Analysis of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

‘When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin’. Kafka begins his most famous work of literature with a peculiar yet effective first sentence. The statement is simple in nature but its meaning is much bolder and as a result Kafka is able to grab his readers’ attention. The reader has to contemplate what this could mean and consequently ask ‘why’ such an incident took place. Kafka is very effective in engaging his audience into his text and therefore readers go on to find out more about the peculiar man who turned into a ‘monstrous vermin’.

It can be seen that Gregor may have known about his metamorphosis subconsciously as he was having ‘unsettling dreams’ which show that his mind was never at rest. The use of the phrase ‘monstrous vermin’ gives readers an open floor to choose what sort of ‘vermin’ Gregor could be. The phrase is said to be ‘lost in translation’ as there are many similar translations. The sentence is so obscure that for a while it is hard to grasp hold of the concept of the text.

After attaining his readers attention Kafka goes onto describing Gregor’s new physical state. It is thus established that Gregor is the main character of the story. Gregor’s new body ‘which was as hard as armour’ can be seen as a protecting net for him; possibly preparing him for his troublesome future.