A question we all ask is: Is it really possible to determine the exact authorial intent of a dead author? The answer ultimately is no. However, using evidence that we find in the texts, combined with the contextual (background) information surrounding the author and when the text was actually written, we can at least make an adequate estimation of what the author is trying to say.
In relation to Kafka's short story: 'Metamorphosis', I am going to informally present my opinion on why I believe that the protagonist, a business salesman named 'Gregor', transforms into a beetle.
My verdict is as follows: Gregor Samsa's transformation is a direct reflection of how he is, and allows himself to be treated, by his boss. The story begins immediately referring to Gregor using the epithet 'horrible vermin'. This automatically degrades the character and what he has become, and , when we link it to the protagonist's fear of what his boss' reaction will be, the reader gets the impression that as a character Gregor is treated like the aforementioned 'horrible vermin':
"His boss would certainly come round with the doctor from the medical insurance company and accuse his parents of having a lazy son."
Similarly, the fact that Gregor's life is his job, and that he thinks of himself as a 'boss' man, spineless, with no understanding' indicates that the transformation into a beetle, an insect with no spine (an invertebrate, thus 'spineless') is a reflection of the belief that people are only what they allow themselves to be. Perhaps this was Kafka's intention? Kafka himself was a bureaucrat, however disagreed with bureaucracy due to the way it made society unfair. Perhaps Kafka is using Gregor's transformation to demonstrate that if society allows bureaucracy (manifested in the characterisation of Gregor's boss) to treat them like 'vermin', then they will infact be vermin which will lead to their downfall. The latter point is presented in the dénouement of the story as Gregor cannot survive as a beetle.
In relation to Kafka's short story: 'Metamorphosis', I am going to informally present my opinion on why I believe that the protagonist, a business salesman named 'Gregor', transforms into a beetle.
My verdict is as follows: Gregor Samsa's transformation is a direct reflection of how he is, and allows himself to be treated, by his boss. The story begins immediately referring to Gregor using the epithet 'horrible vermin'. This automatically degrades the character and what he has become, and , when we link it to the protagonist's fear of what his boss' reaction will be, the reader gets the impression that as a character Gregor is treated like the aforementioned 'horrible vermin':
"His boss would certainly come round with the doctor from the medical insurance company and accuse his parents of having a lazy son."
Similarly, the fact that Gregor's life is his job, and that he thinks of himself as a 'boss' man, spineless, with no understanding' indicates that the transformation into a beetle, an insect with no spine (an invertebrate, thus 'spineless') is a reflection of the belief that people are only what they allow themselves to be. Perhaps this was Kafka's intention? Kafka himself was a bureaucrat, however disagreed with bureaucracy due to the way it made society unfair. Perhaps Kafka is using Gregor's transformation to demonstrate that if society allows bureaucracy (manifested in the characterisation of Gregor's boss) to treat them like 'vermin', then they will infact be vermin which will lead to their downfall. The latter point is presented in the dénouement of the story as Gregor cannot survive as a beetle.