How Does Spring Symbolize In The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

Symbolism is the author’s way of pulling the reader’s heart into a story, creating a pathway for emotional investment and entanglement. Franz Kafka uses this technique well in his short story, “The Metamorphosis.” There are many small examples of symbolism throughout his work, but the entire story itself, in which the main character transforms into a bug, is a symbol for how Kafka views himself. This particular protagonist, Gregor Samsa, becomes a burden and hardship to his family after his change, and Kafka felt the same way about himself in real life. Symbolism is paramount in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis,” because it allows him to convey multiple meanings at one time, establishes more relatable characters, and makes complex ideas easier for the reader to understand.

Kafka takes advantage of this when he uses spring to represent the change in Gregor’s health and attitude at the end of the story, “...heavy rain, perhaps already a sign of approaching spring, was beating on the window panes— Gregor was so exasperated…” (Kafka 1183). Spring is universally known as a sign of new life and beginnings. Even though Kafka literally means that it is almost spring, he is also hinting at the upcoming events in Gregor’s life. This piques the reader’s interest by adding a sense of portentousness while also foreshadowing Gregor’s death and his family’s new beginning. Having the ability to use one written idea to convey a number of others is the most important reason for Kafka’s use of symbolism in “The