Work is one of the main reasons why most people cannot spend time with their loved ones, let alone have free time. It is something that occupies one's life and impacts the lives around that specific person. For example, if a father has to work for 12 to 14 hours straight a day to provide for his family, he will only have time to work, eat, and sleep. When he is not working, he will most likely feel exhausted and will want to rest up for his next shift, preventing him from doing what he wants to do. Eventually, the father will let the work completely take over his life, and parts of him will fade away. In The Metamorphosis, this is the case for Gregor and his family. Gregor is the one who works long shifts as a traveling salesman and with the money he earns, he can provide for and support his mother, father, and sister. Unfortunately, Gregor lets his work take over his life as he later forgets who he is, and he ends up transforming into a bug. Gregor himself, his job, and his parents are all in charge of his transformation because each of them requires him to be very hardworking and isolated from others.
Gregor transformed into a bug because of how he was feeling, how his family treated him, and the impact of his job. He did not enjoy his career at all and it left him with a feeling of unhappiness as after all, it contributed to dehumanizing him. Gregor described his job as full of torment, worrying, and having terrible hours and meals (Kafka 11-12). It seems like he is very busy and despises what he does, but he is doing it for his family. He just wants to help them out and pay off their debt, while his mother and father want him to continue working so that he can provide for them and Grete. There may be two sides to the story where Gregor feels one way about the situation and his parents feel differently. His parents may feel like he needs to work more to survive and provide for the family, while Gregor feels miserable from his work and isolated from those around him. Gregor’s work day consisted of waking up at four in the morning and traveling most of the day, which eventually left a huge impact on him. He was most likely consumed by the work as he did it so often and was all he had time for. Gregor’s feelings, his family, and his job eventually made him feel like he was no longer human as he was not doing human things anymore. The emotions he felt and what he experienced are why he transformed into a bug. His new “bug” life symbolizes who and what he is on the inside, causing him to change into it on the outside too. Perhaps he felt he was being treated like a bug which contributed to his actual transformation into one. Even though he is no longer able to work in his new state, it was all he did when he was a human.
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Before Gregor changed into a bug, he was always keeping himself occupied with work, leaving him with little time to do anything else. Most people spend the majority of their day working and making a steady income to help their family members survive. Once someone earns a paycheck, they will most likely use that money on rent, food, clothing, etc., and the cycle continues with each paycheck they earn. Everyone is working to live, as there is not much anyone can get for free. Gregor Samsa has never missed a day of work out of the five years he has been employed, and all of the people he knows such as his parents, sister, and employer know something must be wrong as he missed his train (Kafka 11-13). Samsa is such a hardworking man since he has yet to miss a day of work, and those who know him realize it is unusual when it happens. He is still home at the time when he was supposed to catch a train early in the morning, which causes his family members to check up on him and make sure everything is alright. Gregor’s mother thinks he is unwell; “How otherwise would Gregor miss a train! The boy has no head for anything but the business. I’m almost upset, as it is, that he never goes out at night; he’s been in town for eight days this time but has stayed home every night. He sits with us at the table and reads the paper quietly or studies timetables” (Kafka 16). It is very strange and unlikely for Gregor to miss a train, and even when he is home, he is still working. When some people let work take over their lives, they lose themselves to it and forget who they truly are. Unfortunately, some workers must keep the job they have consisting of long hours and low pay, so they can provide for their family as it is all they can get. These workers are unable to choose if they work or not since there may not be another adult to take on the job of taking care of the family, so they end up having the responsibility themself. Instead of having a social life, forming new relationships, and living his life how he wants to, Gregor is constantly working and it is one of the reasons he transformed. It is as if the impacts he felt from his parents, employer, and job of being extremely busy, worried, and tired, he also happened to isolate himself even more from his family as he faced alienated labor.
Gregor had previously always been in his little world, but because he was too caught up with wanting to help pay his parent's debt to his boss, they are another reason he transformed and experienced isolation. Gregor was the only one working and supporting the family, making his father, mother, and sister all dependent on him. He was overworking himself so that they all could enjoy not having to work themselves, as well as providing shelter and food for his family. It is as if Gregor’s family is taking advantage of what he does for them, since if it was not because of his parents, he would have quit his job long ago (Kafka 12). Gregor simply just wants to help his parents out and they know how much of a hardworking and dedicated person he is, which is why they contribute to the reasons for him changing into a bug. He rarely misses a day of work and is never home long enough to visit or meet anyone. Once he had transformed, his new appearance was what caused his relationship with his family to change as they slowly grew further and further away from him, leaving Gregor completely isolated from any human contact. His family is largely the reason why he was required to work, and anyone in general who focuses too much on their work will face isolation. The longer someone works, the weaker he will become and there will be less and less of what is his (Marx 2). Gregor’s family may not know it, but since they are relying on his income and for him to constantly work, they will eventually lose him. The worker will do his labor for so long that he will forget what else he cares about and will therefore also live his life alone. He will be alienated and will be in his little world consisting of working, sleeping, and eating instead of socializing, with friends, and family. Gregor’s family is what made him turn into this animal as they are the reason he keeps the job he has. Gregor feels the pressure that he must continue to work so his family can be happy, leaving him somewhat in charge of his transformation.
Gregor spends nearly all day every day working which causes him to partially be at fault for his changing. He is the one that allowed himself to change as there are a few things he could have done to prevent it from happening, but he didn’t. He made himself into an animal since instead of taking time for himself or going out and meeting new people, he chose to stay in and work. Gregor did not have to do what he did for his family though, all three of his family members could have helped out. They could have provided for themselves, but they just wanted Gregor to work so they did not have to (Kafka 37-39). If this happened, Gregor most likely would have wanted to and been able to do what he wanted to do. His situation would have never occurred either, so he would still be alive if his family had picked up jobs sooner than they did. When it comes to humans and animals, both must eat and drink to survive and oftentimes procreate as well. This is what makes humans participate in animal functions when they are not working (Marx 3). Work for an animal seems to be about survival, where the animal must hunt for its food and water and also look for a place to build its home. Similarly to humans, wage labor work makes them an animal since they must work to survive. The worker must follow and go by what he is told to do, and therefore, he has very little control over his labor. It is what he must do if he wants to survive. Before Gregor’s situation, he would constantly work and let it take over his life. Even though he could have quit his job as he very much disliked it, he made up his mind and kept going through with it (Kafka 11-12). By deciding to continue with his work, Gregor only made things worse for himself. If he had quit his job, perhaps he would have not transformed and could have lived happily with his life. However, he did not quit, and his own decision of wanting to still work quickly ended up dehumanizing him. This also goes for many other people as when they are done working, they either sleep, eat, or drink, making them into animals. They are in charge of themselves though, so if they want to let their work consume them then they will most likely lose themself to it. Even those who are poor and have a family to support could keep their current job but hope to quit if they find a better one. It may be difficult to find the time to look for a new job since they do not have much extra time, but if they want it badly enough to help their family, then they are probably going to do anything and everything they can just like Gregor did. The situation would most likely end either with the worst being the worker keeps the same job or the best where he finds something better for him and his family and moves on. Gregor let his work take over his life which contributed to his transformation, but he had to work to live.
Work is something everyone must do at one point or another because it is part of human nature and it is needed for survival. However, some laborers must work longer hours and more days than others as the wages differ. One worker may get paid more while another one gets paid less, and the one who receives less will need to work more so they can get paid the best they can. Most of these workers are simply trying to support and provide for their families, and by doing so, they spend just about all day every day working. Gregor did this for his family and he ended up in a rough situation because of it. Gregor’s job, Gregor himself, and his parents are what alienated him from himself as he always had to be gone or busy. He was unable to pursue his dreams, do what he liked to enjoy, and have a social life all because of his parents, himself, and his job taking over his life. He should have been able to achieve all of these and live a life that he wanted to live. Instead, from what he felt on the inside, he transformed into it on the outside too. If only Gregor had quit his job long ago and found something else to do his situation would have never happened in the first place. This goes for many others as well since if they find another job that pays better, they can also quit their current job and begin working for a better one. Even if their wage is slightly raised at the new job, it is still better than the last. However, if one fails to find a better paying job, then they would be unable to quit their career since it is all they have to support their family. Life, in general, would be so much better if everyone was able to pursue their dreams, rather than being forced to do something that makes them unhappy. Gregor’s situation was like this he was very unhappy with his job, but he was forced to work so he could provide for his family. He was paid well enough to support them with a house, food, clothes, etc., but he was putting his family before himself and he did not do what he wanted to do. If everyone was able to live their life how they wanted to, they would be way happier.
Works Cited
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- Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Dover Publications, 1996, pp. 11-52.
- Marx, Karl. “Alienated Labor.” Writings of the Young Marx on Philosophy and Society. 1967, pp. 1-8.
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