maiaaaa's Reviews > The Metamorphosis

i read this novel for my english b IB class so here we go:

the story follows our protagonist gregor samsa as he awakes one morning as a bug. while this might be a great shock to most of us, gregor is only bothered because he can't figure out how to stand up to go to work.

throughout the story we see how the samsa family functions, and how they adapt as their only support is turned into a bug and can't provide from them anymore. while i am not a particular fan of kafka's works, i deeply resonated with the metamorphosis. i have also had moments where i am so focused on my work and what needs to be done that i barely pay attention to my own needs. the feeling of being alienated when you are no longer of use to someone, to later on be a burden and then forgotten, is something i think a lot of us fear and some of us experience. i think this story greatly encapsules how one can be subject to changes when we do not take care of ourselves, when our only tasks are those which are duties and chores instead of hobbies and activities we enjoy.

the overall depressing mood of the novel somehow foreshadowed the end, but i'd like to remind everyone who sometimes (or all times) feels like gregor samsa that you don't have to end the same way he did, you are loved and much more valuable than a cockroach <3.