Gregor May Not Have Been a Bug, but He Probably Was

“One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin”(885). This much we know. But, whether that “monstrous vermin” actually is a giant bug or is still a person isn’t as clear as it may seem. “The Metamorphosis” is not necessarily physical, but could be a mental mutation driven by the monotony of Gregor’s existence. Kafka may not have meant for us to picture Gregor as an actual bug… but he probably did.
Upon initially reading the short story, the reader probably doesn’t think twice about whether Gregor is actually a bug or not. It seems obvious. He wakes up and notices that he is now the owner of a “hard, armorlike back,” and “many legs” (885). He learns how to crawl around with his new body, discovers that he likes to eat rotten foods, begins to climb along the walls and ceiling of his room, and can no longer speak a language his family can understand. But, can we trus...