Forgiving Kafka

Here's the deal.

If I were somehow turned into a giant bug in the middle of the night, freakishly, strangely transformed into an insect - I would have a problem with that. I would have a huge problem with that. I would scream, I would curse (mind you, I am not the curing type), I would become hysterical and my little bug-lungs would most likely pop from hyperventilation. If beetles had tear ducts then I would weep. Basically, I would freak-out. Why? Because turning into an insect is not natural, and the act deserves special attention, that's why.

Our protagonist Samsa, however, merely looks out the window and comments inwardly on the weather.

Samsa's very first reaction to his "predicament" is indeed a natural one, but each reaction after this become more and more bizarre. Samsa "lifted his head a little, saw his belly - rounded, brown...his numerous legs...(11)" and thought to himself "What's happened to me?(11)" This seems to be a normal reaction. Samsa then questions what I believe we all would question next and wonders if it were a dream. Upon concluding that it was not, rather than become hysterical as most would, he adopts a Scarlett O'Hara mindset ("I can't think about that now, I will think about it tomorrow"), and looks out the window. The weather outside is dismal, dark, and dreary. It makes poor Samsa feel "quite melancholy (11)."

This is where I paused when reading, and thought about the scene Kafka had portrayed.

And then, incredulous, I said, quite loudly, "What. The. Heck?!"

How is Samsa not going crazy at the realization that he is no longer a human but a dung-beetle!?

Now, here's something you should know about me. I am one of those complex people who just loved Peter Pan and Harry Potter when I was younger and eagerly read each book, believing every word, no questions asked, and then somehow, into my teen years, developed the annoying habit of whispering "That's not realistic..." under my breath at each fantastical scene of movies (the latest Indiana Jones just about killed me). My friends think it's annoying as anything, and urgently whisper back to me, "SHH! It's a movie!" I don't care if it's a movie, I at least want it to be realistic.

I want this book to be realistic also.

So imagine my frustration when the Samsa family's reactions were not.

Now, in Samsa's defense, remaining calm during this ridiculous situation is both logical and admirable. Samsa reasons that "the most sensible thing (14)" is to remember that "the calmest possible reflection is far preferable to desperate decisions (14)." This is one of those darling little quotes that people hang above their desks for inspirational advice. Despite the quote's obvious appeal, it is still not enough to allow me to forgive it.
And so here I was. Only a few pages deep and very much annoyed. I finished the novella, read F. D. Luke's analysis, and gradually, stubbornly changed my mind. Maybe this Kafka guy wasn't so annoying after all. So what if his character's has "unrealistic" responses to the transformation? Kafka meant for the characters to behave the way they did. There was a purpose.
According to Luke, Kafka wrote of the family's behavior as "strange, dreamlike, incongruous, inappropriate, and for this very reason lifelike - the ordinary behavior of humanity confronted with the ugliness of fact (234)." How often in dreams or nightmares do the people around you ignore you or seem as if every freak detail is perfectly normal? By choosing to portray Samsa's transformation as completely normal, Kafka is setting up for readers a dreamlike world where anything is possible. This serves several purposes. For instance, if I had gotten my way, and the characters had reacted to this predicament in a more "realistic" way, Gregor Samsa would have been carted to a hospital, stoned by neighbors, and a number of other, pesky situations would have arisen. Kafka has craftily simplified his story so that the reader can focus on the Samsa family's transformation, rather than their annoying panic at their son turning into a vermin.
Maybe it wasn't originally as realistic as I would have wanted, but honestly, who cares? If the story had been written any other way I, as the reader, would have lost much of its significance and symbolism, not to mention Kafka's nightmarish and comedic affect.