Kafka's Metamorphoses

The first half of it is hilarious, and the last half is so, so sad. I don't know what to make of it. The comic part I found delightful; it's a great little thought experiment on how people react in fantastic circumstances. For instance, I love the part when Gregor is trying to communicate with the chief clerk:

"He really did want to open the door, really did want to let them see him and to speak with the chief clerk; the others were being so insistent, and he was curious to learn what they would say when they caught sight of him. If they were shocked then it would no longer be Gregor's responsibility and he could rest. If, however, they took everything calmly he would still have no reason to be upset, and if he hurried he really could be at the station for eight o'clock."

The setup is so absurd, and the reactions of the characters are so interesting, that you don't really demand an explanation about why Gregor turned into an insect. But you also don't expect the story to turn into the serious tragedy that it becomes. The ending is so sad and pathetic that I really wanted to know what it's all supposed to mean. What is the point of all this slow, accumulated pain to Gregor and his family? An absurdist beginning should be complemented with a lighthearted ending, and so I was flummoxed to find instead this somber picture of isolation, unappreciated good intentions, unspoken affections, incaceration, poverty, exhaustion, waning humanity, and hopelessness.