“The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka is an interesting and extremely allegorical tale. The story begins with the introduction of the main character, Gregor Samasa, who is a traveling salesman. One morning, Gregor wakes up to find that his body has been transformed into something unusually horrible, a large insect with many small legs. As Gregor struggles to get up and get ready for work, he realizes that he is already late. As he looks around his room, he thinks he's just dreaming and tries to go back to sleep. After many failed attempts, Gregor found that he could not turn onto his side, which was the only position he could sleep in. Moments later, each of his family members knocks on his door trying to see what is taking him so long. Unable to control his many legs, Gregor then tries to move his lower body, but finds it almost impossible to move due to the unbearable pain. Despite his situation, Gregor still feels he can go to work. However, he proves unable to do so when he encounters so much trouble trying to get out of bed and open the door. Gregor's manager comes to his house and wonders why he didn't show up for work. The manager gets angry and tells Gregor in the presence of his family that he wanted a real explanation as to why he didn't want to come out of his room. Gregor finally has enough strength to open the door with his mouth, but by then his manager had already left. He is now saddened and fears that he has lost his job, because he knows that he is the financial “backbone” of the family. When his family finally sees that it is an insect, they are immediately disgusted. His mother faints and his father forbids his mother and daughter from seeing him. Grete, Gregors ...... middle of paper ...... dies, the family had completed an emotional transformation and their hope was rekindled. There are many different meanings connected to this story but I think the most significant is the critical carelessness of how we run our meaningless lives. Gregor's transformation into a giant insect symbolizes how he felt as a human, alienated and separated from society. He has a job he doesn't like, a boss he doesn't care about, and a family he has no connection with. In Gregor's case, being a bug was an external manifestation and transformation of a situation that already existed. Throughout history we discover many different forms of symbolism. I think the transformation into an insect was a symbol of the relationship between Gregor and his father. Before his transformation, Gregor already felt small and trapped, just as he did after being locked in his room..