Humor and Kafka

Personally, I don’t find much humor in The Metamorphosis. We had this discussion in class and I came up with no scenes that I laughed at. I think it’s all creepy. During our discussion in class it seemed that people found the utter absurdity of Gregor’s work ethic and the actions of those around him. Kafka gets a bunch of people to laugh at things that are awful and sad. For example the scene where Gregor is trying to get out of his room and follow the manager. A few people found this scene funny when it is really horribly sad. Gregor is causing himself unimaginable pain to try hopelessly to communicate with the manager and beg for his job back. It’s so terrible… Not only do Gregor’s wounds and efforts prove futile as he doesn’t end up leaving the room but even it they did he wouldn’t be able to communicate with the manager. Seriously, try to imagine desperately wanting to tell somebody something and they can’t understand. No matter how hard you try. They can’t understand. Its an awful thought and a intensely frustrating scenario. I don’t think that Gregor’s work ethic is funny either. It’s pathetic. It’s almost awkward for me as the reader to read about how Gregor pleads for approval. It’s the same kind of awkward that I felt in the first few pages of Mrs. Dalloway, like a, “I don’t know if the character wants me to know all this…” It’s also like if a kid is sucking up to a teacher and the teacher is just ignoring it. You, as the bystander, just want to escape. It’s weird to see someone struggling at personal expense for obviously unattained approval. Anyways, I don’t think The Metamorphosis is funny. Creepy? Yes. Weird? Yes. Funny? Definitely no.