Kafka's Metamorphosis uses a multitude of symbols. If one searches hard enough, practically every other word has some hidden meaning to it, ranging from the existential to the sexual. How can one be sure if something is meant to be seen as symbolic or if it is meant to be no more than itself? Perhaps Kafka, wishing to confuse the readers of his novella or force them into using their imagination, put in these things, which confuse many readers, knowingly. No matter your opinion, the point is that symbolism is still very manifest in this story. .
The three key symbols which I found worth discussing all seem to center around Gregor's alienation and the process of his further dehumanization. .
Throughout the development of the novella, the distance between Gregor and his family grows, especially his sister who, in the beginning of the story, was so eager to take care of her older brother. As the story continues, she neglects Gregor increasingly until his room and he are both covered in a thick layer of dust. .
The settling of this dust is representative of Gregor's increased realization that he is not going to be accepted by humanity and, for that matter, he will not become a human again. His depression at the sudden realization of his bug-dom causes him to sink further into a depression as more and more dust sinks to the floor. When, at the conclusion of the novella, Gregor takes his last breath, and then sinks into the dust, dead, it is reminiscent of the saying "ashes to ashes, dust to dust".
A while after Gregor's transformation, Grete and her mother remove the furniture from Gregor's room. By doing this, they may think that they are benefiting Gregor and making more room for his new hobby of climbing the walls and ceiling, but what they are actually doing is removing his last physical aspect of humanity. Though the furniture is not part of him, it is his. As everything human seems to disappear, ergo his family, his appearance, and the hospital, the furniture was his last tie to his previous existence.
