Alrighty, Kafka.

As of now, I'm 22 pages into The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka. It's weird. I'm just going to be honest. But it's also really interesting, and I am (for some odd reason) enjoying reading it. I always want to find out what Gregor is going to do next, even if it ends up being something like pushing the armchair up against the window so that he can see outside. One of the most interesting aspects of the story, however, and probably one of the least realistic, is how unconcerned Gregor seems to be with the state of events.

If I had, in the night, been transformed into a large insect, I would be very worried. I would probably think I was going crazy at first, and then I would realize that things like this literally cannot happen in real life. But in The Metamorphosis, both of these things are apparently not true. Gregor is a bug. He's also a salesman. He's missed his train. His boss is angry. Solution? Get the next train. But he's a bug? But he's late...so he has to catch the next train...duh.

This kind of ridiculous idea of...apathy (?) is probably best illustrated on page 10, when Gregor is trying to get out of his room. "He actually intended to open the door, actually present himself and speak to the manager; he was eager to find out what the others, who were now so anxious to see him, would say at the sight of him. If they were shocked, then Gregor had no further responsibility and could be calm. But if they took everything calmly, then he, too, had no reason to get excited and could, if he hurried, actually be at the station at eight o'clock."

Let's just sort though that: 1) He is a giant bug and he wants to open a door and show himself to his family and boss. 2) He needs to have people see him before he can gauge their reaction to his transformation (because he can't guess and what is so obviously going to happen next). 3) If, for some reason, this isn't a big deal, and Gregor is getting worked up over nothing, then he could totally make the next train if he tried.

There are so many things wrong here, and in the whole book, which is kind of frustrating, because you keep thinking, "Wow dude! How are you just accepting this?" but it's also very interesting and psychological because you think, "Wow, dude, he's just accepting this." It's a weird mix of way out there science fiction and super boring and mundane novel. This crazy thing happens, but Gregor takes it in stride and talks about the food that he gets fed, insted of wondering how this all happened in the first place. Like I said, a strange mix, but it's working for me.