Ben LegerEnglish 4-03Mr. Volding03/31/14In Kafka's Metamorphoses, Gregor Samsa, whose life is controlled by his work and his family, wakes up a giant insect. Before this metamorphosis, Gregor obsequiously lives his routine life, despite his hatred for his works and a complete emotional disconnect between Gregor and the family he works so hard to support. Gregor's metamorphosis marks an important transition in Gregor's life as well as an escape from the monotony of his previous life. Sokel theorizes that Gregor's metamorphosis allows Gregor to express previously repressed feelings of rebellion while not being held responsible for his tendencies, stating: "The metamorphosis allows Gregor to become free and remain 'innocent,' a simple victim of an uncontrollable calamity. » (206). If his metamorphosis allows him to free himself from part of the suffering, it traps him in a new cycle, trapped by his family's obligation to help him. Throughout his life, Gregor is plagued by a cycle of suffering caused by his family's dependence on him, which leads to increased alienation leading to dependence on his family. Although Gregor is released from this cycle during his metamorphosis, he does not find true freedom until his death. Gregor, before his metamorphosis, is stuck in a cycle of suffering. He is a slave to his obligations and is emotionally removed from the outside world. His life, governed by his family, depends on him, around a job that he neither chose nor appreciated. Gregor's work takes up so much of his life that he has no time to rest. He did not “have a single day of illness during his five years with the firm.” and that “without my parents, I would have resigned a long time ago”. (Kafka 1967) Gregor experiences an awakening...... middle of paper ......s he is stuck in a cycle of suffering caused by his obligations to repay his family's debt, which causes him leads to alienation by creating a dependence on one's obligations in order to interact with one's family. His metamorphosis first takes him out of this cycle of suffering and then into a new one, living confined to his room and entirely dependent on her for his sustenance and well-being. This addiction further alienates him from his family, as his care and appearance becomes too much for his family to bear, leading to his death. upon his death, he is finally freed from the suffering that has plagued his life and frees his family from the burden of caring for him. Gregor's metamorphosis allows him to see the conditional nature of his family's love for him. In death, Gregor is finally freed from the cycles of suffering that have plagued his life..