Introduction
Sometimes, life circumstances force people to desire change and transformation. They dream of becoming like their idols or attain their success, or just metamorphose into a bird and fly away from the hardships. Motivations behind such aspirations vary among different people. Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis and the story of Peter Parker in the 2002 movie Spider-Man are two prominent examples where the protagonist goes through a drastic transformation. While the latter hero mostly enjoys the benefits of change, the former finds himself in misery and depression. Despite both of them becoming insects in some sense, Parker only acquires some of the qualities of spiders. On the other hand, Samsa fully transforms into a verminous bug (Kafka). When people want a shift and wish to become a changed person, it is more favorable to acquire only specific attributes instead of entirely turning into a different being. Therefore, the metamorphosis of Parker has more favorable consequences than the transformation of Samsa.
The Idea Behind Metamorphosis
From a biological perspective, metamorphosis is the development of a physical body through an abrupt change in shape and structure. Popular culture became interested in this natural phenomenon because of the fascinating notion of the quick improvement and rapid gain of extraordinary abilities. That is why this concept is present in many of contemporary movies and fiction works. The same reason explains the popularity of Spider-Man movie series. However, a complete and accelerated transformation may lead to adverse effects, not only on a personal level but also on a global level. For instance, if we consider the latest digital revolutions as a metamorphosis of society and culture, it is clear that there have been many adverse implications (Taplin, p. 9). Mainly, in the global context, economic inequality has risen drastically (Taplin, p. 9). However, if there had been an evolution instead of a revolution, society would have been able to obtain only the best attributes that had been offered by the prospective technology. The same idea is shown in the work of Kafka, as Samsa with a substituted body becomes unneeded to his family members and other people.
Motivations Behind Change
Gregor Samsa lives a fine life – he has a job, he manages to provide for his family and repay the debts of his father. He also dreams of helping his little sister go to a music school (Kafka). There is no direct evidence that he wants any change, especially when considering the fact that he becomes an insect later. However, if we relate the story of Samsa to the childhood experiences of Kafka, it is possible to observe a connection. Kafka had a traumatic childhood, but this trauma was not from physical or sexual abuse, but ill-treatment (Konkiewitz and Ziff, p. 154). From Kafka’s perspective, he consistently failed to meet his father’s expectations, which led to the development of a negative self-image (Konkiewitz and Ziff, p. 154). Therefore, it can be said that Kafka wanted to change but was not able to, and this failure is depicted in Metamorphosis, where Samsa becomes a dysfunctional insect not loved even by his family members.
Peter Parker, on the other hand, does not have any problems with his family members. Despite not having parents, he has a good relationship with his aunt and uncle. However, his personal life is far from being excellent – he is constantly bullied by Flash at school, and the girl he likes is not fascinated by him. Parker wears glasses and does not possess any extraordinary qualities. It seems that, unconsciously, he desires to transform into a better person who is respected and attractive to ladies at school. When he wakes up and finds out that he now sees sharp and has web-spinning abilities, it is evident that only specific attributes of the insect passed to Parker. With these new developments, Parker is now able to solve the problems that were present before.
Becoming an Insect or Behaving Like an Insect
Despite being dissimilar in terms of capabilities after metamorphosis, Parker and Samsa share a number of similarities, both prior and after the respective incidents. Before the transformation, both share a dream of becoming better persons – Samsa desires to repay his father’s debts as quickly as possible and ensure his talented sister goes to a music school to learn to play music professionally. Peter wants to end his image of an outcast at school, eliminating associated shortcomings such as being bullied and neglected. They both learn about transformations in their bodies when they wake up. It is fair to notice a connection between Kafka’s life challenges and Samsa waking up because of troubled dreams. Iranzo et al. provide evidence on Kafka being stressed because of insomnia (p. 6). They also note that the writer had low self-esteem and excessive self-criticism (Iranzo et al. 6). It is interesting to note that Peter Parker and Franz Kafka share some personality traits.
Differences between Kafka’s protagonist and Peter start appearing after the metamorphosis. Samsa is portrayed mostly in a negative tone as if there is disgust on behalf of the author. This point is another evidence that Samsa is a fictional reflection of Kafka, because the author, too, expressed some amount of repugnance toward himself (Iranzo et al, p. 6). The choice of the insect is deliberate – it is not as appealing as, for instance, a spider, and does not offer any exceptional skills. If we look at the timeline, Samsa is hated more as time passes until eventually, he is dead and thrown away. Parker, on the other hand, lives remarkable moments with both successes and failures.
As the last argument, we can look at what would happen if Peter Parker had become an actual insect. In fact, Spider-Man comics series have such episodes, where Parker mutates into a monstrous spider. Just like Samsa, this condition of Peter is not well-accepted by even his closest friends, including Mary Jane Watson. Despite retaining his superhuman abilities, Parker loses his appearance. This drastic change makes the surrounding people reject him and lead him to depression and distress. The same happens to Samsa – neglect and hatred from his closest people make Gregor desperate, and he struggles himself to death. Therefore, sudden transformations have adverse effects, and despite metamorphosis being heavily portrayed in contemporary media, such quick changes should be less pursued.
Conclusion
Franz Kafka’s work is of exceptional importance to literary society, and much of the content can be related to the life experiences of the author. Childhood trauma is adequately reflected in Samsa’s behavior and metamorphosis. Peter Parker, the main protagonist of the Spider-Man movie, shares many similarities with Kafka’s character. They have similar dreams, but the figures differ in what they obtain as a result of metamorphosis. Peter has unique skills, whereas Samsa is an aidless insect. Much can be learned from these two examples of transformation – one must pursue only selected qualities instead of becoming an entirely changed being.
References
- Iranzo, A., et al. “The Insomnia of Franz Kafka.” Sleep Medicine, vol. 50, no. 1, 2018, pp. 1-20.
- Kafka, Franz. “The Metamorphosis.” Translated by Ian Johnston, Franz Kafka Online, 2019. Web.
- Konkiewitz, Elisabete, and Edward B. Ziff. “Letter to His Father by Franz Kafka: Literary Reconstruction of a Traumatic Childhood?” Neurological Disorders in Famous Artists, edited by Julien Bogousslavsky and Laurent Tatu, Karger Publishers, 2018, pp. 145-163.
- Taplin, Jonathan. Move Fast and Break Things: How Facebook, Google, and Amazon Have Cornered Culture and What It Means for All of Us. Pan Macmillan, 2017.