Comparing Kafka's Metamorphosis And A Very Old Man

“False riches, consisting of money, houses and lands, acquired by selfish means at the cost of others and thereafter used selfishly, are almost always used for the oppression of other persons”. This quote from American clergyman Joseph Franklin Rutherford accurately defines the theme of selfishness and materialism in Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings.” The similarities in the themes of these stories despite being written over 50 years apart from one another by authors on opposite sides of the world show the cynical, selfish, and greedy ambience that was the twentieth century. The treatment of the main characters in Kafka’s Metamorphosis and Marquez’s “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings”

First of all, the definition of the term “cash cow” is “one regarded or exploited as a reliable source of money” (Merriam-Webster). The extreme materialist mindset of Gregor’s family members is a driving force of the story. In short, they are obsessed by financial catastrophe more than anything else, prior to the story’s beginning, the family relies on Gregor as their lone source of income while they do absolutely nothing to help their financial situation. This becomes evident on the first page of Metamorphosis, when Gregor thinks to himself, “what a grueling job I’ve picked. Day in, day out, on the road” (Kafka 1). This is ironic because Gregor did not actually choose this alienating career. He was practically forced by his father, who was indebted to his boss, to take on the job as a travelling salesman to pay off his father’s financial obligations. Gregor’s transformation interrupts the family’s laid back lifestyle as their cash cow has now run dry. Looking back at Rutherford’s quote, one would easily be able to make the connection

In Metamorphosis, the idea of existentialism is brought out in a subtle, yet concrete way. Existentialism is defined as a belief in which an individual is ultimately in charge of placing meaning into their life, and that life alone is meaningless. Gregor was constantly used and abused while in his human form, his lifestyle becomes complicated as his family no longer has a source of income once he becomes a giant insect. Therefore, Gregor is deemed useless. However, it is important to keep in mind that Gregor’s metamorphosis was not voluntary, and that he has minimal control over the events to take place. His family does not take that into consideration because they basically viewed him as nothing more than a cash cow. In the end they all come to the agreement that maintaining his uselessness is slowly draining them and they must get rid of him. Even Gregor realizes this:“He still saw that outside the window everything was beginning to grow light. Then, without his consent, his head sank down to the floor, and from his nostrils streamed his last weak breath” (Kafka 51). The quote is a description of Gregor's death scene. He dies after being rejected by his sister, alienated from his family, indeed from any human being