Not Even an Insect

It is interesting to see how Kafka might have been inspired by Dostoyevsky's work in Notes from the Underground. The particular line about the main character not even being able to become an insect was intriguing. I do not think that he meant it in a way that is extremely degrading to himself, he was being honest. His level of intellect prevents him from becoming anything at all. His clarity, this clarity that we all seem to so badly seek, is the biggest restraint in his life. He refers to it as a disease because it prevents him from doing anything like someone in a hospital with an actual illness like pneumonia. Since he is able to see both sides to everything in al equality, he can never choose anything and thus never be anything. Even an insect is able to see something, understand it, and choose; this would make the main character incapable of even being an insect then. I also found the comment bout us not being able to change because perhaps " there was nothing for us to change into after all" highly accurate. I, much like the main character, believe that we are meant to be one way and though we may want to be another way, we can do nothing about it. I think we can hide who we are and try our best to change, but I do not think it is possible for us to do so.