Cual es el tema principal y secundario de la metamorfosis

Loss of Identity

The metamorphosis begins when Gregorio Samsa wakes up turned into a monstrous insect. At first, he finds it difficult to accept his new status as a bug, but as the story progresses, he assimilates it. This progressive assimilation represents, at the same time, a gradual detachment from his previous identity, that is, from his human condition. In part, this loss of identity lies in his new and traumatic appearance, but there is also a part that is directly related to the attitude of the rest of the characters towards him. His own family, for example, feels ashamed and repulsed of him to the point of marginalizing him completely. We can say that Kafka's story addresses the issue of identity from the phenomenon of its loss. Gregorio Samsa loses his appearance as a man as soon as the story begins, but it is not until the rest of the characters begin to ignore or reject him that he ends up completely losing his human identity. In this regard, we can affirm that the loss of identity entails the absolute loss of the meaning of life for Gregorio. The fact that neither his family nor the rest of society recognizes him causes him to fall into mortal abandonment. It is important to note that Gregorio's identity before becoming a beetle was constituted, more than by his human appearance, by his ability to support his family financially. He worked as a traveling salesman and carried out his work with absolute responsibility. It was, in a way, what society expected of him. But by becoming that disgusting bug, he has lost the ability to work and this ends up being the determining reason for both his parents and his sister to reject him, not only as a member of the family, but also as a person. In this sense, The metamorphosis problematizes the question of identity and relates it to the productive capacity of a person in economic terms. Losing the ability to generate money is more dehumanizing than becoming a beetle. authoritarianism

The theme of authoritarianism is very present in the novel and we can see it reflected, above all, in the main character. Due to his unexpected new bug form, Gregorio cannot get out of bed and fulfill his work obligations. Beyond the fact that he is only a couple of hours late and it is the first time that has happened to him since he works in the warehouse, the principal goes in person to the Samsa house to find out what has happened and, given the delay in Gregorio's response, he soon reproaches him for "missing his duty in the warehouse in a truly unheard-of way (p.25)". Metamorphosis is, in a way, a critique of the modern world in which workers, like Gregorio, are valued only on the basis of their ability to produce. The way in which the principal reproaches Gregorio for his lack of responsibility and threatens to report him to the boss, shows his lack of interest in anything other than the interests of the warehouse for which they both work. they work. This highly utilitarian conception of people promoted by the capitalist system ends up dehumanizing them, as happens to Gregorio Samsa in this work. We can also see the theme of authoritarianism in Mr. Samsa. Said by Kafka himself, Gregorio's father has many similarities with his. The author of The Metamorphosis had a very problematic relationship with his father due, precisely, to his authoritarianism. The way in which Mr. Samsa reacts to the transformation of his son is generally violent and worsens as Gregorio becomes an unproductive member of the family economy. At the same time, the apple that his father throws at him to force him to return to his room is the one that hurts Gregorio to the point of considerably reducing his mobility. Authoritarianism, which generally uses violence as a form of communication, appears explicit in the figure of Mr. Samsa.