海角大神

鈥淥ne morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.鈥� And thus begins Franz Kafka鈥檚 novella 鈥淭he Metamorphosis,鈥� which takes readers through Mr. Samsa鈥檚 surreal transformation from traveling salesman to cockroach 鈥撀爋ne of the hardiest and arguably most repulsive insects.

Wednesday鈥檚 Google doodle commemorates what would have been Mr. Kafka鈥檚 130th聽birthday with a cockroach 鈥� cap and bow tie on, antennas back, briefcase in hand 鈥� ready to meet the world. The irony is: Kafka鈥檚 created man-turned-cockroach would never have been so brave.

Kafka was born on July 3, 1883, into a well-off family in Prague, which at the time was the capital of Bohemia in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The young Kafka had a turbulent relationship with his father. He grew up as his parents鈥� only surviving son. Neither the author鈥檚 mother nor father understood their son鈥檚 lack of business ambitions, and his compulsion to write. Kafka and his father had a particularly turbulent relationship, which the author would later describe in his 鈥淟etters to My Father鈥� 鈥撀燼 work of over 100 pages detailing his father鈥檚 authoritarian demeanor and his mother鈥檚 demure character. 聽聽聽

At the University of Prague, Kafka studied law, and went on to work as a lawyer 鈥撀燼 job he would refer to as his Brotberuf, or 鈥渂read job鈥� 鈥撀爓hile he wrote in the evenings. This arrangement, along with his father鈥檚 often-lofty expectations for his son鈥檚 future, frustrated Kafka, who wanted to focus on his writing.聽

In 1917, Kafka was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and finally retired in 1922. Two years later, he died, severely weakened to the point where it was difficult for him to write.聽 Kafka left instructions for his friend Max Brod that all of his works should be destroyed, wishes that Brod famously ignored, bringing Kafka posthumous celebrity.

Nearly 100 years later, the once obscure author鈥檚 name has enough bearing to merit a Google doodle. This might be a trite marker of distinction, but the choice of a cockroach to celebrate Kafka鈥檚 birthday is no mistake.聽 The author鈥檚 description of the cockroach, n茅e Gregor Samsa, as he crawls around his room, feeling guilty and inadequate, is a reminder to us all to ask the obvious question that Samsa never thought, and Kafka never circulated: Why?

鈥淭he Metamorphosis鈥� is a warning to us all that unquestioningly accepting our circumstances, while sometimes necessary to preserve sanity, is degrading. In the novel, it is not just Samsa, but those around him as well, who have lost their sense of perspective, and ability to wonder why things are the way they are. Kafka鈥檚 鈥淭he Metamorphosis鈥� takes an absurdly incomprehensible situation 鈥� which we might now refer to as 鈥渒afkaesque鈥� 鈥撀燼nd offers the reader two interpretations: the literal, and the metaphorical. With the latter take on the novella, the cockroach that never left his room, and died, paralyzed with fears of inadequacies, serves as a call for awareness of, and curiosity about, our daily condition.

鈥淜afka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man,鈥� British poet W.H. Auden wrote.

That is not to say that we might all turn into cockroaches, but we, like the cockroach, might forget to question our circumstances.聽