Stuck

Frazz Comic from 10/31/13

Kafka's The Metamorphosis started out kind of funny, actually, but then as the book went on I just wanted to slam my head against the desk in agony. 

I remember reading the first bit that we were assigned to read, and I was certain that this book was going to be hilarious. The beginning was funny. This guy wakes up a bug and all he can think about is his work? I kept imagining him waking up and crossing his little bug arms in sudden frustration as he says to himself  "Huh, that's weird. But how am I supposed to get to work today?" Trying to explain why I found this funny is hard because when I do explain what I find funny, people look at me and go "what kind of sick person are you?! This man just tragically turned into a bug and you're laughing?"

Those who criticized my chuckles at the first few pages will be pleased to know that as the book went on I found it less humorous and more painful. The story of Gregor being rejected from the family, and gradually losing all connections to humanity, was rather sad and tragic to read. Reading it from Gregor's perspective I yearned for some of the other characters to somehow make him feel less lonely, but I also understood that it is difficult to socialize with a bug. 

I hadn't ever read this book before and I wasn't sure what to expect. I kept waiting for Gregor to return to his human self, but he never did. It's like how the Frazz comic puts it--Gregor couldn't get out of his bug body. I think that this small bit of hope for a happy ending is what made me keep turning the pages. I wanted a happy ending with Disney-esk morals that the main character learns after a hard life as a bug. Sadly, the true love's transforming kiss never came for Gregor.

In the end though, I'm almost glad that Gregor died. It makes for a more interesting book, maybe not a more satisfying ending, but interesting in the fact that it makes you think more about what you read. You discover that Gregor wasn't the only one who went through a transformation, but everyone else in the family did too. His sister grew up, his dad got a job, and they finally got the courage to move out and start over. So was his death really a bad thing in the end?