The Metamorphosis, kafka

p Kafka 's Metamorphosis

Use of Symbolism to Depict Mental Illness "What 's happened to me (In Metamorphosis , Franz Kafka ) thinks Gregor Samsa as he wakes up one morning to find his life greatly changed . His life will never be the same since he has found himself turned into a giant cockroach . According to Merriam Webster Online Dictionary HYPERLINK "http /www .m-w .com " http /www .m-w .com ) metamorphosis is defined as A striking change in appearance , character , or circumstance ' Metamorphosis in this sense is what happens to the main character of Gregor

Samsa in Franz Kafka 's short story Metamorphosis His change from human to cockroach is symbolic of the change that will occur within his family as they learn to deal with changes in Samsa Samsa 's transformation is problematic for his family since he is the sole support for his elderly parents and younger sister , and is in debt to his employer

Samsa is a traveling salesman , who dislikes his job intensely because of an unpleasant work environment . He is in fact treated rather like a cockroach . He is treated with little respect for both his privacy and his basic rights . This can be seen in The Metamorphosis when the Head Clerk of Samsa 's office shows up to check on him to make sure he is coming to work . One of the primary factors in Samsa 's condition is because of feeling persecuted at work by this very same Head Clerk . He finds that his condition disables him in certain ways and he is unable to respond to either his family , or the Head Clerk in a way that they can understand

It is my thesis that Samsa 's transformation into a cockroach is symbolic of his descent into clinical depression . He can no longer endure the pressure he is under from both employer and family and retreats into his depression as a way of coping with his problems . According to the National Institute of Mental Health (http /www .nimh .nih .gov , the symptoms of depression include hopelessness , low self-esteem , chronic fatigue trouble concentrating , lack of appetite for both food and sex and lack of interest in social activities . These are not all of the symptoms of clinical depression however they are the one 's that apply to Samsa in The Metamorphosis

Samsa is not willing to admit to himself that something is wrong when he awakens in a newly transformed state . He becomes confused and is unsure of how to react to this new situation . He thinks to himself calm consideration was much better than rushing to desperate conclusions (The Metamorphosis ) This attitude of denial is often how people who are experiencing depression react at first to the inner knowledge that they are not okay . This denial about his condition leads Samsa to pretend that everything is fine to both his family and the Head Clerk . He is fearful of what others will think when they see what he has become

Samsa is correct to assume that...