Recently, we started (and finished)
the short story The Metamorphosis. The
early 20th century novella does a fantastic job of capturing the
true nature of humanity. When Gregor awakes as a bug, he literally transforms
into something different than himself. However, what he transforms into is
extremely important. He transforms into a bug, and not an inanimate object
incapable of communication. This is important because it allows Gregor to
overcome the metaphorical wall of communication between him and his family.
However, we see throughout the novella that this simply does not occur. We do
find that he maintains human consciousness, which presents an interesting question.
At what point does Gregor lose his humanity? Is it when he turns into a bug
himself? I disagree with that conclusion because we see that he still has
coherent thoughts even while he is in bug form. Is it when he is unable to
communicate? Again, I also disagree because he is still able to use
nontraditional forms of communication. Rather the family doesn’t really attempt
to communicate with Gregor. Is it when the family takes all the “human”
objects out of Gregor's room? In this case, I believe yes. The removal of Gregor’s human objects in
my view symbolizes the completeness of his transformation from human to bug. It is then, at that
point, the family has lost hope for Gregor.
If we read the subliminal messages
in Gregor’s actions, Gregor too knows he is permanently lost. I believe he died
because he simply had nothing left to live for. His family appeared to be
functioning just as well as (or even better than) before. He only seemed to
provide economic support, and even that was well taken care of. At that point,
Gregor realized he was causing more problems than he was solving. With a heavy
heart, he took his last breath. It was only then that the burden of caring for Gregor that was placed on the
family was lifted, and the family could finally be free.
.
I do not think that Gregor ever really lost his humanity, although Gregor transforms into a bug physically he mentally stays the same and I think that is what matters. Gregor loses humanity from the point of view of the parents, but to the reader he is very much human. Therefore I think the moving of the furniture symbolizes the family losing hope not Gregor losing his humanity. Great post!
ReplyDeleteI think that "what does it mean to be a human anyway" is a really complex question, even if we only use The Metamorphosis to base things off of. When Gregor's mother and sister move all the things out of his room, you say it's when the family has lost hope for Gregor and his transformation from human to bug is complete. But does that mean that before, Gregor's family had some amount of hope that Gregor could change back? This never really seemed to be the case, did it? Even when Grete brought Gregor milk because she knew it was his favorite drink, and then later, rotten food, didn't it seem more like she was resigned and adjusting to the fact that he was going to be a bug, than that she had hope he was going to change back into her human brother? If the Samsa family really still had any amount of hope that Gregor would regain his physical (and to them, mental as well) humanity, wouldn't they have at least tried more in some way?
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ethan- I don't think he ever lost his humanity. I think there was definitely a point at which his mind became a human-insect hybrid, but we still see him feeling guilty and sad until the end. If emotions are inherently human (and many people believe they are), then Gregor never fully lost his humanity. I do think that in the solitude and lack of communication he suffered, he lost a lot of his humanity, especially after the furniture incident when his family started hating him. Even still, I think at least a part of him remained human through the whole novel.
ReplyDeleteAs a few people have commented in class, for the reader, Gregor's humanity is never really in doubt--right to the end, his psychology seems fully human in its emotional range as well as its neuroses. But Kafka does present an idea of humanity as a transactional thing--dependent on one being recognized *as* human by others. When his family ceases to treat him as human, Gregor stops being human for all intents and purposes. If there are "human" actions taken by the giant insect--and *we* interpret his clinging to the picture, or crawling out to hear Grete's playing, as human because we can read him motivations and intentions and feelings--they are misconstrued by his family. He attempts to communicate that Gregor is still in there, but they never get the message. So if he stops "being human," it isn't because of anything to do with him, necessarily--it's that his peculiar circumstances prevent his family from seeing and responding to the humanity in him.
ReplyDeleteDJ this is a great post! However, I think that I also agree with Ethan. I agree with him because having intense intricate emotions, thoughts, and feelings, is a very human trait. Yet the question of what is humanity is a very complex one. Gregor doesn’t embody the physical homo sapiens appearance however he still exhibits a mind like one. He is definitely not human physically but mentally could be another debate. Animals (specifically bugs) could exhibit the internal mind set of humans, we just don’t know. If they do, then we can confidently say that Gregor lost his “humanity” when he woke up in the morning. If what makes us human are the objects we surround ourselves with, then he lost his “humanity” when Grete and his mother were moving the furniture from the room. If what makes us human is our complex emotions and mind, then I don’t believe Gregor ever lost his “humanity”.
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