Franz Kafka, in his novel The Metamorphosis writes about a travelling salesman called Gregor Samsa. He one day wakes up to find himself transformed into a huge bug to the surprise of not only himself but also his family and everyone living around him. The novel is primarily about the thoughts, actions and feelings of Gregor in regards to his environment (Bloom 64). Environment and all that happens around a person therefore play a crucial role in shaping up or influencing a person both in thought and in action just as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels put it in his writings, The Communist manifesto. In the manifesto, it is clear that the environment that has been created by society to a great extent affects everyone in it be it in a positive or a negative way.
Gregor’s predicaments can be understood by the hardships that he had to go through as big bug. He could no longer go to work nor was he able to interact with his family and people around him easily. This of course was a big blow not only to him as an individual but also to his family. He remained locked up all through his entire life after he turned into a bug until he met his death. Marx’s theory highlighted in The Communist Manifesto can be directly linked to Kafka’s choice of events in the novel in that, workers in Germany, England and France suffered from a lot of hardships in the 19th century in the wake of the industrial revolution (Sparknotes The Metamorphosis). The problems and challenges faced made life difficult for the huge population of working class just like life became tremendously difficult for Gregor.
Taking Marx and Engel’s ideologies into consideration, Gregor can easily be put into the class of the proletariat. This is the class of people who were considered as laborers and did not own the means of production neither do they have a say in what they do in regard to their employment. The proletariat must sell their services in order for them to survive. This is seen through the Samsa family and of course other families living in their neighborhood. The Samsa family hugely depends on Gregor for their survival because he is the one who goes out to work in order to put food on the table and even pay for his sister’s violin classes. This means that without him, this family could end up suffering just because they do not have any other means of survival especially in regard to production.
On the other hand, when Gregor wakes up and realizes that he is already late for work because he has missed his train, he is suddenly engulfed in fear at the slightest thought of his boss who does not take excuses from his employees no matter how much hard work they do. Just like Marx and Engel’s assertions, there is some kind of conflicting classes of people in the novel, where the ruling class, the bourgeoisie, the likes of Gregor’s employer and the Proletariat, the likes of Gregor and his family has conflicting interests (Sparknotes The Communist manifesto). This leads to conflicting ideologies from both of them in that, the boss does not really take any excuses from the employee. The manager even goes ahead to do a follow up on Gregor to find out why he is late for work. He issues a threat to remind Gregor of the dire consequences of his lateness.
Gregor, the protagonist in the story has got one major task which happens to be the major conflict in the story. The task is that of wanting to reconcile the humanness in him with the bug that he has become. The bug in him has condemned him to live a life that he does not seem to like at all because he has received a raw deal in terms of treatment from not only his family but also society in general. Taking Marx and Engel’s ideals into consideration, this is a tough position to be in simply because life changes and is never the same again. Gregor is forced to operate under the mercies of other people and the circumstances he finds himself in. He does not fancy milk, his favorite drink any longer. Just like the proletariats who have no say in everything that goes on around them, Gregor cannot do anything in regard to his new situation and everything around him.
The absurdity of life can clearly be seen in Franz’s work. He shows the picture of how unfair life can be on an individual when they least expect. In one day, in as much as it is a dream, Gregor wakes up to find himself confined into the body of a bug. This is one thing that he least expects because being trapped in their means that he has to depend on other for life in as much as they seem not to be understanding him. The proletariats in Marx and Engel’s writings are also in the same situation (Marx 62). Nothing can happen unless there is a revolution to change the status quo. This status quo is just but part of what it means to live in a life that is structured in a social strata. The same status quo exists in Gregor’s society because as an employee, he has to forever be under somebody thus maintaining the said status just like in the society during Marx and Engel’s time.
Marx and Engel say that the proletariat only matters at the point where he is able to produce for the benefit of the employer, in Gregor’s situation it might be different because he seemed to matter to his family when he could wake up and go to work in order to repay his family’s debt. Gregor realizes that Grete has grown tired of attending to him and that his father and mother even fear getting close to his room. His father in particular even urges Gregor’s mother not to get into his room. This means that they despise him because of his current state. Just like the bourgeoisie see the proletarian as objects at their disposal; it is evident that they only mattered when they worked for them much to their benefit. Now that Gregor is no longer useful, he can as well stay in there without receiving any assistance from his mother and father.
It does not seem to bother the family so much that Gregor has died just like it does not bother the bourgeoisie so much that an employee comes to work or not. In fact, Gregor’s death is a relief to the family. Grete who seemed to be mindful of him at the beginning grows weary and tired. She seemed to worry about him so much but is now tired of the bug and does not consider it her brother any more. This drift is evident of her weariness and even the suggestion of going for a trip and moving to a better apartment implies that the death was a relief (Bloom 28). Marx and Engel, in the Manifesto show the growing antagonism between the two classes of people. Regardless of the mutual benefit, the two classes have conflicting interests much to the satisfaction of the Bourgeoisie and to the disadvantage of the proletariat. Much to the disadvantage of Gregor, the family seems to go on with life as if nothing is wrong even when they are much aware of how they have alienated Gregor.
All in all, the metamorphosis that saw the transformation of Gregor from a human being to a bug can be given a keen eye that of the proletariat finding peace in a transformation that will be seen through a revolution. The revolution is set to see them transform from mere workers to a class that will be more equal to their employers. Transformation in both changes a person from one form to another. In as much as in Gregor’s position it changes him to a bad state of being; the proletarians will transform into a different class and therefore earn more freedom financially. Gregor wishes that he could get back to his normal self and acknowledges the good results achieved by his current status, for instance, his father turning out to be smarter and looking younger now that he has gotten employment. Such positive transformation in Franz’s world is the kind of transformation that Marx and Engel want, a transformation from the capitalist mindset and way of doing things into a communist way of doing things.
Works Cited
Bloom, Harold. The metamorphosis – Franz Kafka, New Edition. New York: Infobase Publishing. 2008
Marx, Karl. Selected Writings. Indianapolis: Hacket publishing. 1994
Marx, Karl & Engels Friedrich. The Communist Manifesto: A Modern Edition. London: Verso Books. 2012
Sparknotes.com. “The Metamorphosis.” Sparknotes.com. Web, retrieved on 26th April 2013. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/metamorph/
Sparknotes.com. “The Communist manifesto. Sparknotes.com. Web, Retrieved on 26th April 2013. http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/communist/
