Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a novel in which the reader gets to witness a normal everyday man, transform into a “monstrous vermin”. Throughout the book, the reader is able to witness Gregor’s metamorphic changes, his new life, and how the people around him were affected. In Metamorphosis, Gregor had many stresses burdened upon him throughout his life that possibly caused his transformation from a hard-working human, to a functionless bug. The main subjects of stress for Gregor come in his work. Perhaps the stresses in his life were the ultimate cause in his dramatic changes? One of the most burdening subjects of stress in Gregor’s life was his work. Early in Gregor’s life, his father owned a business. Eventually the business collapsed and the entire family was left buried in extreme debt, owing Gregor’s eventual boss a large amount of money. Gregor realizes that his family was in trouble and seeks employment as a traveling salesmen. Once he gets this job, he strongly dislikes it. However, he cannot quit due to the debt that his family owes his boss. In part 1, Gregor states “God! . . . What a job I've chosen. Traveling day in, day out. A much more worrying occupation than working in the office! And apart from business itself, this plague of traveling: the anxieties of changing trains, …show more content…
Gregor is put under an unimaginable amount of stress by his family and ultimately, it is believed that the stress caused his transformation. The three stages of stress are all evident to the reader throughout Metamorphosis, and Gregor’s actions line up flawlessly with the symptoms of extreme stress. Stress can change a person into someone or something they never thought was possible due to the effect it has on your body. Gregor experienced this when he underwent his transformation into a “monstrous vermin”, ultimately the consequence of the amount of stress he endured throughout his