Question

Read the following translations of Kafka's The Metamorphosis:

"We must get rid of it," cried the sister again, "that's the only thing for it, Father. You just have to put from your mind any thought that it's Gregor."

Michael Hofmann, trans., The Metamorphosis

"He's got to go," cried his sister, "that's the only solution, father. You must just try to get rid of the idea that it's Gregor."

Malcolm Pasley, trans., The Metamorphosis


Which translation shows that the sister has stopped thinking of Gregor as human?
A. Pasley's, because he has the sister say getting rid of Gregor is a "solution"
B. Hofmann's, because he has the sister refer to Gregor as "it"
C. Pasley's, because he has the sister refer to Gregor as "he"
D. Hofmann's, because he has the sister say they must "get rid" of Gregor

Answer 1

B because using "it" is a way to dehumanize someone.
Get rid of and solution, are both cruel terms but not dehumanizing.

Answer 2

The answer is B: Hofmann's, because he has the sister refer to Gregor as "it".

Kafka´s Metamorphosis is a strange, crude and dark story that talks of Gregor Samsa, who one day, for no reason whatever, woke up transformed into a horrible bug. As the story unfolds, the reader, along with Samsa, have to come to terms with the latter´s new bodily form and, more importantly, to the changes that his mind reflect. When the translator Hofmann makes use of “it” in the passage quoted, he encapsulates the feelings and thoughts of not only Samsa´s sister, but of Samsa´s own. Samsa goes through his transformation little by little until, they all know it, he has ceased to be “him” to become “it”.