Reality

“The terror of art is that the dream reveals the reality.” In general, this quote states that what someone thinks is a dream turns out to be reality. This boils down to dreams that become reality. This quote is especially true in Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis.” In the short story “The Metamorphosis,” the main character Gregor dreams of being able to quit his job and live his life free of responsibility. This is his dream and aspiration within the next couple of years but one day, he wakes up to find out that his dream has become his reality. In this reality, he wakes up to find that he has transformed into an insect. Gregor wants to be independent, free of any responsibilities, and most of all, free from his manager and his father’s debt. Upon waking up and transforming into an insect, Gregor realizes that he is not himself, but actually an insect. Instantly, reality sets in, and the roles described in the beginning of the story are reversed. In the beginning, Gregor works to provide for his parents and family. His metamorphosis into an insect relieves him of these responsibilities and places them back on his family. This is the reality that Gregor dreams of. He is now free of any duties towards his family and now his family is bound to him. They have to find a way to take care of him and his needs, as he is now unable to provide like he did before. As the story goes on, Gregor depends more and more on his family to take care of him, until they finally start neglecting him and leave him to die. This reality that Gregor dreamed of in the beginning is not what he had in mind. When he had to provide and take care of the family, he did his best, but when the roles were reversed, his family did not do the same. They left him and ignored him until the day he died.