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Yvette Chavez

Professor Beadle

English 115

26 October 2019

Alienation in Society

What is a society and what does it consist of? A society can be defined in multiple ways.

The definition of society that is commonly known intricate interactions and relationships

amongst a group of people. A society is not something we can touch or see, but rather it is

something we fill. With a society comes norms. Each society has its own norms and standards

for those in the community. Usually if something does not fit into society, it is not wanted and is

often pushed off to the side. The Metamorphosis, written by Franz Kafka, tells the story of

Gregor Samsa and his new life as am insect. Because of this change, Gregor’s family must live a

different life and they do not see Gregor as part of the family anymore. This story is a metaphor

for society and how it treats those who do not fit in to what society wants, and what they

consider to be “normal”. Gregor could no longer contribute to his family, and to society,

therefore his family isolated him and no longer relied on him, and they had to get jobs of their

own to support the household. While it can be argued that The Metamorphosis is not a critique

on society, because The Metamorphosis shows and conveys that society is not as judgmental and

rash as Kafka makes it out to be. However, this is not quite accurate because the family loses

their sense in humanity and alienates Gregor because of who he is. In a society, if a member of

that society is not the ideal person and does not fit in with society’s rules, they are often excluded

and not represented in society. Gregor’s transformation throughout The Metamorphosis is a

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critique of society because the story expresses that as a society, people tend to alienate those who

are different from them because they do not contribute to society, therefore they must be pushed

aside.

In The Metamorphosis, the story begins with Gregor’s transformation into an insect.

Because he was an insect, Gregor was isolated by his family. They would keep him in his room

and would not want him to come out. What this says about society is that society often hides and

isolates those who do not fit within a society. Once Gregor realized he has transformed, he is

quite afraid to leave his room and show his new form. When Gregor and his new form has been

seen, his manager and family began to freak out over his new look and they did not quite know

what to do with this new Gregor. Gregor’s father did not like this change and chose to not

interact with Gregor. The narrator says, “…his father picked up a large newspaper…he set out to

drive Gregor back into his room by waving the cane and the newspaper” (Kafka 13). This line

from The Metamorphosis is an example of alienation because it describes how Gregor was

physically isolated by his father. This represents how society chooses to shove away those who

are not considered “normal”. Gregor’s family was not quite able to comprehend his situation, and

they did the best they could to adjust, but they still alienated him. According to Hamedreza

Kohzadi, Fatemeh Azizmohammadi, Mahboubeh Nouri, writers for Journal of Basic and Applied

Scientific Research, “His parents and his sister do not understand it. The self is what is

absolutely alien, void and non-existent, not only in the world of business but also in the world of

the family”. This evidence is expressing that Gregor’s family did not understand him and his

condition, so they decided to alienate what they did not understand. Similarly, to Gregor’s

family, society often disregards or fears what it does not fully understand. While society is quite
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hostile and alienates those that are not “normal”, society also chooses to ignore people who

needs extra help and or attention due to certain conditions they may have.

In society, there social stigmas. These social stigmas often relate to culture, wealth, race,

etc. If someone in a society does not fit in to society’s standards for everyone, they are looked

down upon, and seen as a burden. This is very true for those who have disabilities and need extra

support and attention. In The Metamorphosis, Gregor does not have a disability, but because he

has transformed into an insect, he cannot function like a human can. Therefore, he needs

assistance to get food and other functions he can no longer do, so his sister helps him and brings

him food and she tries to assist him however she can. Gregor’s parents did not get involved with

him and they avoided him. The narrator says, “In the first two weeks his parents could not bring

themselves to visit him, and he often heard how they fully acknowledged his sister’s present

work…” (Kafka 19). This line from the text discusses how Gregor’s parents did not bother to see

their son, and they did not want to help him out because he was no longer human. Gregor’s

parents begin to acknowledge Grete and do not think she is “useless” anymore because now

Gregor is considered useless by his family because of his new form. This shows that society

abandons those who need help because they have disability. While Grete does help her brother,

her attitude towards him changes at the end of the story. Grete says, “‘I will not utter my

brother’s name in front of this monster, and thus I say only that we must try to get rid of it’”.

(Kafka 31). This evidence shows the moment where Grete no longer considers the insect as

Gregor. Because she does not think the insect is Gregor, she wants to get rid of him because he is

considered a burden, and with the insect gone, there will no longer be problems for the family. In

society, people with disabilities, whether they are physical or mental, are pushed away into the
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shadows of society and there is not much attention given to these people. Because these people

are the way they are, society does not want them because they do not contribute to society.

Society shuns those who cannot contribute to society. If a member of a society cannot

contribute, they are deemed useless and therefore cannot be a functioning member of society.

Gregor experiences this ever since he transformed into an insect. Because he was an insect,

Gregor was no longer able to function as a human. This resulted in him no longer being able to

work. Since he was unable to work, Gregor was not contributing to his family and society.

Society denies those who do not fit in or are unwanted. This is what Gregor’s father did to him

because of his new form. His father is like this because he is afraid of being judged by the

society he is in. According to Hamid Farahmandian and Pang Haonong, writers for World

Literature Studies, “Gregor and his family have the fear of being judged by the society. This fear

which is along with the idea of shame as a motivational factor is relevant here and is illustrated

by such events as the situation in which Gregor frets over the way he will be perceived by his

family when the attorney comes to check on him”. This evidence is analyzing how and why

Gregor and his family react the way they do. This also shows how society plays a big role in

what people would do in order to fit into society. The family, more specifically Gregor’s father,

did not want Gregor, and did not want him around anymore. His own father tried to kill him

because he did not believe this insect was Gregor and wanted to treat him as the pest, he saw him

as. The narrator says, “…for his father had decided to bombard him. From the fruit bowl on the

sideboard his father had filled his pockets, and now, without for the moment taking accurate aim,

was throwing apple after apple” (Kafka 24). This is an example of how Gregor is starting to get

denied by his father because his father does not think the insect is Gregor, therefore he believes it
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should be killed. His father knows this insect cannot contribute to his household, and society so

he denies Gregor’s existence.

It can be argued that The Metamorphosis is not a critique on society. The Metamorphosis

is not a critique on society because the story shows the humanity Gregor’s family has and

expresses to Gregor during this transition. Although his father does not show much compassion

or any interest in him, Gregor’s mother and sister still have some humanity and try their best to

accommodate to Gregor as best as they can. Although this is quite a valid argument, it is obvious

that Gregor’s family does not want Gregor around and they view him as burden. Towards the

end of the story, the family no longer wanted Gregor around. Because of his situation, Gregor

was holding his family back. They decided to get rid of him, but he had unfortunately died.

While the family did mourn, they moved on quite quickly. While there was some humanity in the

beginning, that has deteriorated as the story continued.

The Metamorphosis is a critique on society. The story critiques how society alienates

those who do not fit into society and its standards for those in it. Those who are different become

alienated, which leads to them being excluded. Those who do not fulfill societal norms are

unwanted and are often neglected. Gregor was alienated by his family and society because he

had transformed into and insect. This transformation change Gregor’s life. He was no longer a

functioning member of society. He could not contribute to his household anymore. While some

may argue that The Metamorphosis is not a critique on society, it is known that Gregor

represents a flaw in society and his family and society in general does not consider him a human

or a member of their society anymore. Societies consist of standards, and Gregor did not fit those

standards, therefore he was alienated.

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Works Cited

Farahmandian, Hamid, and Pang Haonong. “Existential Failure in Franz Kafka's The
Metamorphosis.” GALE Literature Resource Center, 2018, go-gale-com.libproxy.csun.edu.

Kafka, Franz, and Stanley Corngold. The Metamorphosis. Bantam classic ed. Toronto; New
York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, 1981.

Kohzadi, Hamedreza, et al. “A Study of Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.”

Semanticscholar.org, 2012,
pdfs.semanticscholar.org/c6ae/f7ea2f821780fc72a401a01cc9bbcfed1776.pdf.