. . " ("Kafka/Samsa," Internet). .

             Although Batson's view may be valid, Kafka's transformation of an ordinary man into what sounds like a cockroach contains much symbolism related to society and culture. Gregor Samsa obviously sees himself as nothing but a low-life, low-paid traveling salesman with no future or financial prospects; after all, he lives with his parents in a small, cramped apartment, much like an unborn insect in a cocoon. Yet his insect-like appearance does greatly upset his family and his boss which indicates that Gregor Samsa, at least from his perspective, is indeed an insect. .

             But Kafka skillfully relates to the reader that when Gregor emerges from his bedroom, the expressions of horror and shock on the faces of his parents and employer may not be due to Gregor looking like an insect. Symbolically, Gregor is now some kind of misfit trapped in a world which he never made which is supported by his statement, "What has happened to me?. . . It was no dream" (89).

             Johannes Pfeiffer, writing in a critical essay on The Metamorphosis, views Gregor Samsa's transformation as a type of "magic realism," meaning that objects, such as Samsa, "are presented with such a. . . wealth of detail. . . that they are constantly turned into something unreal or more than real" (Gray, 53). Of course, "magic realism" is most closely linked to the so-called "Black Arts" and the practice of witchcraft, both of which rely very heavily on symbols to express thoughts and ideas. Symbolically, Gregor Samsa, in the guise of a gigantic insect, is "cut off by this mysterious transformation from all community with other men" and does not realize that this transformation will have much impact on his social and professional lives (Gray, 55). In essence, Gregor Samsa is now symbolizes the down-trodden, the men and women of the world who work themselves to death for pennies and often end up alone and ostracized from society.