I heard many of my classmates complaining that they found Gregor’s sudden transformation into a cockroach unrealistic. Personally, I couldn’t disagree more. Lets be honest, there was no way for Kafka to realistically transform Gregor into a cockroach without dipping into science fiction and significantly altering his story. So Kafka’s simply did it, he turned Gregor into a cockroach overnight. It kept the story more concise and focused the reader on the isolation, societal pressures, and lack of loyalty that the author was trying to convey. I wish more authors would follow his example.

But that’s not to say I loved all aspects of Kafka’s writing. In fact his writing reminded me of the worst traits of another author’s writing that I have read, Ayn Rand. Throughout “Atlas Shrugged,” Ayn Rand depicts overpowering feelings that the characters experience without any explanation for these intense emotions. Reading “Metamorphosis,” it felt like Kafka used the same style, particularly with Crete. If Crete’s diligence in feeding Gregor was a sign of love, why did she forbid her mother from seeing Gregor and why did she insist that he stay under the bed when she entered? Similarly, after building up what seemed to be a closer relationship between Gregor and her sister, Gregor’s death seems to symbolize the birth of Crete and the flourishing of her beauty and maturity. Why would he do this? There could be a million interpretations, none more right than the rest.

 Aside from some of his ambiguity, I found the congruence between Kafka’s life and his story remarkable. Having read up on Kafka’s background before reading the text, I felt as if Gregor himself was the textual embodiment of Kafka. The same depressed and lonely sentiments that seemed to have ruled Kafka’s life as a german speaking jew living in Prague seemed to bemoan Gregor.