Marxism And Metamorphosis

Part one of Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” is a representation of basic Marxist principles, with a significant focus on alienation of the worker. The worker, Gregor Samsa, has been blinded to his disadvantaged condition by the minor troubles and major alienation he experiences as a traveling salesman. It is not until he is transformed into a cockroach that Gregor begins to understand his disadvantaged position in the socioeconomic system in which he lives. Gregor experiences minor troubles in the opening paragraphs of the story that distract from the very real, very major problem that he is, in fact, a bug. First, he focuses on his preferred sleeping position, that he still cannot get into after trying until he feels “a slight, dull pain …show more content…
The bourgeoisie, his employer, has deliberately set up minor obstacles in order to keep the proletariat, Gregor, from rising up and demanding to not be exploited. Gregor’s employer exploits Gregor’s position as the sole earner in the household as well as his responsibility to pay off his father’s debt to his employer. In fact, Gregor has no inclination to work as a traveling salesman and intends to leave as soon as he can: “once I have the money together to pay off my parents’ debt to him—that should still take five or six years—I’ll […] make the big break” (12). Gregor’s employer has effectively established his role as the dominant party in his working relationship with Gregor, in addition to his other employees. He has a practice of “talking down to his employees from above” (12). This is a very clear dehumanizing tactic to keep worker moral low enough that they will not revolt. While it is quite concerning that Gregor gives himself very little personal regard, it makes sense in context of the alienation of the worker identified in Marxist thought. In “The Metamorphosis,” Gregor experiences the four categories of alienation that Marx outlines in his philosophy. He is alienated from the product of labor, the process of labor, the self as a producer, and other people. Gregor is a traveling salesman, but what he sells is never specified. …show more content…
Gregor Samsa experiences the alienation from the product of labor, the process of labor, the self as a producer, and from other people that Marx describes. When Gregor is unable to perform his role in the capitalistic economy in which he participates, he is ultimately rejected by society. Gregor has been prevented by minor troubles and a dominating employer from realizing the degree of his disadvantaged position in the workforce, until the end of the story, and his