The Metamorphosis

About

The Metamorphosis is a novella by writer Franz Kafka, telling the tale of Gregor Samsa, a man who one day awakes to find himself transformed into an insect. The novella and the idea of awaking to find oneself transformed into an insect have been referenced in numerous memes online over a century after the novella's publication.

History

The Metamorphosis was first published in 1915.^[1] It tells the tale of Gregor Samsa, a man who one day awakes to find himself transformed into a large insect. His family initially takes care of him but eventually turns on him, finding him a disgusting burden. As they discuss plans to get rid of him before they fall to ruin, Gregor starves himself to death.

The work has been the subject of much interpretation and translation, as scholars and critics have debated on how to best translate the work to portray the exact sort of creature Gregor turned into, though popular culture has generally represented him as a beetle. It has also been widely referenced in popular culture, as authors and filmmakers have referenced or used the work for their own original pieces.^[2][3]

Online Presence

Online, the work has been referenced in numerous memes which tend to focus on Samsa's transformation into a beetle. On January 13th, 2011, a Rage Comic edit of the novella's opening was added to Memebase^[4] (shown below, left). On January 21st, 2008, a cat meme featuring the novella's opening line was posted on Cheezburger (shown below, right).^[5]

In recent years, the novella has continued to be referenced in more surreal and shitpost memes. For example, on March 16th, 2020, Instagram user Monsieur.egg^[6] used an illustration of Gregor in a What Zero Pussy Does To a MF meme, gaining over 4,500 likes (shown below, left). On June 21st, Twitter user @mailboss123^[7] posted an Are Ya Winning Son? parody using the same illustration (shown below, right).

Search Interest

External References