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
Gregor also has become an unwanted responsibility. Not many people would wake up and want to take care of an insect out of the blue. With Gregor in the house, at least one person need to stay in the house to watch him. One of the maids after learning the
I chose Susan Peters to compare to Gregor. Susan Peters became paralyzed from the waist down after being shot in a duck hunting accident. From then on, she had to use a wheelchair to get around. Gregor and Susan Peters both face difficulties in their life. They’re different because Gregor’s whole identity changed, and Susan Peters lost her ability to use her legs.
In The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa is a traveling salesman who works to provide for his family. One morning though, Gregor wakes up as a massive beetle type insect. The bug can no longer talk, and can barely even get out of bed.
1. Before Gregor’s metamorphosis his family treats with moderate respect, for they make sure he is always following his schedule and is never late for work. Gregor before his metamorphosis is seen as an asset to his family, for he provides another source of income for them, a better opportunity to life comfortably. However, along with this sense of comfort his family also treats him rather distant from a son, and a brother.
The story follows Gregor Samsa who wakes up one morning to find that he has transformed into an insect. His transformation leads to his isolation from society and his family, who begin to treat him as a burden rather than a loved one. Gregor's inability to communicate with others and his physical isolation in his room highlight the detrimental effects of isolation on one's mental health. Kafka's portrayal of isolation in The Metamorphosis warns against the dangers of social isolation and its impact on one's well-being. Upon becoming a monstrous vermin, he experiences a profound sense of loneliness and detachment from society.
Remember, Gregor had no factor on whether he changed form or not. It just happened. In “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, Gregor samsa is forced to be an outsider from society. A reason why Gregor is forced to be an outsider by society is he never had a choice to change form to cockroach but he was still treated poorly by his family.
Neither Kafka nor Gregor followed the existentialist idea of freedom of choice in a person’s life. They both had a life they didn’t ask for and responsibilities they were forced to assume. This principle of lack of freedom is clearly shown by the unexpected transformation of Gregor, waking up as an insect and obtaining the freedom he lacked, emancipating himself of obligations, injustice and final duties. He is freed from the obligation to work to maintain his family and liberated himself from his tyrannical father. Although he turned into a horrible insect, the metamorphosis did not change the beauty of his soul.
Gregor Samsa’s transition from human to vermin was not the only shift that happened through the duration of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. The novel is centered around Gregor who wakes up as a vermin, presumably a cockroach, which catalyses a series of emotionally traumatic experiences for him and his family, culminating in Gregor’s death. Yet the most significant change is, in fact, the gender role reversal seen both with Gregor and Grete, his sister, as Gregor becomes more effeminate and Grete becomes more emasculate, directly correlating with their societal and emotional transformation due to Gregor's physical change. From the moment, Gregor wakes up he has transformed. But not just as a vermin.
The novella, The Metamorphosis is about the life of a young man, Gregor, who awakens one day only to find out he is a huge vermin. Gregor is not really a bug. He is infact hiding that he is Jewish. This is a metaphor for unveiling that Gregor is Jewish. This is appeared by how Mr.Samsa, Gregor's dad, treats him, and how he is compelled to be secluded and what the apple wedged up in Gregor's back represents.
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
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.
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.
It is a startling mirror of the way society continues to treat those who cannot play the game of capitalism as well as we’d like—the poor, the homeless, the mentally ill, the disabled. In the end, the worth of a person does not come from how much wealth may be squeezed out of them, or how many hours they can toil over a task. Gregor was special and deserving of respect even though he had no way to contribute financially to his society or his family. Because while Kafka highlights Gregor’s dehumanization under the capitalist system, he simultaneously demonstrates all the good qualities of Gregor. His loyalty, his kindness, his enduring love for his family even after they begin to disparage and assault him.
Gregor’s father usually spends hours on breakfast while he “sat reading a number of different newspapers”. (Kafka 36) It’s fair to say that Gregor has offered a comfortable life for his family and actually is the welfare of his family the only thing he concerns for all the time.
