The Metamorphosis: Book Review


Book Review

Title: The Metamorphosis
Author: Franz Kafka
Genre: Fiction

The Metamorphosis tells the story of a salesman named Gregor who wakes up one morning to find that he has turned into an insect. He and his family are trying to grapple with this change. 

The book is written in third person.The metamorphosis goes deeper than just a man's alteration in his appearance. It's about a man who is the sole breadwinner of his family and how a certain change in him causes a chain of reactions amidst his family. From shock to grief, pity and indifference, Gregor sees the transformation in not onyl himself but his entire family's reactions towards him. It can be seen as a metaphoric representation of a certain illness and the attitude of his closed ones towards it. 

Change clearly is the main theme represented by the author. Not only is there a transformation in Gregor but also in his sister. There is a subtle reference to money that is mentioned in several instances in the book. Another interesting aspect is how Gregor still possesses the mind of a human despite having a body of an insect. 

Readers are bound to wonder about why the protagonist is converted into an insect. The book is strange and bizarre in many ways. Yet its symbolic representation and the psychological struggle with an identity is probably what makes it an interesting read. The metamorphosis is a story that can be analysed in various ways which is bound to give rise to different perspectives and viewpoints. 
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