A Metamorphosis Success

The story has made me think about success and that it can be guided, directed, or redirected based on influences from different sources, with the family being one of them. For instance, family can change your goals because when the family depends on you, your goals are placed second, and theirs becomes primary. Another instance from Metamorphosis is in which Gregor is highly respected as a second lieutenant in the military; he is carefree and smiles, and he is proud of the uniform. This made me think that success can be promising and yet marginalized because his military experience was completely different after taking the civilian job as a salesman. One expectation set by social norms is that a salesperson must know how to drum up business, keep the business viable, and have a way of measuring the success of the salesperson. However, here is an example that proves a point about success, in which his general manager is speaking, regarding how success and sales are based on accountability and that absenteeism can have a negative impact. 

He tells Gregor that his position is not secure, is concerned that he is wasting his time, and puts pressure on Gregor by intimidating him so that his parent could likely hear of his failures, even though it was not a promising best season for drumming up business (Kafka 194). Conversely, during the lapse in Metamorphosis, Gregor is faced with the unthinkable about what his family expects from him: alienation, to the point that he “spent his nights and days almost entirely without sleeping. Sometimes he thought about taking the family’s affairs in hand again, just like he used to” (Kafka 212). The bottom line is that success is challenging and comes with many uncertainties. Society plays a crucial role in shaping the meaning of success, which everyone may interpret differently. For instance, some individuals are challenged by social norms, such as Gregor’s sales role and the expectations of his general manager. This has made me think about success more conscientiously in the public sphere because of some of the norms established; for instance, if you work hard at an organization, you will be successful. 

Sometimes, you can achieve success by becoming a little selfish and not letting too many people into your sphere; after all, they are on the outside looking in. People can drain you of what the outcome could be because, in their interest, they have blinders on. They only see you as a necessity and a means to their selfish gain rather than a human being, even as part of the family. As a result, I have become guided by my ambitions to achieve success by letting a limited number of people in general and family in particular into my inner circle. I have limited public interaction, and for some reason, I have a natural intuition to know when people want me for their benefit rather than for relational ones.