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Isolation In The Metamorphosis By Franz Kafka

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Gregor Samsa from The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka has turned into a “bug” because of the isolation and struggles Gregor faces, due to this his family is not acknowledging him as part of their family. Gregor’s sister “Grete” is the only person in the family to try and take care of Gregor. She is trying to be a good person and help him, even so, Gregor still repulses her. Gregor before his sister comes into the room must hide himself to protect his sister from seeing him because he does not want to scare her. Furthermore talking about Gregor, Gregor recognizes that he needs to hide from his sister to spare her the sight of seeing him. This is further piling onto the heavy burden Gregor faces. Gregor is so traumatized by this feeling he is …show more content…

According to Michael Rowe, he finds the family is taking the wrong approach when Gregor turned into a bug. “I review critical commentaries on Metamorphosis and then discuss the protagonist’s misfortune and his family’s response to it as a “worst-case scenario” for ill persons and their caregivers” (Rowe). When Gregor notices that his sister found him repulsive, I do not think he ever considered the possibility of his sister, now his only friend, turning on him. Grete later on in the book said, “I won’t pronounce the name of my brother in front of this monster” (48 Kafka). For Gregor, this must have felt horrible to hear, the last person on his side has now even further dehumanized Gregor, and now wants to do something about him. The family sees Gregor as a monster now. Someone who used to work tirelessly for them trying to help them out has now been turned on because he feels confined in the …show more content…

Even though his family has assumed the world and thought that their dear son and brother had been turned into a monster. Gregor still looked out for them, was extremely selfless, and still cared deeply about his family. Even in his isolated, depressed state, he spent hours working on a way to make it so Grete didn’t have to see him. “One day he carried the sheet on his back to the couch this job took four hours” (29). Even after being essentially ignored by his family he still puts himself through strain to make sure that they are taken care of in whatever way he can. It makes the reader feel empathy for this bug. It makes the reader want to go into the same universe Gregor is in and help

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When Gregor's father saw his condition he didn’t feel empathetic and only hated Gregor,“his father gave him a hard shove, which was truly his salvation, and bleeding profusely, he flew into his room”, Gregor's father is never really ever able to understand him and is always impatient with him and even. Grete although is nothing like the father, she is very kind to gregor and with her new responsibilities she has been helping the family a lot. “ whereas until now they had frequently been annoyed with her because she had struck them as being a little useless”, right when the family thought she was useless, Gregor’s condition had lead the family to discover how useful Grete really is. Mrs. Samsa protects Gregor because she care about him deeply and cannot stand the fact that he is a bug, “Let me go to Gregor, he is my unfortunate boy! Don't you understand that I have to go to him?”

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She was not afraid of the repercussions that her words would have towards Gregor. At this point she was fed up with the whole situation and wanted to end it. “‘He’s got to go,’ cried his sister, ‘that’s the only solution father’” (Kafka 105). Grete continues with her rant about getting rid of Gregor ones and for all.

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Gregor is being isolated and left out of his own blood family. In Part 3, the text states “In this overworked and exhausted family who had time to worry and longer about Gregor more than was absolutely necessary?” (167). Gregor becomes neglected and lives in filth. His room is used for storage and garbage.

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At first they care for Gregory hoping he may get better but they realize that Gregor’s new appearance is something they will have to live with if they want to keep him around. Father Samsa’s attitude towards Gregor positions the family’s alienation toward

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We can see that Gregor’s sister takes all of the responsibility for Gregor’s well-being during Part 2 of the story. Eventually, however, the lack of food that Gregor receives suggest that the family has stopped loving Gregor and now just view, him as a burden they wish to be rid of. Gregor is not the only one that makes a transition in this

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Not offering much financial addition to the family because he was known as the family breadwinner. The family and he couldn't adjust to his loss. Which created a rift in the family that started to turn into hate. " He must go,” cried Gregor’s sister, “that’s the only solution, Father. You must just try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor.

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Therefore, Gregor’s family disregarded his life both in human and vermin form. Unfortunately, Gregor never had real humanity, as this is portrayed with hobbies, socialization, and having a clear sense of knowing oneself as a person, all things Gregor lacked. As the story progresses, Gregor’s physical appearance leads the separation he faces from his family and mostly spends his days hiding in his room. Additionally, the constant reminder and the whispers he heard of how much of a burden he was seriously detriment his

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After an incident with Gregor leaving his room while Grete is playing the violin for their parents and for the boarders, Grete tells her parents, “Things can’t go on like this. Maybe you do not realize it, but I do. I will not pronounce the name of my brother in front of this monster, and so all I say is we must try and get rid of it. We’ve done everything humanly possible to take care of it; I don’t think anyone can blame us at the least” (1187). She continues this conversation and ends up crying, wanting to get rid of Gregor to end this suffering that they have been enduring for way too long.

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”(Ukessay). Gregor's father has always had a dislike for gregor since the start of the book. As we draw an end we see the major change in his family, which is the change of his mother. “By the end of the story she too has undergone a metamorphosis, because now she is able to sew for a store and do things for herself instead of relying on Gregor to take care of her. ”(Ukessay).

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In Metamorphosis, Gregor’s love for his sister, Grete, is what brings him happiness and the ultimate reason why he stays alive. His love for his sister, is what allows him to continue living as a transformed bug, but once his sister rejects Gregor saying, “He must go… this creature

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Critical- A pattern peeking out in this passage is that the family acts as if Gregor is not even there. Though Gregor is struggling for life and filled with negativity, the family doesn't even seem to care or want to care. They just want to live on with their lives and act like nothing that is going on is wrong. They also act like everything they do is right and that Gregor deserves to be locked up. I can relate this to WWII.

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The Metamorphosis Timed Writing In Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis, Gregor is evidently portrayed as a savior of his family, which in turn symbolizes him as a Christ figure. The notion of Gregor being a Christ figure in the novel can be substantiated by events such as: Gregor sacrificing his life, both figuratively and literally, for the betterment of his family’s life, Grete’s change in outlook towards her beloved brother, and Mr. Samsa throwing apples at Gregor. The primary theme of family and the duties of family members towards each other drive the interactions between Gregor and his beloved family.

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Kafka highlights Gregor's guilt with an insight on Gregor's thoughts “Gregor spent the days and nights almost entirely without sleep. Sometimes he thought that the next time the door opened he would take charge of the family’s affairs again, just as he had done in the old days.” (Kafka 40) After Gregor's sister Grete closes the door to his room, as she does everyday Gregor reflects on his past. He thinks about how he was once the person his family relied on.

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Gregor is the main provider within the family for the amount of income he brings, and is idolized for his role. Being raised in the 20th century, Gregor 's view on women had been the same as any other male during this time period and looked down upon women as inadequate, and, in most societies, the man provides and the woman maintains; however, this viewpoint alternates once the unexpected change in their life occurs resulting in a switch of leadership within their household. "Gregor felt very proud that he had been able to provide such a life in so nice an apartment for his parents and his sister. (21)" After his mysterious modification within his physical form, his mentality also weakened.

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In the novella, Gregor turns into a bug, and the whole family has to deal with it in different ways. Many characters go through a metamorphosis in the novella. Although the changes may not be physical the changes occurred greatly in Gregor, Mr. Samsa, and Grete. Gregor 's life before the metamorphosis was limited to working and caring for his family. As a traveling salesman, Gregor worked long, hard hours that left little time to experience.

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