Sympathy for a Bug

Franz Kafka, through his novella, "The Metamorphosis," does attempt to evoke sympathy for his protagonist, Gregor Samsa. Though the life of the Samsa family continues on relatively smoothly after Gregor's transformation into a beetle, there are many vivid images that depict Gregor's situation in a way designed to evoke emotion from the readers. One example of this would be in the paragraph in which Kafka describes the lodgers listening to Grete play violin, while Gregor is transfixed by the beauty of the music. In that paragraph on page 130 of the novel, or 99 in the reader, Kafka describes the filth that contaminated Gregor during the moment he begins venturing out of the room. He writes, "And yet on this occasion he had more reason than ever to hide himself, since, owing to the amount of dust that lay thick in his room and rose into the air at the slightest movement, he too was covered in dust; fluff and hair and remnants of food trailed with him, caught on his back and along his sides; his indifference to everything was much too great for him to turn on his back and scrape himself clean on the carpet, as once he had done several times a day." Though the image is very vivid and grotesque, the neglect that this filth implies gives readers a sense of sympathy for his situation. Kafka, through this image, is giving readers a detailed look into the situation Gregor is in, and how it is affecting him. The next paragraph, during which Gregor is mesmerized by Grete's music, he reflects, "Was he an animal, that music had such an effect upon him?" Gregor asks this question of himself, though Kafka in this scene directs it to the readers. He asks the readers to ponder whether Gregor's physical transformation merits the treatments he recieves. Further in the paragraph, Gregor continues to crawl towards her and remarks, "He was determined to push forward until he reached his sister, to pull at her skirt and so let her know that she was to come into his room with her violin, for no one here appreciated her playing as he would appreciate it." This sign of desperation for interaction and company shows the effects of Gregor's isolation on his human side. The readers are able to see the toll of his exile on his mental state, and in effect can understand and sympathize with him. Kafka, through this scene, does a good job in drawing emotion and sympathy out of his readers. Through the sympathy he tries to evoke, Kafka poses the question of whether Gregor is still human or completely a bug, and if he should be treated as such. He allows readers to ponder over his inhumane treatment and whether it is justified.