Love or Fear 3-22-14

     Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis is the story of a traveling salesman named Gregor Samsa. Samsa lives a fairly simple life that consists mostly of work. He lives with his parents and his sister; all of whom do not have much money. One morning, Samsa awakes to find that his mind no longer functions in a human body but rather a huge insect. However, Samsa is not immediately shocked by this and acts like he only woke up with a cold or fever. " Why don’t I keep sleeping for a little while longer and forget all this foolishness,”(Kafka 1). Samsa clearly doesn't care much about his own well being or health, and many examples are shown of how he does care for others with great passion. He reveals that he is working primarily to pay of debt that his parents have acquired. Through what I have read so far, it is not yet apparent if Samsa is doing this as a favor to his parents or out of fear of them. 

Another example of his selflessness is when Samsa's boss arrives to question about his absence at work. Samsa is struggling with normal movements in his new body and does not want to startle anyone. "His greatest reservation was a worry about the loud noise which the fall must create and which presumably would arouse, if not fright, then at least concern on the other side of all the doors," (Kafka 1). Samsa is literally tearing his body apart trying to get to the door in order to let his family and employer know that he is OK yet still worries about waking or frightening anyone. It does not seem that Samsa's priorities, nor the priorities of the people in his life, are exactly in order. He does not care about his current physical state but instead worries incessantly about keeping his job and keeping his parents happy. His dad also does not seem to worry about his son's health but rather the only source of income that he has had for the last many years. His sister however, does at first seemed genuinely worried. These characters most likely reflect Kafka's family life at home in his childhood. In conclusion, Gregor Samsa is a character created with the personality and family that by a man who probably experienced similar moments in his own life.