What is Kafkas message about human nature?

is arguably the best work
of s career, and part of its enduring legacy is that it
defies any singular
reading. Gregor Samsas transformation from an unfulfilled salesman to a
giant
bug can be dissected through a number of different lenses. Kafka might have been
making
the point that the daily grind of the modern world turns everyone into
the spiritual equivalent
of insects. He might have been saying that within
every human is a primal, uglythough in some
ways, freeingforce of life and
nature. The bug might have been anfor how Gregor views himself
and his state
of being.

One often overlooked aspect of The

Metamorphosis is how Gregors relationship to his family changes after
his
transformation. His family is understandably surprised, and in some
scenes fearful and
disgusted, by what Gregor has become. Not only is his
family put off his outward appearance, but
because he is no longer capable of
supporting them financially as he was before, his father ends
up throwing an
apple at him, which lodges in his back and eventually helps to kill him. Yet
even
with Samsas dying breath, he is thinking fondly back on his
family:

He thought back on his family
with deep emotion and love. His conviction that he would
have to disappear
was, if possible, even firmer than his sister's€¦Then, without his consent,

his head sank down to the floor, and from his nostrils streamed his last weak
breath.

It is difficult to interpret
what to make of this ending. Samsas
family is not able to see past his
grotesque exterior and love him unconditionally, as love for
a family member
should be. Samsas love, on the other hand, seems to be unconditional to the
last
breath. He sees himself as a burden on his family and does not blame
them for their negative
feelings. The point Kafka might be making about human
nature is that unconditional love is
possible, though it is very rare. He
might also be saying that only when we exist outside of
normal societal bonds
are we able to see what is most important in life. Finally, he could hold
the
bleak view that life is essentially meaningless and even the love we hold onto to give
it
meaning is, in its basest form, only a lie.