“As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect” (Kafka 1).
Franz Kafka wrote Die Verwandlung, known as The Metamorphosis in English, in 1915. Many scholars interpret this novella as a commentary of the mental and psychological torture of workers who are forced into a monotonus and grueling line of work. At the beginning of the story, instead of worrying about his newfound form and health, the main character, Gregor Samsa shows concern on whether or not he will be able to make it to work on time. And, when he ends up being late, his superior immediately arrives at his house to tell him off. Kafka decides to create this exaggeration of reality to display the mental toll of these workplace environments on the human psyche. Literary scholars look upon Kafka’s Metamorphosis as a masterpiece, so much so that it ends up taught at schools. However, those same people have not fully realized the damaging aspect of reading such a story at that age…
The Metamorphosis (graphic novel) by Peter Kuper.
The first part of The Metamorphosis begins tragically with Gregor turning into a bug and getting shunned by his family. However, in the second part, he begins to live a happier life, accepting his identity and chilling as a bug. During this part, Gregor is completely devoid of responsibility, is able to sleep all day, and has his food brought to him. Meanwhile, the rest of the members in his family turn into slaves of capitalism, forced to work day in and day out. His father, who used to be happy relaxing on his couch all day, has no choice but to become a hardworking individual and his sister is forced to give up her aspirations to instead care for the household. All throughout this part, Gregor is living a good life in contrast to the humans around him.
Many teenagers hope to live in the same way as Gregor does during his life as a bug. With no responsibilities, he lives in his parents' house with no job and no worries. Since most readers tend to not finish schoolbooks, one must imagine that, in assigning The Metamorphosis, many students would not get to the third part of the novella in which Gregor –spoiler alert– dies. Therefore, many readers may not have realized the negative implications of Gregor’s transformation. Sure, Gregor gets shunned from his family, but teenagers tend to drift away from their parents at that point in their lives anyways. In reading The Metamorphosis, some readers could easily begin to covet the life that Gregor leads as a bug.
A reader of this article might assume that there are no negative impacts of this claim, but the truth is way more sinister. There are already examples of young people attempting to turn into anthropomorphic beings through the use of masks and by walking on four legs. Who’s to say that they won’t do the same with bugs? It’s only a matter of time before humans attempt to take these escapist perspectives and take them to extremes by getting surgery done that would make them more inhuman. In fact, it's already begun with people getting plastic surgery to make their ears appear elvish!
Overall, encouraging teens to read The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka may not be the smartest approach. This novella could have a negative impact on younger readers like encouraging them to forgo seeking a higher education or extremes like attempting to turn into a bug through means of experimentation.
Assigning this novella is bioethically unethical.
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