Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka Existentialism Essay

“Existentialism”, a concept concerned with one’s desire to make rational decisions despite existing in irrational circumstances. In Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, existentialistic themes can be found as Gregor Samsa rationally decides how to solve all the wrong problems in a highly irrational situation. One day, without signs or warning, Gregor awakes to find himself transformed into a life-sized dung beetle, which, to Gregor, is only an inconvenience for his job as a traveling salesman. Throughout the novella, Gregor spends the rest of his life in an existential crisis, focusing on himself instead of his family and his job. This new self-centered attitude, the overall somber tone, as well as the use of an outside narrator’s point of view all contribute to Kafka’s use of existentialism. To Gregor, his life exists as one large devotion to work. He works for his family monetarily and for his boss physically, while neither side gives Gregor much leeway. Regardless of how sick Gregor could actually be, the chief clerk finds it necessary to remind Gregor the he has “fail[ed] to carry out [his] business duties”(Kafka). Gregor fears for his family’s well-being and tries to assist, yet only succeeds in terrifying everyone in the house upon his reveal. All of society’s constructs of Gregor are destroyed, and he is nothing more than a bug. His

The narrator focuses mostly on Gregor, describing all his thoughts and actions, and in return, society’s opinions of Gregor’s crisis. A great shift as Gregor’s concerns slowly transform from selfless to selfish. Unknowingly, his “self” discovery, a key component of existentialism, has allowed society to define his person “by a body of facts that [he did] not choose”(Solomon 763). Who he was becomes faceted by cold-bloodedness to his family, an unfortunate perception he must accept, however only Gregor chooses the worth of his