The theme or event in The Metamorphosis that can be better understood by learning a bit about Kafka's own life is the following one:
C. The difficult relationship between Gregor and his father.
Kafka never got along with his father. In fact, it was more serious than that: his father opressed him in many ways, from mean comments about the writer's physical appearance to boycotting his romantic relationships. This vicious and gigantic father figure can be sensed throughout Kafka's works, especially in "The Metamorphosis", "The Burrow" and "The Verdict".
One of his masterpieces, a non-fictional work called "Letter to His Father", is actually the most emblematic display of Kafka's hard feelings towards his father. It was an actual letter which never reached its addressee. After reading it, one is able to understand why Kafka felt as if he were a cockroach in his own home, just waiting for the "giant" to step on him.
