It’s a little hard to believe that the same book that made me cry one cold December morning would eventually be the source of large amounts of laughter, good times, and memes. And it’s a little harder to believe that, almost a year later on one cold October morning, I would sit and write my most anticipated passion blog post about this same novel.

Perhaps it’s only anticipated by myself and my imaginary audience, but I’m excited to present to you all the same…

In short, The Metamorphosis is a short story about a man named Gregor Samsa and his very literal metamorphosis into a large beetle. His family is initially supportive and tries to care for him, but they eventually grow tired of his very existence and the novel eventually closes with his demise (and his family’s extreme relief that their troubles are now over). It is specifically the story’s end that I found most poignant–not only does Gregor accept and welcome his own death, he selflessly does so hoping that the burden he put on his family will finally be eased.

How then, would a story this heavy become a grand running joke to my class? In all honesty, I’m not sure. Thinking back, perhaps this was merely an example of a 21st century-esque phenomenon: turning a strange and depressing novel we could not otherwise make sense of into a mild joke. It seemed that was normal one day, and then the very next we (a class of mostly women) were referring to ourselves as the “Gregor Girlies” (hence the title of my blog!) and either jokingly relating ourselves to Gregor or referring to mildly-depressive-yet-iconic moments as “Gregor Moments.” And of course, any sort of bug we encountered was instantly named Gregor.

No matter how far the year progressed, our poor teacher could not escape the effects The Metamorphosis had on us. In January, I drew a golden bug on my and my friend’s wrists as a strange means of good luck at a music competition–and this “Golden Gregor” must have worked, as we both progressed with flying colors. On Valentine’s day, another friend of mine drew a card addressed from me to Gregor and pinned it on the board (why she chose me, I still don’t know). Later still, another girl made a Gregor-themed ring for metalworking class, Gregor was somehow incorporated into every class discussion to follow, and I once again drew everyone a golden Gregor to wish luck on the day of the AP test.

It’s no secret my memories are fond, but my later considerations on them are not. The Metamorphosis is obviously a metaphor some sort of personal struggle–be it illness, gender identity, or societal bindings–and his family’s failure to take his struggles seriously indirectly cause the story’s tragic events. Had Gregor been taken seriously by anyone and had his struggles been validated, he likely would not have met such a tragic end.

In closing this post, I must ask you to consider: in perceiving Gregor and his plight as a hilarious joke, were we only perpetuating the problem?