In addition, each individual’s mind is incredibly complex. It does not matter if one is considered mentally handicapped because the effect that person could have on another person is implausible. Therefore, humans have a unique set of emotions that clearly separate them from other creatures. They are able to emphasize with others and comfort them. Likewise, humans can share in another person’s happiness. Along with emotions, humans also have a reflective ability. They can look at themselves in a mirror and see what they need to change or what they like about themselves. Humans are always striving to be better, either in the sense of being a better person, or just becoming more skilled at something. As for animals, they seem to strive to master certain skills in order to survive, but that reflective quality appears to be absent. All in all, humans are mystical beings with the ability to think, reason, and reflect.
Lastly, humans possess superiority in their mind set and truly believe they are better than any other living creature. Humans think they are the rule makers and that they can control nature and animals. With the increasing production of technology, society has become pretty sufficient in their abilities. For instance, the weather channel tells people a prediction of what is going to happen outside their windows for the coming week. People seem to be so afraid to not be prepared. In turn, humans hold a control issue and stomp all over anything that gets in their way. In a sense, humans can easily be portrayed as frightening individuals from an animal’s perspective.
For instance, Gregor is not even able to leave his room because not only does his family fear the monster he has transformed into, but he is also scared of the ridicule he gets. The initial line of the story says, “One morning, when Gregor Samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin.” By putting this as the first line in the novella Kafka sets the stage for how Gregor will be treated throughout the entirety of the story. Right away the reader gets a disgusted sense and views it as a horrifying alteration. All he is now is just a burden to his family. He cannot help them in anyway and people will just flee from their house if they see Gregor such as the boarders do. Furthermore, the family tries to sympathize with Gregor’s condition, but they do not know how much humanity is still intact. They want to extinguish him from the house and Grete says, “He must go, that’s the only solution, Father. You must just try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we’ve believed it for so long is the root of all our trouble.” Even though Gregor still has his same human qualities, his own family tries to dehumanize him as much as possible in order to get rid of him. To them, he is no longer human and apparently just because someone’s appearance alters means that they are no longer the same. The ending is very tragic because Gregor dies and the family feels a great sense of relief. It is as if that disgusting vermin was ruining all their lives. However, the greatest tragedy is the fact that many a times people cannot see past the outer shell of another.
by
astortix95 (student)
