GREGOR SAMSA’S INSECT TRANSFORMATION

IN FRANZ KAFKA’S THE METAMORPHOSIS

A THESIS

By:

MOHAMMAD MARTUNUS ZAHRIANSYAHST N. 120410656

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

AIRLANGGA UNIVERSITY

2009

i

GREGOR SAMSA’S INSECT TRANSFORMATION

IN FRANZ KAFKA’S THE METAMORPHOSIS

A THESIS

Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the Sarjana degree of the English Department

Faculty of Humanities, Airlangga University Surabaya

By:

MOHAMMAD MARTUNUS ZAHRIANSYAHST N. 120410656

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

AIRLANGGA UNIVERSITY

2009

ii

To my late great father, my family, and

my beloved Ayu Saraswati

iii

Approved to be examined

Surabaya, 2009

Thesis Advisor

Diah Ariani Arimbi Ph.DNIP. 132 086 387

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF HUMANITIES

AIRLANGGA UNIVERSITY

2009

iv

This Thesis has been accepted and examined by the board of examiners of

English Department Faculty of Humanities, Airlangga University

The examiners are:

1.

Dra. Sudar Itafarida, M.Hum.

NIP 131 836 628

2.

Diah Ariani Arimbi Ph.D

NIP 132 086 387

3.

Edi Dwi Riyanto, SS, M.Hum.

NIP 132 255 153

4.

Drs. Amir Fatah, M.Hum.

NIP 131 570 815

v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

After fighting against laziness and drought of ideas for one and a half

years, the victory is finally taken. For that, I would like to deliver my foremost

gratitude to Allah SWT, who truly knows the meaning of my life, and by Allah’s

guidance I can finally finish this whole thesis.

I would also like to deliver my highest appreciation and my salutation to

my thesis advisor, Diah Ariani Arimbi Ph.D, for her patience in guiding me

throughout one and a half years. I would also like to ask her a deep apology for

my ignorance and delays. I would also like to thank the board of lecturers in

English Department for sharing me their knowledge and experience throughout

my years studying in this Department.

My deepest gratitude goes to my late father, my beloved mother, and my

whole family for their patience and love. My next gratitude goes to all of my

bandmates in I.V., The Legalist, and Link. Also, thanks to my fellow classmates

of 2004 from the whole faculty. Thank you for these amazing years. Special

thanks for Ayu Saraswati for caring me throughout the last two and a half years.

Surabaya, 10 June 2009

The writer,

Mohammad Martunus Zahriansyah

vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Inside Cover Page………….……………………………………………………………..i

Inside Title Page…………………………………………….……………………………ii

Dedication Page…………………………………………………………………………iii

Advisor’s Approval Page………………………………………………………………..iv

Board of Examiner’s Approval Page………………………………………….…………v

Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………………...vi

Table of Contents……………………………………………………………………….vii

Abstract……………………………………………………………………………….....ix

Epigraph………………………………………………………………………………….x

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study……………………………………………………………..1

1.2 Statement of the Problems…………………………………………………....………5

1.3 Objective of the Study………………………………………………………....……..5

1.4 Significance of the Study…………………………………………………….......…..5

1.5 Scope and Limitation…………………………………………………………….......5

1.6 Theoretical Background…………………………………………………………...…6

1.7 Method of the Study……………………………………………………………….....7

1.8 Definition of Key Terms.…………………………………………………...………..7

CHAPTER II LITERARY REVIEW

2.1 Reviews on Related Studies…….…………………………………………..………..9

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2.2 Theoretical Framework……………………………………………....…….……….10

2.2.1 The Absurd…………………………………………………...…………………...10

2.2.2 Solutions in Dealing with the Absurd…...………………………..……..….…….12

2.2.2.1 Suicide…………………………………………………..……………..….…….13

2.2.2.2 Leap of Faith…………………………………………...……………….………13

2.2.2.3 Acceptance without Resignation………………………………………………..14

CHAPTER III ANALYSIS

3.1 The Meaning of Gregor Samsa’s Insect Transformation……………………..…….16

3.1.1 A Slave of His Own Routine………………………………………………….......17

3.1.2 Gaining Consciousness of the Absurd……………………………………...…….23

3.2 The Way Gregor Samsa Perceives His Insect Transformation…….………………26

3.2.1 Conscious Dissatisfaction and Total Lack of Hope……..………………………..26

3.2.2 Acceptance Without Resignation………………………………………………....38

CHAPTER IV CONCLUSION……………………………………...…….……………44

WORKS CITED………………………………………………………………………...46

SYNOPSIS……………………………………………………………………………...48

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ABSTRACT

The notion of the meaning of life has been one of the main concerns for

philosophers throughout the history of humanity. It is said that the meaning of life

can be found in the series of experience of a person’s life. Personal experiences

help a person to think about the person’s meaning in life and to find the person’s

self existence. Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis gives a character whose life is

changed in a particular way because of his personal experience. He is transformed

into a gigantic insect.

The study will be focused on the meaning of the main character’s insect

transformation. After the meaning is revealed the writer will conduct the analysis

on the way the main character perceives his transformation concerning to the

notion of the meaning of life. In analyzing those issues, the writer uses the concept

of the Absurd proposed by a French-Algerian philosopher, Albert Camus. The

writer decides to choose Albert Camus’ concept of the Absurd because Albert

Camus believes that life is a series of experience and through it a person can make

his own meaning of life.

As the results of the study, the writer finds that the transformation is the

stage where the main character gains his consciousness of the Absurd. The

consciousness affects the way he perceives his life, which is living his life to the

fullest and fully engaged with his experiences. Thus, he finds his meaning of life.

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One can not live without

meaning

- Albert Camus -

x

xi

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Every living person in this world tries to seek the meaning of live.

Questions have been asked dealing with this notion. Why am I here?, What is the

meaning of my existence? or What can I do to make my life meaningful? These

questions need to be answered. Meaning of life has been an important notion

because it deals with the life itself. Many philosophers try to seek the real and true

meaning of life. Since Aristotle to Jaspers, philosophers try to answer those

questions.

One of the things that is certain in this life is that every individual runs a

certain routine in life such as in career and love or any other kinds of social

relationship. Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), a Denmark philosopher, saw that

most people were content to be absorbed into the everyday world of marriage,

career and respectability. Most people follow the normal practices of their society

(Robinson & Zarate 38).

These routines or practices do not answer those questions, but in a certain

point while doing the routines in daily life, an individual gets a certain feeling

related to those questions. Once again, that feeling does not help that individual to

answer the questions, but at least, in a certain way, it helps the individual to think

about the individual’s meaning in life and to find self existence.

1

However, for some philosophers, there are no particular answers for those

questions. Moreover, according to Albert Camus (1913-1960), the meaning of life

lies in the experiences which a person has during his lifetime. Life, as Camus saw

it, was a series of experiences (Olen 438). Referring to this theory, the writer tries

to do his analysis dealing with the notion of the meaning of life by using a

particular example of experiences which a person has.

Gregor Samsa in Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, in the writer’s point

of view, is one of the examples about the finding of human existence in life

written in a form of literary works. He is an ordinary person who works as a

travelling salesman. He lives in a flat with his parents and his younger sister. One

day he wakes up from his sleep just to find that he is transformed into a gigantic

insect. The transformation turns his life around. He is unable to go to work as he

usually does and he soon loses his job because his current condition does not

allow him to do so. Living in an insect form, Gregor is being mistreated by his

family. All his good deeds toward his family throughout the last five years,

working as a traveller salesman to pay his parents’ debts after his family business

falls down are ignored.

His family spends their days by thinking what should be done but they

actually never do anything about his situation, except for finding jobs and letting

three lodgers to rent one of the rooms in the flat because of the economical

problem they have to face since the back bone of the family has transformed into

something that will not allow him even to get out from his room, leaving Gregor

in his imprisonment in his own room for the rest of his life until his last day.

2

The Metamorphosis, originally entitled Die Verwandlung, was written by

Franz Kafka in November and December 1912. Then his publisher, Kurt Wolff

Herlag, published it in 1915, the same year Franz Kafka won the Theodor Fontane

Prize. Many experts have done their own analysis on this work but until now it is

still one of the most discussed literary works. The interpretations seem to be

endless and endlessly possible.

Franz Kafka was born in July 3, 1883 in Prague – Alstandt, the home of

one of the biggest Jewish communities in Europe. He is the first son of Hermann

and Julie (née Löwy) Kafka. He is well known because of his peculiar thoughts

about love, life, and death. During his young age, Franz Kafka is a quiet and

withdrawn person. However, he likes to write plays for his sisters to put on in

their spare time and he is a voracious reader. In his teenage period (1898) he

begins to write serious writings, but these early works are destroyed. Later he

begins to write more seriously until on the night of 22-23 September 1912, he

writes Das Urteil (The Judgment). He considers it as his first mature work and

reads it proudly to his family and his friends. He died in June 3, 1924 of

tuberculosis.

Franz Kafka has become an icon of sorts, emblematic of modern times. He

is considered as one of the best modern authors until now. His popularity

increases exponentially after the publication of his stories in the 1920s and 1930s,

especially in the English translations done by the Muirs (Leni 1). He is now an

institution, his own adjective. The term Kafkaesque which is usually used to

describe anything which makes no sense, comes from his name. The Prague

3

Mayor, Pavel Bern regarded Franz Kafka as one of the greatest writer of the 20 th

century. The monument of Franz Kafka was erected by the Franz Kafka Society,

which was founded shortly after the collapse of communism in 1989 to promote

the legacy of Kafka and other Jewish and German writers from Prague (Leni 1).

The insect transformation which happened to Gregor Samsa in the story is

the major line of the story. It changes his whole life. Unlike other stories, Franz

Kafka put the major conflict of the story at the first sentence of the story. He

never explains about the cause of this transformation. This transformation

symbolizes something. Gregor’s insect transformation and the mistreatments

given by his family show social phenomenon which can be happening around us.

All the good deeds seem to be vanished when a person transforms into something

that even knowledge can not seem to explain. This kind of phenomenon seems so

far yet it is so close because most of us never really notice it. There is a possibility

that this thing is happening to one of us in the very time, even though logically a

human can not transformed into a gigantic insect.

The writer takes the study related to the notion of the meaning of life by

identifying the meaning of Gregor Samsa’s insect transformation in the story and

how he perceives it. Although logically a human can not be transformed to

another form as an insect, it shows that a person can also transformed and it

affects the way the person looks back his life and the world surrounding him.

Therefore, the writer wants to identify the meaning behind Gregor Samsa’s

transformation and how Gregor Samsa perceives this transformation.

4

1.2 The Statement of the Problems

The study of The Meaning of Gregor Samsa’s Insect Transformation in

Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis tries to find out the followings:

1. What does Gregor Samsa’s insect transformation mean?

2. How does Gregor Samsa perceive this transformation?

1.3 The Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the study can be formulated as the followings:

1. To explain what the insect transformation means.

2. To explore the way Gregor Samsa perceives such transformation.

1.4 The Significance of the Study

The study of The Meaning of Gregor Samsa’s Insect Transformation in

Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis has two significances. The fist significance is

to bring a deeper understanding upon the meaning of the insect transformation in

Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. The second significance is to bring a broader

understanding of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis in particular especially for

the students of English Department Airlangga University who are interested in

taking literature as their major subject.

1.5 Scope and Limitation

The object of the analysis is a literary work written by Franz Kafka

entitled The Metamorphosis. The analysis is based on the main plot of the story.

5

In particular, this study mainly deals with the meaning of Gregor Samsa’s

transformation and the way he perceives it. The study focuses on Gregor Samsa’s

experiences, thoughts, and point of view after experiencing the insect

transformation. Then the aspects mentioned above will be discussed further to

find the meaning of the insect transformation and to show the way Gregor Samsa

perceives the transformation.

1.6 Theoretical Background

This study, in order to find the meaning of the insect transformation and

the way Gregor Samsa perceives it, uses the concept of the Absurd as its base

theory. The concept of the Absurd was proposed by Albert Camus in the 1940s

through his philosophical essay The Myth of Sisyphus. In this essay, he proposes

his own concept of the Absurd.

It is the lack of fit between the universe and our own aspirations that

Camus calls the absurd (Olen 434). He argues that the Absurd is basically the

confrontation between our demands as humans for the meaning of life and the

unreasonable silence of the world. The Absurd lies neither in the world nor

humans, but in both presences.

Humans think that they are free before they realize the absurdity of the

world they living in. But the fact is that they are slaves of their own routines and

expectations which give them a false value for their life. The notion of the Absurd

is closely related to the notion of the meaning of life. According to Camus, the

6

meaning of life is the experience itself. For him, Absurd is the true state of

existence (Olen 434).

1.7 Method of the Study

The method in this study is library research and online research, while the

main source the writer used is the story itself. This study uses the method of the

data collection from the story by having a closer reading in the interpretations of

the insect transformation, and also the main character’s experiences, thoughts, and

point of view after experiencing the transformation in the story. The writer will

also gather data and inputs that are related to the story. Reviews and critics about

the story will also be a helpful source on the analysis.

The other information is also gathered by browsing some sites of the

internet that are related to the topic of the study. The descriptive analysis is also

applied as a method of this study. A focused analysis on symbols of certain events

and dialogues are also a valuable source that will be given a special place.

1.8 Definition of Key Terms

- Absurd : the term usually used to describe something which is

unexplainable or irrational. However, in this case, the term

means the confrontation between humans’ demands for the

clarity and the meaning of life with the unreasonable

silence of the world. The definition comes from Albert

Camus’ theory of the Absurd.

7

- Insect : one of beings in this planet which has the largest

population and also species. Some people consider it as

parasites because it has been a pain in our neck for

centuries.

- Transformation : dramatic and often extreme change which happens to

almost every thing. The changes include form and also

characteristics.

8

CHAPTER II

LITERARY REVIEW

2.1 Reviews on Related Studies

A lot of critics and writings have been made concerning The

Metamorphosis. The interpretations toward the story seem to be possibly endless

and endlessly possible. Karen Bernardo, in her commentary towards The

Metamorphosis, states that the story offers tremendous irony in the fact that our

human lives are so transitory and our fortunes so subject to the whims of fate, and

yet most people act as if they will live forever with ultimate control over the

progress of their existence (Bernardo 1). She also claims that Gregor Samsa’s

transformation, which of course symbolizes any sort of physical abnormality, calls

into question all the assumptions of our daily lives, that success and appearance

and social position matter. A productive life is characterized by a steadily

improving standard of living and a socially-acceptable appearance (Bernardo 1).

Another interpretation comes from Anang Kurniawan. He states that,

through The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka is giving a description about modern

human slavery by materialism forces. Franz Kafka is also delivering critics toward

the world of modern capitalism and materialism. The misfortune which happens

to Gregor Samsa is a humanity tragedy, which only sees and measures a person by

the person’s productivity in making money (Kurniawan 1).

9

2.2 Theoretical Framework

Albert Camus proposes his own concept of the Absurd through his

phenomenal philosophical essay entitled The Myth of Sisyphus (1942). The word

Absurd comes from a Latin word, surdis. The word has two definitions. The first

definition is irrational or insensible. In math the term surd is used to define an

irrational number. Apparently Camus concentrates on the other meaning of the

Latin word which is deaf or silent.

However, Camus is not the first who discovers the Absurd. Nietzsche,

Kierkegaard, Husserl and Jaspers are already familiar with the concept. The Myth

of Sisyphus does not analyze those early philosophers. It tries to describe the

pillars of the western thoughts through them. Camus describes his own concept of

the Absurd related to the meaning of life in this essay. The fundamental object of

The Myth of Sisyphus is this: it is legitimate and necessary to wonder whether life

has a meaning (2).

2.2.1 The Absurd

According to Camus, the fundamental fact of human existence is absurdity

(Olen 434). He uses Sisyphus as one of the examples of his absurd heroes.

Sisyphus is one of the characters in the Greek mythology. He is condemned by the

gods, because of his scorn for the gods, his hatred of death and his passion of life,

to roll a huge rock from the bottom of a mountain all the way to the top. Once the

huge rock is on top of the mountain, the rock will of course roll back down by its

own weight to the bottom. Sisyphus has to do this routine for his eternal life.

10

Camus points out in his retelling of the story of Sisyphus, that one can not think of

anything more absurd than a lifetime filled with futile labour. (Solomon 1)

Camus claims to be interested in the moment when Sisyphus has to go

back to the bottom of the mountain to roll the huge rock back to the top. In this

moment of pause, he claims, is the moment when Sisyphus actually gains his

consciousness. This consciousness of fate, he claims, leads to Sisyphus’

acceptance of his fate or in this case, his condemnation or punishment.

The author can not imagine a greater torture for Sisyphus than “the

hope of succeeding”. Knowing that his effort is pointless is

precisely his strength. Sisyphus is without the merest hope, and yet

he becomes the Absurd man the moment he accepts this and “says

yes to his task”, when he himself chooses to continue the torture

which has been imposed on him. (Mairowitz & Korkos 74)

According to Camus, before a person realizes the absurdity of the world,

the person actually thinks that he is free, but the person is actually becoming slave

of his own routines or activities which give the person false goals and values in

his life. Once a person gains a consciousness of the Absurd, which is according to

Camus, the confrontation between the logical demand of a person for the clarity

and the meaning of life with the unreasonable silence of the world, the

consciousness will actually leads to find and gain an acceptance towards the

absurd. According to Camus, everything begins with consciousness and nothing is

worth anything except through it (15).

11

The unreasonable silence of the world makes the efforts and achievements

made by a person to be simply pointless. In the end it will leads to nothing but

death shows the absurdity of life. No matter how hard a person tries, the world

just does not care. It will keep moving on as the way it is.

Once a person accepts that the efforts and routines are actually pointless,

the person will soon realizes that this acknowledgement is the person’s strength.

Weariness comes at the end of the acts of a mechanical life, but at

the same time it inaugurates the impulse of consciousness. It

awakens consciousness and provokes what follows. What follows

is the gradual return into the chain or it is the definitive awakening.

(Camus 15)

Once the person decides to move on in doing the pointless efforts and routine,

Camus claims that he becomes the master of his own fate. The absence of any

controlling force in the universe thus becomes a positive factor (Mairowitz &

Korkos 74). For Camus, the beauty that people encounter in life makes it worth

living. People may create meaning in their own lives, which may not be the

objective meaning of life but still provides something for which to strive. It is now

becomes clear, on the contrary, that it will be lived all the better if it has no

meaning (66).

2.2.2 Solutions in Dealing with the Absurd

In The Myth of Sisyphus, Camus offers three possible solutions in order to

deal with the absurd, which are:

12

Suicide

Leap of faith

Acceptance without resignation

2.2.2.1 Suicide

The first solution is to commit suicide. Suicide offers the most basic 'way

out' of absurdity, the immediate termination of the self and self's place in the

universe (Beckett & Ionesco 1). Camus claims that if a person feels that life is not

worthy enough to life in, then the easiest solution to end the feeling is simply to

end the life itself. By committing suicide, a person not only admits that life is not

worth living but also that he is not worthy enough for the life itself. It is essential

to die unreconciled and not of one’s own free will (69).

In a sense, and as in melodrama, killing yourself amounts to confessing. It

is confessing that life is too much for you or that you do not understand it (Camus

6). Committing suicide implies that the person who does it admits that the routines

in life are almost meaningless, daily activities do not make any sense, and there is

no meaning in suffering. Thus, he considers this solution is not a proper solution

to deal with the Absurd. Suicide, like the leap, is acceptance at its extreme (Camus

66).

2.2.2.2 Leap of Faith

The second is to have a leap of faith. It means that a person can involves

God to deal with the Absurd. The term God works in a mysterious ways is

13

commonly used by a person who chooses to have a leap of faith. Camus considers

the leap of faith as intellectual laziness, a refuge in chosen falsehoods (Beckett &

Ionesco 1). It is the epitome of deceiving the self. It is a retreat from truth and the

freedom of man.

For Camus, leap of faith is also not a proper solution because the person

involves a controlling force in dealing with the Absurd. Unlike Pascal, Camus did

not think that God or religious faith can provide what we need to resolve this

problem (Roth & Sontag 435). The person actually accepts the Absurd because

the person thinks that it is God’s will. In other words, he accepts the Absurd not

by his own choice or free will. The positive factor of dealing with the Absurd is

not the presence of God, but the absence of God or just as Camus calls it as an aid

of eternal values (Camus v).

2.2.2.3 Acceptance without Resignation

The last solution is acceptance without resignation. In Camus’ point of

view, this is the most proper solution among the three solutions offered.

According to Camus, a person's freedom, and the opportunity to give life

meaning, lies in the acknowledgment and acceptance of absurdity. He believes

that life is nonsense. The awareness of the absurdity of life gives the opportunity

to perceive life in a new point of view.

The freedom of a person is, thus, established in the person's natural ability

and opportunity to create his own meaning and purpose, to decide himself. The

person is free from the rules and starts to learn how to life the live in which he is

14

forced to life in. The person becomes the most precious unit of the existence, as

the person represents a set of unique ideals that can be characterized as an entire

universe by itself (Absurdism 1).

Humans must live with the Absurd. They must deal with the absurdity of

life. According to Camus, it is an honour for a person and it is supposed to be his

pleasure to accept this passion to get a sense of clarity among the irrational things

in life. The logical solution in dealing with the Absurd situation is to live with the

awareness of the hopeless confrontation between the mind and the world.

According to Supaat A. Lathief in Sastra: Eksistensialisme – Mistisme Religius,

even if they know that they are fighting without any certain hopes, the characters

which Camus bring find that life is more intense and sublime as they are fighting

for freedom and justice (20).

To live is to give life to the Absurd. To give life to it means to look at it.

The consequence of living the Absurd is not an activity of creating systems

around god or history anymore, but to learn to look back at what has been

experienced, to accept that every truth may vary and have some values, thus there

is an absolute freedom. Although the Absurd world can not guarantee a future, it

can free the existential human being to become what he wishes (Gould 711-712).

15

CHAPTER III

ANALYSIS

3.1 The Meaning of Gregor Samsa’s Insect Transformation

The Metamorphosis is divided in three parts. The first part explains about

the moment when the transformation occurs and his family first reaction towards

his transformation. The second part explains about how things go in the flat after

the transformation. The last part of the story contents the climax of the story

where the family finally has enough with Gregor’s condition and Gregor finally

dies in his room.

Gregor Samsa transforms into a gigantic insect as he awoke from his

sleep. On his bed he can see that his entire body has transformed. The author does

not even state implicitly about what kind of insect which Gregor has transformed.

However the author does mention the physical characteristics of the new Gregor.

He was lying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when

he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly

divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt

could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off

completely. (Kafka 75)

From the information about the physical characteristics provided by the author,

some experts conclude that Gregor transforms into a beetle. However, most

experts conclude that Gregor transforms into a cockroach. One of those experts is

Robert C. Solomon Ph. D. from the University of Texas, Austin. In his lecture,

16

Franz Kafka, he points out that Gregor Samsa is transformed into a cockroach (1).

The writer agrees that Gregor transforms into a giant cockroach because in the

writer’s point of view the physical characteristics described in the text are similar

to cockroach’s physical characteristics.

The author does not give any explanations or clues about how or why this

transformation occurs. Without any warning or explanation, Gregor Samsa is now

an insect and the readers just have to deal with it. Some experts consider the insect

form which Gregor has transformed into as an image of the author’s experiences

in his life. This thing is also mentioned in the author’s biography.

…after being treated by his father as if he belonged to an inferior

species, and abused with animal imagery, Kafka arrived at the

image of the insect as a means of expressing the alienation from his

body he had so often felt. (Hayman 150)

It is obvious that the insect form is an image which the author used as a symbol of

his life experience. Of course a symbol always transcends the one who makes use

of it and makes him say in reality more than he is aware of expressing (Camus

162). In this study the writer focuses on the meaning of the transformation instead

of the form of the transformation.

3.1.1 A Slave of his Own Routine

Gregor Samsa is an ordinary worker. He works as a travelling salesman,

and from the information provided by the text, he has been working as a travelling

salesman for five years. He works very hard to pay his parents’ debts to his chief

17

after the family business is ruin, which takes about five to six more years of his

employment and he works himself to the bone to earn his family a good living

since he is the sole income source for the Samsa family.

As a worker and as the sole income source for the family, Gregor is a

workaholic that he hardly gives himself a chance to have leisure times because he,

as the backbone of the family, has to earn a living for the whole family and pay all

of his parents’ debts at the same time. In one part of the story he mentions about

how other travelling salesmen live like harem women. When he comes back to the

hotel one morning to write up orders from his customers, he finds the others

salesmen just sit and eat their breakfast.

According to Camus, before a person sees the absurdity of this world, the

person thinks that he/she is free, but, on the contrary, he is a slave of his own

routines and expectations which give him false values in his life. For some people,

life can be defined as a set mechanism of movement.

It happens that the stage sets collapse. Rising, streetcar, four hours

of work, meal, sleep, and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,

Thursday, Friday, and, Saturday, according to the same rhythm –

this path is easily followed most of the time. (Camus 15)

As we all know that being a worker, a person has some routines to do.

Even if the person is not a worker, he still has some routines to do. Gregor, as a

worker and also as an ordinary person, is trapped in his own routines. One small

example in Gregor’s case as an ordinary person is his routine of sleeping on his

18

right side. After Gregor wakes up from his sleep and transformed into an insect,

he wants to have some more sleep.

What about sleeping a little longer and forgetting all this nonsense,

he thought, but it could not be done, for he was accustomed to

sleep on his right side and in his present condition he could not

turn himself over. (Kafka 75)

At the time he really needs some rests, he does not even have the ability to get

some sleep just because his small routine. His routine does not allow him to have

a rest. It forces him to stay awake and there is nothing that Gregor can do to fight

back no matter how hard he tries.

At the day when Gregor is transformed, he is supposed to catch a train at

five o’clock in the morning. But he wakes up at almost a quarter to seven. In spite

of the bizarre thing which happens to him, the thing that comes to his mind is how

he is going to get to work. Without thinking about what exactly is happening to

him or why this thing is happening and what he supposed to do to get out from his

condition, he forces his mind to think about a way for him to get out of the bed

and catch the next train instead of thinking and finding any solution regarding to

his condition.

But then he said to himself: ‘Before it strikes a quarter past seven I

must be quite out of this bed, without fail. Anyhow, by that time

someone will have to come from the office to ask for me, since it

opens before seven.’ (Kafka 80)

19

In this condition, Gregor still thinks about his responsibility as the

backbone of the family and as a worker as well because his employer can not

tolerate any excuses when it is related to business. When Gregor’s chief clerk is

waiting for Gregor to come out from his room in front of the room door to have

some explanations about why Gregor is absent for work, Gregor forces himself in

his new form to get off of the bed and open the door. On his way to open the door,

Gregor thinks about two possibilities about what is going to happen when the

other members of the family and the chief see his new form.

If they were horrified then the responsibility was no longer his and

he could stay quiet. But if they took it calmly, then he had no

reason either to be upset, and could really get to the station for the

eight o’clock train if he hurried. (Kafka 84)

Even in his previous condition, as a normal human being, he spends most

of his time at his flat doing some activities and thinking about the next task of his

job. When the chief clerk arrived at his flat to find an answer about Gregor’s

absence at the work place, Gregor’s mother try to ensures the chief clerk that

Gregor is ill and he thinks nothing but his job.

The boy thinks about nothing but his work. It makes me almost

cross the way he never goes out in the evening; he’s been here the

last eight days and has stayed at home every single evening. He

just sits there quietly at the table reading a newspaper or looking

through railway timetables. The only amusement he gets is doing

fretwork. (Kafka 82)

20

It is clear to see that Gregor has drowned himself way too deep in his job that he

hardly gives himself a time even for himself. He chooses to stay at his flat and

doing some preparations for the job rather than be outside to have some leisure

times for himself.

When he finally succeeds in opening the door of his room and he has the

chance to speak with his chief clerk, Gregor tries to give explanation about his

condition to the chief clerk. At this point Gregor still thinks about his job by

saying that no matter what happens to him, he will attend his job.

I’ll put my clothes on at once, pack up my samples, and start off.

Will you only let me go? You see sir, I’m not obstinate, and I’m

willing to work; travelling is a hard life, but I couldn’t live without

it. (Kafka 87)

Gregor clearly states that he really needs his job. He still thinks about his

responsibility to his family. He is afraid of losing his job, even more, he is afraid

of not being able to fulfil his duty as the backbone of the family. He thinks that

the chief clerk must be persuaded to stand for him in the firm because he thinks

that his family depends on it. Knowing that he can not fulfil his duty anymore, he

falls in a great shame and grief.

In his room, Gregor hardly sleeps at all by night or by day. He was often

haunted by the idea that the next time the door opened he would take the family

affairs in hand again just as he used to do (Kafka 113). Gregor tries his best to be

involved with the family in facing this problem, because Gregor still thinks that he

has the same responsibility as he has when he is working for the family.

21

From what the writer has mention above, there is a sense in which that

Gregor has become a slave of his own routines, as a worker and also as a person.

In his human form, he thinks mostly about his job and paying all his parents’

debts so he can be free from his job and repressing chief. He also thinks about

sending his sister, Grete to Conservatorium. These are his main goals of his life.

In order to achieve those goals, he works himself to the bone for the last five

years.

In his insect form, he still thinks that he carries the same responsibilities as

he does in his human form. There is a sense in which that, for Gregor, the

transformation occurred to him is just an intervention for him to go to work. He is

more afraid of that he is not going to be able to go to work to fulfil his duty than

being afraid that he will never get back to his previous form as a normal human

being. Instead of explaining what is happening to him to the chief clerk, he

persuades the chief clerk to stand for him in the firm. He tries to convince the

chief clerk that, even in his present condition, he still can catch the next train and

go to work. Gregor is truly let himself to be kept as a slave by his own job.

Gregor dedicated himself and focuses on his goals way too well that he

does not realize that those goals, in the end, amount to nothing, just like Sisyphus

who is condemned by the gods to do a pointless task. The difference is that

Sisyphus does not have any particular goals in doing his punishment. But even if

Gregor has some goals to achieve, those goals are still false goals because even if

he succeeds in achieving his goals, they will still amount to nothing, because, in

the end, only death awaits and it seems like the other members of the family

22

ignore what Gregor has done for the whole family. Gregor’s chief even accuses

Gregor that he has misused the cash payment which has been entrusted to him in

spite of all his hard work for the company.

3.1.2 Gaining Consciousness of the Absurd

After Gregor realizes that all of his efforts and hard works are actually

pointless, remembering that later on that the other members of the family do not

have any courage just to get close to him at the moment when Gregor really needs

his family to support him, there is a sense in which that he gains the consciousness

towards the absurd. Gregor starts to realize and feel the confrontation between his

logical demands as a human, even if he is not physically human, and the

unreasonable silence of the world. The absurd brought to light by consciousness

(Camus 66).

Gregor does not seek for any answers about what is happening to him,

because it appears to him that it does not matter anyway. The world just does not

care and it will keep moving on as the way it is. His family, after a shocking

rendezvous with the insect formed Gregor in the morning when the transformation

occurs, starts to gather themselves and decide to move on. Just few weeks after

that his father and his sister finally get a job to earn the family a living.

It is clear enough for Gregor to see that life does not stop right there to

give sympathy towards Gregor’s condition, even his own family. The rest of the

family realizes that life keeps going and they have to stand up to survive. Gregor’s

problem does not seem to be much of their concern. Their main concern is how

23

they will keep on track in life’s pace for now their sole income source does not

have the ability to give them a good living anymore.

Even if he is proud of his achievement, when he sits in his room, he felt

great pride in the fact that he had been able to provide such a life for his parents

and sister in such a fine flat (Kafka 93), but still that pride does not give him

anything. From the point of view of the universe as a whole human history and

human concerns are supremely unimportant (Olen 435).

In Persons and Their World: An Introduction to Philosophy, Jeffrey Olen

stated that our actions here on earth are as futile and pointless as the eternal task

assigned to Sisyphus (434). It is when a person realizes this fact, the person seeks

to understand. The person tries to unify the various elements of the world. We

seek a unified whole, in which everything has a purpose. But the universe is not

like that (Olen 434).

As a person tries to seek the purpose of his actions, routines, and

achievement, instead of having the answer, the person sees the absurdity of this

life. Gregor sees this absurdity in probably the hardest way, being transformed

into a gigantic insect. He sees that all of his efforts throughout the last five years

of being a travelling salesman, working himself to the bone, tumble before his

own very eyes, knowing that there are no any appreciations from his family and

his employer. He finally sees that his actions, routines, and achievements are

pointless, and there is nothing that he can do about it, because he realizes it is just

the way it is. Even if in his new form he is able to get back to his job and do his

daily routines, in the end, it still amounts to nothing, because the world will not

24

provide any guarantee or any answers about what will happen to him or his family

in the future. In this stage, Gregor learns about what Camus says as the total lack

of hope (which is not the same as despair), a permanent rejection (which is not the

same as renunciation), and a conscious dissatisfaction (which is not the same as

juvenile anxiety) (Mairowitz & Korkos 71).

Gregor Samsa’s insect transformation seems to have similarity to, as

Camus calls it, Sisyphus’ moment of pause. In Sisyphus’ case, according to

Camus, occurs when Sisyphus is on his way back own to the bottom of the hill to

roll the huge stone back to the top. At this moment Camus describes how his steps

are focused and determined. At this moment, Sisyphus gains his consciousness.

Sisyphus now sees the futility of his eternal task.

In Gregor’s case, his insect transformation is the same stage which

Sisyphus has. In his insect form, Gregor comes to realize the futility of his efforts

and achievements being the only worker in the family, earning his family a good

living. At the first moment when he realizes that he is now a gigantic insect, he

realizes that he has an exhausting job and repressing family. Most of his moment

being a gigantic insect, he spends it to have a kind of meditation, thinking about

what he has done so far and also his plans and goals in the future. The more he

thinks of it, the more futile it becomes to him. Spending the rest of his life inside

of his room, neglected by his own family, he gains consciousness towards the

absurd.

The insect transformation which happens to Gregor is the stage where

Gregor finally aware of the absurdity of his life. Through this transformation,

25

Gregor gains his consciousness, which is, according to Camus, a good thing

because consciousness is a good start for a person in order to deal with the absurd.

Knowing that things do not always go as the way Gregor wants them to be,

Gregor is now aware of the absurdity of his life, and as Camus stated that what

makes life absurd is the consciousness and awareness of the person who live it.

Just like in Sisyphus story, Camus points out that Sisyphus story is tragic because

Sisyphus is fully aware of the futility of his task. Gregor’s story is tragic as well

because he is conscious about the absurd and the pointlessness of his efforts and

achievements he has made in his life.

3.2 The Way Gregor Samsa Perceives his Insect Transformation.

In any part of the story, it seems like there is no hope for Gregor to get

back to his previous form. In fact, it seems that he never wish to get back to his

normal human being form. His family seems to have the same thought as Gregor

does. They think that there is nothing that they can do toward Gregor’s condition.

They choose to move on with their live. Their main concern is the family’s

economical state. Who could find time, in this overworked and tired-out family, to

bother about Gregor more than was absolutely needful (Kafka 112)?

3.2.1 Conscious Dissatisfaction and Total Lack of Hope

Since Gregor is unable to get to work and earn money for his family, the

family decides that to take over his role. They realize that even with the

misfortune that happens to them, they have to move on with their life. Each

26

member of the family starts to seek for a job. The father gets a job as a bank clerk,

the mother sews for a garment company, and the sister, following Gregor’s trace,

works as a salesgirl.

Now that each member of the family has the same responsibility to earn a

living, Gregor is neglected even more. His sister who claims herself to be the sole

caretaker of Gregor hardly gives attention to Gregor anymore. Because of her

work, she hardly takes thought to bring Gregor what might especially please him

to eat. She cleans Gregor’s room in the evening, but the room is still filled with

dust and streaks of dirt.

To earn some extra money, they have one of the rooms in the flat for rent.

Three lodgers soon come to their flat and live with them. At this point, Gregor is

being neglected even more by his family. His room is filled by anything which is

not needed by the family, and his sister, exhausted by her job, has grown tired of

looking after Gregor as she usually does. At the last part of the novel, his sister

gathers the rest member of the family and convinces them that the family has to

get rid of Gregor.

‘We must try to get rid of it,’ his sister now said explicitly

to her father, since her mother was coughing too much to

hear a word, ‘it will be the death of both of you, I can see

that coming. When one has to work as hard as we do, all of

us, one can’t stand this continual torment at home on top of

it. At least I can’t stand it any longer.’ (Kafka 122)

27

Gregor is not considered as a human being any longer. Later on her

statement, his sister refers him as a creature. From her statement, she clearly states

that she has about enough of Gregor. She considers that Gregor existence can

bring death to the parents. She even refers Gregor as a torment. Later she says that

the insect Gregor is not even Gregor at all, because she is certain that if the

gigantic insect is Gregor then he will have the initiative to leave the family for all

the troubles that he has caused for the whole family.

In spite of all that Gregor has done for her, she finally reaches her end

point. The statement clearly shows that Grete has given up her hope for Gregor

and she persuades her parents to do the same thing as she does, which in the end

seems to be getting its point for the parents agrees with her.

There is a sense in which that Grete has gained in her thought an

undisputed authority when it comes to decision making related to Gregor’s

problem. She claims herself to be sole caretaker of Gregor. Since the

transformation occurs, it is true that Grete is the only member of the family who

can manage herself in taking care of Gregor, of course the fact is she never can get

used to the situation that Gregor is a gigantic insect whose appearance frightens

her the first time she catch a sight of him.

…she was so startled that without being able to help it she

slammed the door shut again. But as if regretting her behaviour she

opened the door again immediately and came in on tiptoe, as if she

were visiting an invalid or even a stranger. (Kafka 94)

28

The morning the transformation occurs, as the chief clerk arrives in front

of Gregor’s door, Grete, in her room beside Gregor’s room, begins to sob. She

sobs as she hears that Gregor has not opened the door for the chief clerk yet.

There is a sense in which that she cries not because of Gregor’s condition, but

rather because she worries about Gregor losing his job. Grete sees it coming and

realizes that the family’s fate is at stake because the whole family depends to

Gregor’s job.

It is true that Grete is the only member of the family to whom Gregor

could get intimate to. Gregor has a big hope for her and Grete considers him as a

hero of the family because Gregor is able to take the family away from the

economical misfortunes since the family business has ruined. But as the story

goes, it seems that Grete and the whole family do not depend on Gregor but rather

to his job. And so in the last part of the story, she is the first one who has the

initiative to get rid of Gregor. There is a sense in which that Grete thinks that the

family does not need Gregor anymore since the whole family is able to earn they

own living by their own hard work and Gregor is only a useless burden for them.

Thus, she turns her back from Gregor and considers him as a burden of the family.

After his business is ruined, Gregor’s father does not work anymore

because Gregor has everything covered that Gregor’s father does not have to be

worried about family’s expanses. He has grown fat for the last five years because

he does not have to work anymore and spends most of his time idling in the flat

reading newspapers. After the transformation, Gregor’s father decides that it is the

right time for him to do something. He actually saves a little sum of money which

29

Gregor gives him and some amount of investments which have survived the

wreck of the family business. Gregor’s father is actually the first person in the

family who has the initiative that the whole family should be working together in

order to keep survive.

Gregor’s father is the only one who can remain calm after seeing Gregor

in his insect form for the very first time. Yet he is so upset after realizing that the

chief clerk runs away frightened of Gregor’s appearance. Instead of giving

sympathy to his son’s condition, he is more upset of knowing that Gregor’s

condition and the incident in front of Gregor’s room will definitely cost Gregor

his job. He expresses his disappointment by driving Gregor back into his room

violently and it cost Gregor one of his insect legs to be crushed by his father.

In the second part of the story, another incident occurs. Gregor’s mother

fainted and Gregor’s father thinks that Gregor has harmed her. He violently

throws some apples at Gregor until one of the apples stuck in Gregor’s back

causing a serious wound in Gregor’s insect back and the apple remains there until

Gregor dies alone in his room. In the last part of the story, like Grete, Gregor’s

father gives up his hope by agreeing Grete’s statement.

The violent treatment Gregor’s father does to Gregor and the affirmative

opinion towards Grete’s suggestion show Gregor’s father’s lack of hope towards

Gregor. Gregor’s father takes a logical move by deciding that the family must

move on with their life and makes a change with it for they are accustomed of

Gregor does everything for them. On one hand it is a good thing for the family to

do, but on the other hand, it shows their lack of hope towards Gregor.

30

Gregor has also given up his hope towards himself, and above all, his

family. He realizes that his family is neglecting him no matter how hard he tries to

adjust in with his family even in his present condition so that his family will not

be irritated by his existence. He tries not to frighten his mother or his sister by his

form and tries to be involved to the family as they are facing the problem which

brought by Gregor’s transformation. But no matter how hard he tries, the family

pays him with ignorance towards his efforts. Gregor’s appearance still frightens

his sister and his mother, his father still treats him with a violent behaviour, and

above all, his family still considers him as a misfortune.

In spite of all what Gregor has done for the family, Gregor can not run

away from the fact that he is still neglected by his family. Even in his human

form, when he is till working as a travelling salesman, there are no appreciations

from his family for what he gives to the family.

…Gregor had earned so much money that he was able to meet the

expenses of the whole household and did so. They had simply got

used to it, both the family and Gregor; the money was gratefully

accepted and gladly given, but there was no special uprush of

warm feeling. (Kafka 98)

The flat in which they live in for the last five years is always been a pride

for Gregor. Gregor is able to take the whole family to the flat, which he specially

chooses for the family, by his own efforts. But still this thing never comes to the

family consideration when it comes in taking care of Gregor. In fact, other

members of the family are actually planning to move from the flat because the flat

31

is too big for them in their present condition. What keeps them from moving is

their sense of hopelessness.

At the day Gregor dies alone in his room, the rest of the family gather in

front of his room watching his corpse. They express a gratitude for it. They cry

together but not because they are sad of losing one of their members of the family,

but rather, they cry happy tears. They feel so much relieved because of Gregor’s

death. They feel like the burden of the family has been lifted off from their

shoulder. Gregor’s father decides that it is time that the family moves out from the

flat and carries on with life.

Gregor’s death and his family reaction towards it show the absurdity of

life. Gregor’s death shows that all of his efforts and achievements amount to

nothing, because in the end only death awaits. His family reacts as if they are

finally free and they can continue their life in a better way. Instead of mourning

about the death of one of the family members, Gregor’s parents’ main concerns

are to have a new life and find a husband for Gregor’s sister. It shows that the

universe, especially his family, does not stop at the moment Gregor dies to give

him sympathy. Life just keeps on going as the way it is. Gregor’s life and death

are truly insignificant from the point of view of the universe as a whole.

In his lecture Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus, Robert C. Solomon Ph. D.

from the University of Texas, Austin, points out,

What Sisyphus gives us is a picture of a life where we have all of

our aspirations and ambitions, our joys and achievements, but

32

ultimately in the end, it amounts to nothing. That is the Absurd.

(Solomon 1)

Gregor realizes that all of his efforts and achievements for the family are actually

pointless. The way his family mistreat him disregarding all that he has done for

the family and his employer who accuses him doing a kind of corruption in the

firm give rise to the realization towards Gregor. All of this time he expects that all

of his efforts and achievements will amount to something good for him in his life.

But on the contrary, he sees that the universe does not fulfil his expectations. This

is what makes his goals and expectations become false. He expects that all his

goals will be achieved and by his efforts he can get a kind of appreciation from his

family, but what he gets are mistreatments from his family and false accusation

from his employer.

In his imprisonment, Gregor sees the reality. He sees the Absurd. He

comes to realize the confrontation between his demands and the indifferent

universe. This gives rise to his sense of dissatisfaction. It is simply a matter of

trying to understand why life is as it is, why things happen as they happen. The

truth is that that is just what his understanding will not allow him, because the

universe is absurd not just in the sense that it does not satisfy his moral demands,

in this case, his demands of appreciations toward his efforts and achievements, but

it does not satisfy his demands of understanding either. Understanding the

universe will never, ultimately, give us satisfaction because the truth is that the

Absurd is with us (Solomon 1).

33

A small example of Gregor’s sense of dissatisfaction is in the morning

when the transformation occurs. His transformation, to begin with, already shows

the absurdity of his life. At first, he considers that the insect transformation is only

one of his morning delusions and he looks forward eagerly to see it gradually falls

away, but later on he realizes that it is not just another morning delusion. He is

truly transformed into a gigantic insect and he has no ability to fight against this

horrible reality.

He comes to realize that no matter how hard he tries to find an explanation

about what is happening to him, he can not find any answers. On the other hand,

he blames his job. He tries to understand his insect transformation, but in the end

it leaves him with a sense of dissatisfaction. As he tries to understand why the

insect transformation happen as it happen, his understanding does not allow him

to do so. His transformation is absurd because he can not get any sense of

satisfactions for his demand of understanding the insect transformation which is

happening to him.

One of the major examples of the dissatisfaction which Gregor felt is when

he realizes that his family is neglecting him. He was only filled with rage at the

way they were neglecting him (Kafka 113). Another example is when he feels an

unfair treatment by his family. From his room he can see that the three lodgers,

who rent one of the rooms in his family flat, eating their meals which are cooked

by his mother and his sister. At that time, Gregor is starving because he hardly

eats anything. He hardly eats anything because his sister hardly has any intention

to bring Gregor some foods which he likes, yet Gregor sees the fact that his

34

mother and sister try so hard to cook some foods which satisfy the three lodgers.

Thus, in his room, he wonders to himself, how those three lodgers are stuffing

themselves and there he is, alone in his room, dying in starvation.

Gregor’s father is also showing an unfair treatment as well. When

Gregor’s father comes into the living room, in which the three lodgers eat their

meals, he gives one prolonged bow with his cap in hand. At the time when Gregor

is in his normal form as a human being, every time Gregor sets out on a business

journey, his father only lies in his bed. Every time Gregor comes back from his

business journey, his father is just lying in a long chair in a dressing gown. He can

not really rise to his feet to welcome Gregor and only lifts his arms to greet

Gregor.

This is unfair because his family prefer to serve those three lodgers better

than to serve Gregor. If the family consideration is the amount of money those

three lodgers pay for the room they rent, it is still unfair because for the past five

years Gregor has done the same thing for the family, even better. Furthermore,

Gregor is one of the members of the family who pays a great deal of contributions

toward the family and those three lodgers are just strangers coming out of

nowhere. Those three lodgers suddenly take over the family attentions and

treatments which Gregor truly deserves.

When Gregor hears his sister plays the violin, he is hypnotized and crawls

out of his room to approach her. At this point, Gregor is blinded by his thought

that he will announce to everybody in the living room, in which his sister plays

the violin to entertain the three lodgers, that he will send his sister to the

35

Conservatorium. He is blinded by his thought that his sister will be touched that

she will burst to tears. But on the contrary, his appearance to the three lodgers

causes another incident.

The family is afraid that if the three lodgers see Gregor they will be afraid

and decide to leave the flat. Because of the incident, Gregor’s sister stops playing

the violin and helps Gregor’s father to calm the three lodgers deliver them into

their room. Gregor does not get to meet his expectations. On the contrary, his

appearance marks the family’s end point in dealing with Gregor’s condition. Later

in his room, he hears a shocking statement uttered by his sister that the family

must get rid of Gregor and furthermore, he hears that his sister is no longer

considers him as her brother. Gregor is once again disappointed by his own

demands.

Absurdity comes in a feeling that can strike a person anytime and

anywhere. All of a sudden the person feels like a stranger even to himself. This

feeling arises as a function of an encounter between the world and the demands a

person makes as a rational being. Absurdity occurs from the confrontation

between human need and the unreasonable silence of the world (Camus 21). The

absurd is not the elimination of meaning, on the other hand it will not exist

without a person’s plans and purposes. The problem is that the meaning which a

person takes for granted can crumble almost before the person knows it. Knowing

that there is nothing that a person can do because the universe will not change the

way it deals with human logical needs, leads to a total lack of hope. But as Camus

claims, it is not the same with despair.

36

What Camus is trying to say is that even if the absurd leads to a total lack

of hope, it is still not the end of everything. In the writer’s point of view, Camus is

trying to say that the total lack of hope is suppose to be lived not to make a person

to end his life by suicide. But on the other hand the absence of hope frees the

Absurd man from any illusions about the future and he can now live out his

adventure within the confines of his own lifetime (Mairowitz & Korkos 72).

Some of Gregor’s goals in his life are actually fulfilled. After the

transformation and the incident with the chief clerk Gregor does not have to do his

tiring job anymore. He does not to be worried about the trouble of constant

travelling, train connections, bed and irregular meals, and casual acquaintances

that are always new and never become intimate friends. Those are the thinks he

complains about whenever it comes in dealing with his job as a travelling

salesman. Above all, he does not have to be worried about his parents’ debts,

which is the reason why he is doing his job. He surely can not attend his job, even

if he tries as hard as he can to do so, and the fact that his family is able to stands

for themselves without Gregor’s help.

However this fact of Gregor’s freedom can not avoid him from feeling the

sense of conscious dissatisfaction. The truth is that the freedom he gets, in the end

amounts to nothing. This sense of dissatisfaction leads to the total lack of hope. In

spite of the dissatisfaction which Gregor’s felt, he can not do anything about it. He

has no ability to change the universe and make it to fulfil his demands. Gregor has

given up his hope towards himself and his family but he does not despair.

37

Gregor chooses to continue his life. Even if he feels the lack of hope, he

manages not to feel desperate. On the other hand, his absence of hope helps him to

be free from any illusions about the future. The consciousness towards the

absurdity allows a person to see it in a new perspective. At the time the person

realizes that his condition is hopeless and has no future, the person becomes free.

Because Gregor is now free from his illusions of the future, there is nothing left to

live for him except for the life itself. That is what the adventure which Camus

means.

3.2.2 Acceptance without Resignation

Knowing that all of his efforts and achievements are pointless, and all of

his demands and expectations are not being fulfilled as he expects them to be,

Gregor is now left to the options in dealing with the absurd. The writer has

mentioned in the previous chapter that Camus provided three solutions in order to

deal with the Absurd, and from those three solutions offered, Gregor Chooses the

last and the most appropriate solution in dealing with the Absurd. He accepts his

fate of being transformed into a gigantic insect and he accepts the fact that all the

Absurdity he sees in his life.

The transformation seems to be more like a little disturbance than a

horrifying problem for him. The way he perceives his transformation is quite

shocking because instead of being panic or desperate, Gregor is quite calm in

dealing with his transformation. At the time he was struggling to get out of his

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bed, he keeps reminding himself to stay calm because he thinks that it is the most

suitable action to take than a desperate resolves.

There is a sense in which that his priority at his present condition is his

family attention and nurture. Knowing that his appearance frightens his sister

whenever she comes into his room to give him some foods or to clean up his

room, he struggles for four hours to arrange a sheet on the couch to cover his body

so that his sister does not have to be worried of being frightened by Gregor’s

appearance. Before he blows his last breath Gregor thinks about his family with

tendereness and love. The decision that he must disappear was the one that he held

to even more strongly than his sister, if it was possible (Kafka 124).

After the incident with his chief clerk in front of his room, Gregor to

decide that he must stay low in his room at the present so that his family can

adjust to his condition.

He stayed there all night, spending the time partly in a light

slumber, from which his hunger kept waking him up with a start,

and partly in worrying and sketching vague hopes, which all led to

the same conclusion, the he must lie low for the present and, by

exercising patience and the utmost consideration, help the family to

bear the inconvenience he was bound to cause them in his present

condition. (Kafka 94)

There a sense in which that Gregor has truly accepts his transformation that he

never considers it as a huge problem. He thinks about the sake of his family

instead of his own tragic condition.

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Gregor accepts his insect transformation and the consequences which the

transformation brings as well. After having a full control of his new form, he

enjoys doing things which a real insect does. The next morning after the incident

in front of his room occurs, his sister comes into his room and put some fresh

foods for him to eat. At first, Gregor is eager to eat them since he has not eaten

anything at all after the transformation, but soon the eagerness gradually vanished.

It is because he does not like the milk which is served among other foods in front

of him. In his normal form as a human being, milk is one of his favourite treats,

but because of his transformation not only change his physical appearance, it also

changes his behaviour that he hates the milk and, above all, fresh foods. Gregor

now enjoys eating leftovers.

Besides his eating behaviour, the transformation changes his daily

behaviour. Instead of sleeping on his bed, he prefers to sleep under the couch in

his room. The couch is his favourite place among all the spaces he has in his

room. He can stay under the couch all day. He also starts to enjoy crawling around

his square room.

…for mere recreation he had formed the habit of crawling

crisscross over the walls and ceiling. He especially enjoyed

hanging suspended from the ceiling; it was much better than lying

on the floor; one could breath more freely; one’s body swung and

rocked lightly; and in the almost blissful absorption induced by this

suspension it could happen to his own surprise that he let go and

fell plump on the floor. (Kafka 102)

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But even if Gregor’s physical appearances and his behaviours are changed,

he is still the same Gregor in the mind. When her sister realizes Gregor’s new

habit of crawling in his room, she has this initiative to move some furniture in his

room just to give more space to move. At the time his mother and his sister work

together to move one of the furniture in his room, he feels like he is somehow

threatened. He wants his room to be the way it used to be for all the memory he

has with his room and all the furniture in it. Thus, his sticks his body on a picture

hanged on the wall of his room to prevent his mother and his sister to move more

of his belongings from his room. This action then causes another incident because

his mother soon collapses once again after seeing Gregor on the wall. When

Gregor father’s arrives from his work, he misunderstands what Grete is trying to

say about what actually is going on, and soon Gregor’s father bombards him with

apples.

Gregor’s does not have to go to work because of his transformation and it

gives him all the time he has for himself. He finally has his leisure time which he

hardly has when he is still working as a travelling salesman. In his imprisonment

Gregor has the chance to reflect on his life and finally sees the absurdity of his

life. The writer has mentioned earlier in this chapter, at this moment Gregor goes

through with his consciousness which leads him to his sense of dissatisfaction,

which leads him to his total lack of hope. But then he chooses to continue his life

as a gigantic insect until his last breath.

There is a sense in which that Gregor, after realizing his hopeless and

futureless condition, he becomes free. Gregor is free from any common rules or

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duties and starts to learn how to live his life, which is the only thing he has.

Camus states in The Myth of Sisyphus that life will be lived all the better if it has

no meaning (40). Gregor’s life has no meaning because he realizes that all of his

efforts throughout the last five years, in which he dedicates his life to it, is

actually pointless. However, Robert C. Solomon states in his lecture, that Camus

says, the only thing that matters, the only thing that is truly meaningful is personal

experience (Solomon 1).

Gregor is truly engaged with his personal experience of being a gigantic

insect. Thus, he gains a full control of his fate and gives his life a meaning.

There is a sense in which, in so far as we can simply get into what

we do, make ourselves simply love every moment of it, love the

process even if it might be painful, to that extend, we live our life

to the fullest and we are happy. (Solomon 1)

The message from Sisyphus, which also can be applied in Gregor’s case, is that

when a person is wholly engaged with his life, then he tastes the experience which

he has, that is the meaning of life. It is only in so far as he is fully engaged in his

life that his life makes sense

Another notion follows with the acceptance with the absurdity, which is

resentment. In Sisyphus’s case, Camus explains that when Sisyphus chooses to

continue to move on doing his pointless task, at the same time he revolts.

Camus asks us to reflect on Sisyphus when he reaches the top. He

knows the rock will roll down, and it does. But as Sisyphus heads

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down to retrieve it, he does not despair. He surmounts his fate by

scorning it, stronger than the rock. (Roth & Sontag 437)

By continuing doing his pointless task, Sisyphus, as Camus stated, shakes his fist

towards the gods. He defies his condemnation, but instead of putting the huge

stone down and stop rolling it, he continues to do it. The basic idea is that what

keeps Sisyphus feels that his life is meaningful is that he shakes his fist to the

gods as he is doing his pointless task with, as Camus claims, scorn and defiance.

Defiance of the absurd maximizes life’s intensity in a way that would not be

possible if some transcendent God guaranteed life’s significance (Roth & Sontag

436).

To put the conclusion, rather bluntly, Camus builds on the insight that the

most authentically human response to absurdity is to protest against it. But the

protest which he meant is not to choose, for example to avoid the absurd, but

Camus thinks we should let it remain in order to defy it. By accepting his fate no

matter how hard and painful it is, Gregor is making his way in dealing with the

absurdity of his life and at the same time he revolts against it. He revolts the

absurdity not by avoiding it but rather to embrace it. As he does it he revolts in the

sense that he refuses to accept the absurdity which has been posted upon him. In

other words, it is a way of giving meaning to his life, but in reaction of rejection

of something else, which is the Absurd.

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

Through The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka gives a character who is forced

to reflect on his life in probably the hardest way. Gregor Samsa, the main

character of the story, has been transformed into a gigantic insect. The

transformation turns his and his family’s life around.

As the result of the analysis the writer comes up with two main points of

conclusion of the study. The first conclusion concerns to the meaning of Gregor

Samsa’s insect transformation, and the second conclusion concerns to the way

Gregor Samsa perceives his insect transformation.

The first conclusion defines the meaning of Gregor Samsa’s insect

transformation as a stage in which Gregor gains his consciousness of the absurdity

of his life. Through his transformation, the writer finds that through his five years

of employment as a travelling salesman Gregor has become a slave of his own

routine. This slavery is not only caused by his tiring job and some of his prudent

habits, but also because Gregor dedicates his life way to well in what he is doing

because he has some goals which he has to achieve, which are getting out from his

job and repressing employer, paying all his parents’ debts to his employer, and

sending his sister to the Conservatorium. Later he learns that all of his goals are

false because in the end they all amount to nothing.

Furthermore, he comes to realize that all of his efforts and achievements

for the family are truly pointless. This point leads to the second point of the

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conclusion which is concerns of the way Gregor perceives his transformation.

Gregor soon realizes the confrontation of his demands with the indifferent

universe. He expects that all of his achievement for the family and what he has

done for the firm will at least can give a kind of appreciation from the family and

his employer. On the contrary, his family gives him mistreatments and sometimes

violence. As for his expectation toward his employer, instead of appreciating all

his hard works, the employer accuses of doing corruption.

This awareness and dissatisfaction lead Gregor to his total lack of hope.

He sees that there is nothing he can do about what is happening to him and he

only has his own life to live. Gregor soon accepts the absurdity of his life by

continuing to live as a gigantic insect. Gregor enjoys his new habits as an insect

and he finally has the time for himself which he hardly gives to himself when he

works as a travelling salesman. In this time of meditation that he fully engaged in

his life and with his own will, he gives a meaning to it. By continuing his life,

Gregor accepts the absurdity of his life but at the same time he revolts against it.

Here, the revolt against the absurdity does not mean to avoid it but rather to

embrace it, because life will only make sense if a person is wholly engaged in it

and tastes the experience he has.

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WORKS CITED

Beckett, Sammuel, and Eugene Ionesco. Absurdism From Culture. Online.

Internet. http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Absurdism. 13 October

2008.

Bernardo, Karen. Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Online. Internet.

http://www.storybites.com/kafkametamorph2.htm. 14 January 2009.

Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus. Devon: Penguin Books Ltd., 1975

Gould, James A., ed. Classical Philosophical Questions. 5th Edition. Colombus:

Bell and Howell Company, 1985.

Hayman, Ronald. K: A Biography of Franz Kafka. London: Phoenix Press, 2001.

Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Collected Stories. London: David Campbell

Publishers Ltd., 1993.

Kurniawan, Anang. On Kafka: The Metamorphosis. Online. Internet.

http://duniabahasa.wordpress.com/2008/09/22/on-kafka-the-

metamorphosis/. 14 January 2009.

Lathief, Supaat A. Sastra: Eksistensialisme – Mistisme Religius. Lamongan:

Pustaka Ilalang, 2008.

Leni. Franz Kafka Biography. Online. Internet.

http://www.kafka-franz.com/kafka-biography.htm. 13 October 2008.

Mairowitz, David Zane, and Alain Korkos. Camus for Beginners. Cambridge:

Icon books Ltd., 1998.

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New World Encyclopedia Page. Absurdism. Online. Internet.

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Absurdism. 13 October

2008.

Olen, Jeffrey. Persons and Their World: An Introduction to Philosophy. New

York: Random House Inc., 1983.

Robinson, Dave, and Oscar Zarate. Introducing Kierkegaard. Cambridge: Icon

Books Ltd., 2006.

Roth, John K., and Frederick Sontag. The Questions of Philosophy. Belmont:

Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1988.

Solomon, Robert C. Franz Kafka. Online. Internet.

http://www.youtube.com/p/31EA17177583B455&hl=en&fs=1. 13

October 2008.

Solomon, Robert C. Lecture Four: Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus. Online.

Internet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udk0vRXGLIA. 13 October

2008.

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SYNOPSIS

The Metamorphosis opens as Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, awakes

to find himself transformed into a gigantic insect. Gregor soon begins to worry

that he will miss his train and be late for work. He also complains about his job,

employment to which he had resigned himself to pay off his parents' debts. From

outside of the room, Gregor's mother calls to him. Gregor, unfamiliar with his new

form, struggles to get out of bed. Later, the chief clerk of his office arrives in front

of the locked door to Gregor's room, inquiring why his employee has missed the

early train. Speaking through the door, Gregor claims that he is slightly ill but will

soon be on his way to attend his job.

Meanwhile, Gregor's mother asks her daughter Grete to call for a doctor

and a locksmith. Finally Gregor manages to open his door. His appearance

frightens the chief clerk, and although Gregor tries to explain to him, claiming he

will get dressed and be on his way to work, the clerk runs away from the gigantic

insect, as does Gregor's frightened mother collapses. Gregor's father then appears

and violently drives Gregor back into his room.

Time passes, and Gregor's family members grow more accustomed to

living with Gregor in this strange form, though only Grete has the courage to enter

her brother's room. When Gregor leaves his room weeks later, his mother

becomes shocked, and her husband forces Gregor to his room under a hail of

thrown apples. Injured and unable to move, Gregor suffers a lonely imprisonment

in his room. Gregor's mother spends her day by sewing while his sister takes a job

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as a salesgirl. Gregor is neglected by his family. They hire a charwoman to attend

to the heavier work around the house, tasks that used to be performed by Gregor.

Unusable things are placed in his room for storage, to make space for three male

lodgers the Samsas have taken in to supplement their income.

One evening as Grete plays the violin for these men, Gregor is attracted by

the music and crawls into the living room. Later, one of the lodgers observes him.

The lodgers threaten to give notice and leave the flat. Grete realizes that they must

get rid of this creature, which she seems to no longer see as her brother. The

following morning, the charwoman enters Gregor's room and finds him dead.

When the lodgers appear and demand breakfast, Gregor’s father orders them to

leave. Meanwhile, charwoman returns and explains that she has disposed of

Gregor's body. The story closes as Gregor's parents, optimistic for the future and

without a thought of their deceased son, comment on their daughter's vivacity and

beauty, realizing she has grown into a woman.

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