Symbolism in The Metamorphosis Essay Example

Best selling novel The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is great in many aspects, such as the symbolic story with a deep meaning, along with providing an interesting and different read. To begin, I thought that the story was very well thought of, and it was amazing how Kafka interpreted the message with symbolism. For example, the description of Gregor Samsa’s life made me realize how many citizens work hard to earn a paycheck to survive in modern society, and how work often takes up much of one’s life. Further, the event of his transformation made me analyze the story deeply in order to understand the true meaning of the story. To examine, I realized that the metamorphosis is a reflection of how Gregor lives and acts, while it also symbolized his loss of humanity. I enjoyed how the author hid the theme and moral of the story with symbolism since it made my mind think thoroughly about the story, and gave me time to reflect on how this story is similar to the current world. Also, The Metamorphosis was an interesting book for me to read since the theme and genre varied greatly from the books I normally read. To explain, I usually think of old novels as bland and pointless, therefore often reading newer, more trendy books, but this book has changed my opinion since it was captivating to read. Reading this added a new variety of books on my to-read list, for The Metamorphosis added many different aspects to Gregor’s life, and a character transforming into a bug isn’t very common. In simpler terms, Franz Kafka’s well known novel has changed my view on classic books since they have many positive features. 

However, this book could use some slight adjustments since I found a few aspects unfavorable, while others were unnecessary. To start off, I noticed how the beginning of the book starts off with, “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.” This sentence was a confusing start as a reader with very little understanding of classic literature, but I continued and thought that Kafka would explain the backstory. To my disdain, the writer did not elaborate on the transformation, and I would have favored the novel more if there was a backstory. Additionally, the resolution of this book was unusually short, and I would’ve liked a happier ending. In the end, the family seems to forget about Gregor, and continue to move into a smaller apartment to start a new life. Without a proper resolution, the book seemed to leave on an unfinished note, which made the ending seem empty and incomplete. Yet, this classic novel by Franz Kafka is still an amazing book overall, even with the negatives weighing down the total score.