Metamorphosis 2

In the Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka most of the nouns double as symbols. They help to give the maximum amount of impact to the short allegory. Three of the symbols play a central role to the novel and add meaning to the story.
The first is Gregor Samsa. He represents the 20th century man. He gets up every morning and goes to work. He is the sole provider for his family, until his transformation. Franz Kafka uses Gregor’s status as a symbol of the difficulties and joylessness of the worker. He is constantly abused by his father. His family forces him to do something he doesn’t like. If anything is out of the ordinary the company comes down on the workers head. All of these are themes of the novel.
Another symbol is the Boss. He represents the established institutions. His arrival at Samsa’s apartment is a representation of the cruelties of business that are placed on the common working man. Samsa is given no compensation and no sympathy from the company. The 20th century worker expected this type of treatment. One of Kafka’s purposes was to show the injustice of this system.
The next part of the theme of mistreatment for the worker was Gregor’s furniture. His sister Greta tried to take out all of the furniture from his room before Gregor realizes that it is his link to his past life. Since he can no longer work, his family is no predisposed to give him any of the respect and privacy they had given him. His whole past was nearly swept away when he is the most defenseless.
These three symbols worked together to show the plight of the 20th century man. This theme was far ahead of its time.