A touchy classic was the theme of September. We landed on Kafka’s Metamorphosis. This is a story that follows Gregor Samsa, a young, unhappy salesman who is transformed into an insect overnight. He is seen to be the sole provider for his dependent and mostly – emotionally abusive family. The transformation is quite horrifying to them, more so because it dawns he will be unable to leave the house and work.
Divided into three parts, Kafka takes his time to show the slow alienation of Gregor in his family – from being the provider to now being a burden and some sort of responsibility to his sister, mother, father and housemaid. At first, the family is startled at this change. They come to terms he will not go to work any more. His manager is even scared of him. Next, they try to accommodate him, planning his diet and rearranging the furniture in his room.
To save his family from any sort of embarrassment or panic, he hides from their sight however possible. He eavesdrops on his family through a slit on his room's door to understand their state. He feels ashamed of himself that he could not live up to his family's expectations (financially). He is drawn back. He realizes that his identity as a human is fading and his family is disconnecting with him over time.
Eventually, the family concludes they can’t really keep up with his presence. And thereby their conclusion on Gregor’s case!
The short story comes up with powerful themes of freedom vs obligation, alienation and isolation, identity, human worth and usefulness and the absurd. Being a bug, Gregor’s first concern is, “how am I going to get to work?”.
Join us this weekend Virtualy (Satuday 26th September at 7:00PM) as we flesh out more themes and some fascinating theories to this story. We shall also see how the story intertwines with Kafka’s real life (then) – as it gets published after a major event in his life.
Join the court, choose your side, and debate Quicksilver's twists, magic, and romance.
