Franz Kafka, 'The Metamorphosis'

Franz Kafka, one of the writers I truly couldn't understand. His writings were all 'different' writings. And this 'difference' is so strong that if someone other than 'Franz Kafka' were to write with this kind of feel, those writings would surely be caught up in controversy over 'imitation' and 'plagiarism' and, the moment they were published, be torn to shreds until they were reduced to dust. His novel 'The Metamorphosis,' which carries such a quality, in a way seems to bring up a subject that can be readily dealt with in modern civilized society, so on one hand it pains my heart, but to that same degree there are many aspects I can relate to.

This bizarre setup, in which Gregor one day becomes a 'bug' without any warning whatsoever, was downright shocking when I first read this book long ago. Usually, when a protagonist undergoes a 'metamorphosis,' classic novels foreshadow in advance that this 'metamorphosis' will occur, and modern novels lay down a bit of 'foreshadowing' as they develop the story, but this novel has not a single such device. So it's abrupt and shocking. You could say that breaking away from existing techniques starts precisely from this kind of part.

After the protagonist 'Gregor' transforms into a 'bug,' he begins to be shunned by his family. Only one person, his younger sister, although she is afraid of him and dreads him, still doesn't abandon the thought that the bug is surely 'Gregor.' What I can feel right here is, I think, 'hope.' The alienation felt in modern society appears as the contempt directed at 'Gregor,' yet his sister alone is the only one who doesn't express it. Or perhaps it's that she's young and doesn't yet understand. But the way she treats Gregor in the most humane manner was simply boundlessly beautiful.

Korean society isn't greatly different from the 'one side' of society depicted in this novel either. The attitude in which the father is the one who brings home money, and the rest of the family members, rather than using it with gratitude, accept it as though it's a matter of course, is spread everywhere. Even I, too, often perceive my 'father' not as a father but as the one who provides the income. Though it's clearly something that should be corrected, modern civilization has unconsciously changed me.

Whether I should receive this novel gladly or sadly—I'm just at a loss.