Franz Kafka's story "The Metamorphosis" describes a sad story of young man named Gregor who has been transformed into a bug, which could be construed as the lowest form of living. A bug is a dirty, disgusting, vile creature which is a profoundly symbolic creature to portray in this story. But, what is portrayed by Kafka could be what he felt like in reality with his own family and projected this into Gregor's story.
The morning this profound change in Gregor's appearance took place, it was almost as if Gregor wasn't surprised by this change but was worried more about getting to work. That Gregor felt like a low form of life long before the transformation took place.
Gregor lived his life with guilt towards his father, like he was never good enough for his family and could never please them. He was very isolated, in his room, in his hotels and on the train. The story portrays Gregor as a bug in the same fashion, confined to his room with a gray hospital out the window; later that hospital is described as fading, just as life was.
At a time before, approximately five years prior, Gregor was a very successful lieutenant in the military, with a good salary and a high ranking, this didn't seem to please his father. A picture of Gregor in his military uniform hung on the dining room wall, a proud man that moved up that ranking to a successful position with a good salary yet Gregor's father sat at the dining room table with his newspaper in such a position that would hide his son's picture and he wouldn't have to look at it. Once Gregor's fathers business failed and there wasn't any income for the family, Gregor quit the military and took a position in a small company as a traveling salesman. He worked out of town mostly but always sent his pay home to pay for the necessities for the family. This was Gregor's life, a bug, running around and doing what everyone told him to, to work and provide for his family and watch his Father get lazy and sit in his chair all day and night, without ambition or cause to get up.
