The Metamorphosis

Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. 2011. 201p. 159 mins. ISBN 9781937028121. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

As a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa rarely sleeps at home. On the few occasions he gets to sleep in his bed, he relishes the experience. So when he awakens in his own bed one morning only to discover that he’s been transformed into a giant insect, Gregor is at first concerned that he is late for work. Somehow he slept through his alarm and missed his train for work, and surely his manager is already on his way here to see what the matter is and ask why Gregor is being such a bad employee. The metamorphosis from a human being to a bug is only of secondary importance to Gregor, who is the family’s sole breadwinner. He really must get ready for work.

But moving around as an insect is simply too hard, especially if one is not used to it. Soon the manager comes to Gregor’s bedroom door, and he orders that Gregor open his door. Encouraged by his parents through the left door as well as by his sister through the right door, Gregor struggles in his insect body to unlock, then open the door. His sudden appearance when the door finally opens shocks the manager, his parents, and his sister. Gregor quickly loses his job, has trouble finding food he likes, and finds himself unable to communicate with his loved ones.

As Gregor’s life slowly devolves, he remains as sharp as ever, but can only witness the absurd circumstances that rendered him even more of an outsider than he already was, alienated from all but his own thoughts. Gregor’s guilt and loneliness is not enough to encourage him to leave his family, and as he observes new family dynamics change, he realizes that he’s the one holding them back. A classic for the ages, Kafka’s story of alienation remains current even today.