“The Metamorphosis” is a short story written by Franz Kafka. The story shows how one’s work shapes their identity. In “The Metamorphosis”, Franz Kafka demonstrates how work can shape one’s identity by showing how Gregor Samsa’s job changed him into a cockroach. “The Metamorphosis” is a story about a man named Gregor Samsa. Gregor Samsa lives with his family, who is in debt, in a small, middle-class home on a low-income salary. His family completely depends on him and his job as a travelling salesman to make their ends meet. Gregor Samsa, however, despises his job and would leave it right away if he did not have to pay off his parents’ debt. As Gregor ponders over the thought of his job, he realizes that he has turned into a cockroach. He also realizes that he’s late for work. His parents and his chief clerk come to his room and knock on the door, wondering why Gregor did not go to work. At the same time, Gregor’s chief clerk tells Gregor and his family that Gregor had not been working well in the past few days. Gregor tries to open the door with his mouth, since he has no hands, and ultimately succeeds. The chief clerk runs away seeing Gregor’s state and his parents lock Gregor into his room. Days go on as Gregor’s sister, Grete Samsa, feeds him. Over time, Gregor starts to become a pest to the family. He …show more content…
Gregor works day after day trying to sell his product to people. In Part 1, it is shows that Gregor had never missed a single day of work. Gregor comes home after work, but still thinks only about his work. This is similar to a cockroach because they never have a day off their life. They continuously work hard to acquire their needs and necessities to live.Their “job” is their life. This once again shows how Gregor’s hard work during his job is impacting his identity to become that of a hard working