How Does Kafka Respond To Fear

Change is hard for most people. Change is uncertain and takes time to get used to, so when an event occurs, and there is something new and different, people tend to become fearful and repulsed. Kafka illustrates problems he saw in society through Gregor's transformation into a human-sized beetle, in his short story "The Metamorphosis". In "The Metamorphosis", Gregor's family responds to his transformation fearfully rather than attempt to understand him; Kafka reveals that the best way to respond to change is to embrace it and try to understand it rather than fear it. Gregor's family is very scared of him. Gregor's "mother was not used to the sight of him; it might make her sick" (Kafka 513). Gregor's mother, who is supposed to be one of his closest and understanding family members, changes her perception of him completely when he transforms into a large beetle. Gregor's

Gregor's mother illustrates how fear and anxiety can get in the way of change and progress. People in society are often too scared of the unknown that they would rather ignore the problem, rather than try to fix it. The only person in the story who attempts to understand Gregor after his transformation is his sister. Gregor's sister "to find out what he liked, she brought him a wide selection [of food] that she spread out on an old newspaper" (Kafka 507). While his other family members were