Gregor’s initial reaction to his transformation shows his preoccupation with work. His confusion over his radical transformation does not last long, quickly becoming concerned with work and disregarding that he woke up physically transformed into a monstrous vermin. Immediately after realizing he had transformed, Gregor explains, “Well, I haven’t given up hope completely; once I’ve gotten the money together to pay off my parents’ debt to [the boss] that will probably take another five to six years… But for the time being I’d better get up, since my train leaves at five” (4). The quick transition of Gregor’s thoughts from the initial shock to his economic duties reveals his ironic nonchalant attitude towards his nonsensical transformation and
1. Almost from the very beginning of Gregor’s metamorphosis, Mr. Samsa has been unwilling to accept Gregor as his son. Furthermore, Gregor’s transformation into an offensive form of an insect, constantly reminds Mr. Samsa of the grotesque, feeble, and pathetic aberration that he has fathered. Consequently, now that Gregor has genuinely revealed himself in all his audacious behavior, his cruel father is driven to destroy him. In his eyes, Gregor has become everything loathsome to him—scrawny, parasitic, and futile—not the kind of son this once successful and ambitious storekeeper could be proud of.
The narrator said, “During the first fortnight, Gregor’s parents could not bring themselves to enter his room…” He has been disconnected from his family to the point where they’re emotionally unstable and unable to treat him as he deserves with affection and comfort to help him cope with his metamorphosis. The narrator shows this disconnection before the mutation,”Gregor later earned so much money that he was in a position to cover the expenses for the entire family…” He later described the exchange not “particularly warm”. Gregor feels alienated by his parents because of the lack of affection for him providing for them.
Have you ever been through a metamorphosis? A metamorphosis is a change of the form or nature of a thing or a person into a completely different one. In the book The Metamorphosis, we learn that not only does Gregor undergo a metamorphosis, but his sister Grete does as well. Grete experiences the most significant transformation because she transforms from being meek, to caring, and then to being confident. “In the neighboring room on the right, the sister began to sob.”
Gregor is just showing on the outside, in his spider-likeness, how he feels on the inside. If he receives proper care and love rather than alienation, disrespect, and neglect from his family, he could have been able to transform his outside back into human form. Symbolism plays a great role in The Metamorphosis. Two examples from the text can be drawn to illustrate this point. First, Gregor assumes that it was a dream when
The effects of Gregor's metamorphosis on the rest of the Samsa family in The Metamorphosis affects the families relationships with one another, their feelings towards each other, their behavior towards Gregor and results in their own transformation as well. Grete especially, was the most affected by Gregor’s metamorphosis as she goes through her own metamorphosis to reveal her independent and authoritative qualities and ultimately reach adulthood. For instance, Grete offers to take care of Gregor out of kindness and caring, "Then, out of consideration for Gregor’s feelings, as she knew that he would not eat in front of her, she hurried out again and even turned the key in the lock so that Gregor would know he could make things as comfortable
This is the reason he isolated himself from his family. Gregor is forced to work in an environment he hates but his transformation overlooks that. He doesn’t have to suffer from his occupation and allows him to spend more time with his family. However, this change only had a positive affect temporarily.
However, his family never realizes these sacrifices and takes Gregor for granted, ultimately leading to his painful demise. Gregors perpetual devotion to his harsh family represents the unconditional love one feels for their own flesh and blood no matter how wicked they may be. The family's reaction to Gregor’s transformation into a bug demonstrates their lack of compassion for
While Gregor begins are the all mighty, male provider, he regresses into an effeminate state as he no longer can perform his tasks for work. As his transformation into a vermin worsens, he no longer can perform any action and further conforms to the true identity of a bug. Grete, on the other hand, picks up the male provider role that Gregor could no longer perform, but then, as she becomes tired with the work and as Gregor identifies with an “it”, goes back to her female role. Gregor's physical change forces him to degenerate to death, but allows Grete to thrive, growing into a
In the beginning, we see Gregor awaken to his life as he has known it to be for some time. With his job being to support his entire family, his stress about missing work is apparent. The position his family
Having adult responsibilities means that people will start to be dependent on other people and that they have a responsibility to help meet their needs, such as a responsibility towards one's family. Often those responsibilities can be forced upon someone due to certain circumstances and as a result their personality can completely change. That is the situation with Grete in “Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, that due to the ramification of taking care of her brother’s condition Grete’s overall character changes into that of a responsible adult but in the process she becomes a cruel person. Grete character in the story starts out as a quite and naive girl who prefers to stay in the background and is sensitive enough to suddenly start crying when she tries to get her brother out of his bedroom. Before Gregor’s condition Grete couldn't do anything on her own and wasn’t a dependable person.
Kafka tells the story through Grete viewpoint to point out the obligation of gender equality. He shifts the story from Gregor’s perspective to Grete’s perspective. Gregor’s transformation forces Grete to fill the role left unattended by Gregor and creates her own point of view, whereas before she would mindlessly obey everyone’s commands. Grete obeying everyone’s commands without refusal lets the reader imply she has not possessed her sense of self, yet because she never experiences the need for independence before Gregor’s metamorphosis. As Gregor weakly diminishes, Grete gains her powerful self-confidence and forms her own opinions, since Gregor can no longer provide for the family, she doesn’t feel the pressure to obey the family like she
Kafka uses diction and symbolism to convey the family’s dissatisfaction and the deterioration in their family ties. Each family member acquires a job to compensate the loss of Gregor’s salary. Kafka writes: “They were fulfilling to the utmost the demands the world makes on the poor: Gregor’s father fetched breakfast for the petty employees at the bank, his mother sacrificed herself for the underclothes of strangers, his sister ran back and forth behind the shop counter at her costumers’ behest... And the wound in Gregor’s back would begin to ache anew when… Gregor’s mother…would say: ‘shut the door now Grete’; and Gregor was left in the dark again” (Kafka
Although Gregor did not like his job he still wanted to work, to help his family. Even right after the metamorphosis Gregor’s first concern was that he wouldn't be able to go to work, not that he just turned into a bug. This is similar to Kafka’s life because he too did not like his job, but only continued to please his father. The second principle that was prominent in The Metamorphosis, was alienation. Although isolation is not the same as alienation, someone who is isolating themselves is alienating themselves.
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.
