What is Gregor's metamorphosis most symbolic of?

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Change plays a key role in one's life. Change is what makes one's life different from usual; change is needed in everyone's life in order to maintain the fluency of life. The character Gregor Samsa's in the book “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka symbolizes change, in which he gets transformed into a large insect.



In this regard, what are some symbols in the metamorphosis?

Symbols. Apple: Disconnect between Gregor and his family and the loss of love/innocence. Represents the food Gregor's family does not care to feed him. Portrait of the woman: Represents and idealistic view of wealth in Gregor's mind and represents society's portrayal of women as objects of wealth and power.

Furthermore, what is the cause of Gregor's metamorphosis? The causes of the metamorphosis! The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, is basically about a young man, Gregor, who becomes an insect one morning after an uneasy dream. The main protagonist, Gregor Samsa, dedicates his life to his family and his company, regardless of his anxiety and hatred.

Moreover, what does the bug symbolize in the metamorphosis?

“I have always seen the insect as a devastating symbol of low self-esteem and self-loathing. In Kafka's life, he had an extremely complex relationship with his father, and I think that plays a big part in his writings.

How does Gregor die?

Instead, Gregor dies from starvation (he finds human food disgusting) and, presumably, from some sort of infection caused the apple lodged in his back from his father throwing it at him. Only after Gregor dies does his family realize that they cannot sit around all day waiting for others to take care of them.

29 Related Question Answers Found

What does the Apple in metamorphosis symbolize?

The apples represent immortality. They are only available from the garden of Hesperides. These apples are representing the most heart-rending emotions in the history of literature achievements in Greek mythology. It is a symbol for complex representation of human relationships from happiness to death to immortality.

What does Gregor's room symbolize?

Throughout Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis, Gregor's bedroom door is used to entrap him, to keep him from the daily goings-on in the house, and to communicate whether he is welcome outside of his room.

What does Gregor's death symbolize?

One of the most debated interpretations of the story lies within the scene of Gregor's death. This further symbolizes Gregor's detachment from his family and, in a flipped perspective, his family's detachment from him.

What does the window symbolize in the metamorphosis?

The doors/windows: The doors and windows are symbols of opportunities gregor would have if his family didn't keep him locked in his room (their debt). He sees what he could be doing but he just can't get to the outside world.

What is the significance of metamorphosis?


Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops after birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation.

What is the conflict in the metamorphosis?

The conflict within The Metamorphosis is Gregor versus circumstance. He is turned into a gigantic insect, unable to reverse the process as he slowly loses his humanity and will to live. A secondary conflict would be Gregor versus his family.

What does the violin symbolize in the metamorphosis?

Grete's violin Symbol Analysis. Gregor's deepest desire before his transformation was to pay for Grete to study violin at the Conservatorium. The violin symbolizes their loving bond and shows Gregor's altruistic, sympathetic character. Yet the violin also leads to Gregor's biggest mistake, the night before his death.

What is the theme of the metamorphosis?

Isolation and alienation are major themes in The Metamorphosis. Gregor's physical transformation makes him a creature, stripping him of his humanity in the eyes of his family. Gregor's inability to communicate further isolates him. Gregor's family often defines him by his ability to work.

What is the significance of Gregor turning into an insect?

Gregor is the main character of the story. He works as a traveling salesman in order to provide money for his sister and parents. He wakes up one morning finding himself transformed into an insect. After the metamorphosis, Gregor becomes unable to work and is confined to his room for most of the remainder of the story.

What does the cockroach symbolize in the metamorphosis?


The bug may symbolize a change in the man that might or might not be literal. It is suggested that it simply represents Gregor's feeling of alienation from his family, as they care more about his paycheck, and little for him.

What does food symbolize in the metamorphosis?

Food. Food represents the way the members of the Samsa family feel toward Gregor. Notably, it is Grete, the family member Gregor feels closest to, who feeds Gregor for most of the story.

What does the monstrous vermin symbolize in metamorphosis?

The entire Metamorphosis is an allegory about Gregor changing into a vermin, symbolize that he wanted to free himself from his family obligation. “As Gregor Samsa awoke from unsettling dreams one morning, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous vermin” (Kafka 7).

Why did Kafka make Gregor a bug?

Kafka choose the form of a bug for "The Metamorphosis" because of the perception that a bug is perceived as a mindless systematic creature, a metaphor for the way Gregor lives his life, and acts in society. This is brought to light through Gregor's transformation into a bug.

Who is to blame for Gregor's metamorphosis Why does the metamorphosis take place?


Samsa is the biggest culprit for Gregor's atrocities. It is largely of him that Gregor had to abandon his studies to live the miserable life he was living before the metamorphosis, and the life of a disgusted vermin after the metamorphosis. read more.

What does it mean to be a bug metaphorically?

A figure of speech containing an implied comparison, in which a word or phrase ordinarily and primarily used of one thing is applied to another. Metaphorically, what does it mean to be a "bug"? as a sense of isolation from Gregor's family and, by extension, an existential isolation from humanity.

What does Gregor's transformation symbolize?

The character Gregor Samsa's in the book “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka symbolizes change, in which he gets transformed into a large insect. Change literally means to make or do something in a different manner to get a new result.