One interesting aspect of Kafka's surrealism is how the mundane malaise of everyday existence takes precedence over the fantastical elements. The titular metamorphosis is not the focus of the story; rather, Kafka chooses to focus on the day-to-day life of Gregor's family as they struggle to cope with the consequences. The seeming irrelevence of the fantastic gives the entire story the dreamlike unreality characteristic of surrealism, an unreality which seem to imbue every scene and action in the story with symbolic significance. 

The connection between the Great War and the life of Gregor Samsa is made explicit in this passage, encountered soon after Gregor's transformation. "On the wall exactly opposite there was photograph of Gregor when he was a lieutenant in the army, his sword in his hand and a carefree smile on his face as he called forth respect for his uniform and bearing." This description of Gregor's military career hints at the past vitality or vigor that Gregor once possessed, which has been utterly drained from him in his current state. Gregor's physical metamorphosis is the final, inevitable stage of his existence as a traveling salesman: alone and isolated from the world, forced to scurry around in circles without any prospect of self improvement, Gregor's insignificant and mundane existance predetermined his coleopterous fate.