Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Beetle vs. Cockroach


I've been looking up pictures of beetles, considering another translation describes Gregor as a bug more similar to that of a beetle, rather than a cockroach. Beetles seem to me, much less disgusting than cockroaches- but maybe I'm biased after growing up in New Orleans. Anyway, seeing pictures of the beetles makes me feel even more sympathy for Gregor. They don't look very imposing or grotesque. Their gray/black color makes them seem sort of melancholy, almost pathetic.
Here's a picture of a beetle I thought seemed particularly Gregor Samsa-esque. Lonely, alienated, shameful.
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/files/2012/04/dung-beetle-1.jpg

1 comment:

Linz A said...

You know, i always thought it was odd that Gregor's family constantly recoils in disgust from Gregor the Bug. As an initial reaction, disgust makes sense. But eventually (they lived with Gregor the Bug from December to March), I would think that they would get used to the bug's grotesque appearance. Maybe it's because they avoided looking at Gregor the Bug so much that whenever they saw him it was like seeing the hideous big anew. Or maybe when they look at Gregor the Bug, they see the old Gregor. But that would only work if the family actually saw Gregor as something more than a tool. So never mind about that theory. Maybe they just never wanted to accept the bug version of Gregor. Grete says they tried everything to make the relationship between Gregor the Bug and the rest of the family work, but, in reality, the family never actually tried to accept the fact that Gregor is a bug. They tolerated it, but they never accepted (embraced?) the bug. Anyway, I agree that a cockroach is much more repulsive.But Kafka did not live in New Orleans, he might not have had the full cockroach experience.