an insect is a good one. Insects, like the monster in *Frankenstein*, are deliberately ugly, and not also definable, as in this case.
ReplyDeleteMany people have asked so far whether Gregor was "really supposed to be" a bug. And I'd say the answer is yes. This is a work of fiction, not fact, so the author can play with reality as much as he wants. However, I think we can read Gregor's portrayal as a bug symbolically and metaphorically. He represents what society is supposed to abhor and reject.