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Themes:
1. Family Duty – The theme of
family duty drives all interactions between Gregor and his family.Gregor’s mind is constantly consumed by thinking about his need and duty to
support his family. In order to follow through with his duties, Gregor diligently works at a job he despises. Despite Gregor’s
dedication to his family, it does not seem like they are grateful, especially Gregor’s father. After his metamorphosis,
Gregor is not physically capable of taking care of himself, let alone working. Yet Gregor’s family does the bare minimum
with regards to caring for him, merely bringing him food and meagerly cleaning his room on occasion. But as the book progresses,
his family becomes less tolerant and in the end, when his sister has had enough, she claims that their duty to him has been
fulfilled and that it is time to get rid of him.
2. Alienation – All his life,
Gregor has been alienated from the rest of the world. Before his transformation, he was alienated from his family, his job,
and it is evident that he is even alienated from his own body (because he barely notices his physical transformation.) After
Gregor’s metamorphosis, he becomes even more disconnected from the world around him. Once he has undergone this transformation,
he can no longer see the outside world from his window. This represents Gregor’s further alienation from his environment
and the world around him. It is not only Gregor’s physical transformation that drives him away from those around him,
but it is apparent that his family also underwent somewhat of an emotional transformation.
3. Guilt – Throughout The Metamorphosis,
Gregor constantly feels a strong sense of guilt. It is apparent that Gregor’s guilt stems from his obligations to his
family. After his transformation, when he can no longer fulfill his duties and can no longer work, Gregor feels guilty for
this even though his metamorphosis was clearly not his fault. In the end of the novella, Gregor comes to the realization that
his family would be better off if he were not living. He feels guilty that his living is a burden to them, so he dies out
of guilt. Even after his death, Gregor's family does not feel any guily.
4. Freedom – Gregor is trapped
by his job, his body, and his duty to his family. Gregor fantasizes about the day that he can finally free himself by paying
off all of his family’s debt and quitting his job. After his metamorphosis, in a sense, Gregor has escaped. He is no
longer physically capable of working and can therefore not bring in money to his family. Yet this escape does not bring Gregor
the freedom that he dreams of. Once Gregor transforms, he becomes a prisoner in his own home and is locked up in his room.
Gregor realizes that the only way to truly become free is his death. After his death,
Gregor's family is relieved because they will no longer have to deal with Gregor as a burden. In a sense, both Gregor and
his family are freed after Gregor's death.
Conflict:
One specific conflict that permeates throughout
the entire novella is individual versus society. Another conflict is evident between Gregor and his father. Before his transformation,
Gregor supports his family, which cripples his father's self-esteem. Gregor is strong and his father is weak. But after the metamorphosis, the everything reverses: Gregor becomes
the weak one and his father takes over and in the end he kills his own son.
Imagery:
The Metamorphosis is full of imagery throughout
this short novella. The second sentence of the novella reads, "He lay on his armour hard back and saw, as he lifted his head
up a little, his brown arched abdomen divided up into rigid bow like sections. From this height the blanket, just about ready
to slide off completely, could hardly stay in place. His numerous legs, pitifully thin in comparison to the rest of his circumference,
flickered helplessly before his eyes" (1). The opening paragraph of this story provides readers with a graphic image that
gives insight into Gregor’s personal disgust with his own new body. All of this imagery leads readers to believe that
Gregor transformed physically in addition to his mental and emotional metamorphosis.
Tone:
The tone of this novella
is relatively calm, considering that Gregor underwent a radical metamorphosis overnight. Gregor remained calm throughout the
story and never panicked. But his family, on the other hand, was frantic after discovering their son’s transformation.
Within The Metamorphosis, language is utilized in order to create the tone. The book starts out from Gregor’s
point of view, during which the tone is relatively relaxed, but gives off the feeling of entrapment and isolation. Once the
language switches to a third person account, it is apparent that the tone matches to illustrate Gregor’s continued alienation.
This tone parallels Gregor’s loss of hope.
Irony:
Irony is also prevalent throughout this novella. Firstly, it is ironic that while Gregor is the one who goes through
a physical metamorphosis, it is his family who endures a drastic emotional and mental transformation. It is also ironic that
Gregor, unlike most people, is not devastated or panicked by his metamorphosis, but is more concerned with his inability to
tend to his obligations. When he wakes up the morning after his transformation, he is not at all concerned with his physical
predicament and is only worried about getting to work.
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