Kafka portrayed Gregor to be a symbol of all mankind for those who felt alienated. Alienation means “the state or experience of being isolated from a group”. Gregor felt alone and isolated even before becoming a bug. He had to go to a job he hated and not be able to enjoy his life because he had to work hard and pay off his parent’s debt. His parents ignored him and didn’t show any love towards him, they used him. Throughout reading the first chapter we learn that all Gregor wants to do is quit his job and be free from his family obligations. When working he had so much devotion to work and support his family that it caused him to become alienated in society. Gregor because of this has lost all his social ability and longs for a lasting relationship. …show more content…
When he went through a metamorphosis transformation and turned into a beetle it was not only physically dehumanizing but also mentally. Gregor is not unique in his human alienation because there are many cases like Gregor’s. In Gregor’s bug alienation he is unique because people in the real world do not turn into bugs. In his case Gregor is mentally and physically alienated. Gregor can’t have any friends because he never has enough time to make any. He is physically abused by always having to work constantly not for his benefit but for his family’s benefit. Through his alienation in the book there is mostly mental confinement. The physical abuse in the book has produced a lot of mental alienation for Gregor. At the beginning of the book when he was turned into a beetle he used it as an excuse to just lay out of work and stay in bed all day. Gregor was tired of always going to a job he hated and being used by his family. In his locked room it was kind of a symbol of isolation from the outside world and his family. He confined himself within his room as it is the only place he felt safe. When they removed his furniture it was a dehumanizing act, as the last link to his humanity and human past is removed. The filth of his room represents his family’s lost hope in Gregor, since they let it accumulate in filth as if nobody lived
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
" Physically: Gregor literally crawls into his room, lays down on the floor, and takes his last breath. Mentally: Gregor's family alienates him and is ultimately responsible for Gregor's death through their negligence. Clearly, the bug is Gregor, but Mr. and Mrs. Samsa and Grete treat 'it' as if he was scum. " They were treating him as though he was invisible. They would literally walk past his room every day and attend their family dinners without saying anything to Gregor at all.
1. What circumstances in Gregor’s life have caused him to feel dehumanized even before The Metamorphosis took place? Because of his monotonous job as a traveling salesman, which kept him away from home for extended periods of time, Gregor Samsa felt alienated. He didn't have a social life, no friends, and no interesting and fun hobbies, so he felt like a cog in a machine.
Gregor was shown being isolated from humanity, and the monster was secluded from society until he was murdered. The monster was feeling utmost disappointment when he realized his predicament. "I am malicious because I am miserable. Am I not shunned and hated by all mankind?" (Shelley 17).
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.
Referring back to Gregor in The Metamorphosis, he was once very social and even had a job requiring talking and visiting people and places. However, this all changed when he could no longer communicate with anyone. All of the sudden, Gregor was unable to be the social being he was. “‘I’ll get dressed right away, pack up the samples, and set off. You’ll allow me to set out on my way, will you not?
This change has long since happened but is in full affect more than ever since the transmutation. Overall Gregor has changed both physically and emotionally. He was mutated into a giant bug at the beginning of the novella. His emotional connection changed between his parents for the worst. The spark between them has faded as the money Gregor made grew.
Gregor’s isolation and loneliness begins to toy with his composure, he becomes unpredictable and frightening to his family. Although, Gregor’s slow transformation from man to bug eventually becomes beneficial to Gregor. For instance, Gregor’s bug-like appearance allows him to be released from his family's high expectations. As for his developing bug-like qualities helps him to register his inner anger he feels towards his father. Gregor now realizes his father shows no sympathy towards Gregor and instead punishes him for something he has no control over.
He became embodied by his weak form and closed off to the real world, literally. Gregor’s influence on his family also allowed his father to grow as an individual and appear superior when dressing within his
Seung Woo Lee Ms.Aubrey World Literature September 11, 2014 World Literature Paper To many, the meaning of of life is a constant cycle of searching and failing. Many have attempted to ascertain the true value and meaning of life. People repeatedly question the purpose of life.
Gregor changed his mind about work. After not being able to do anything but crawl around his room, he would prefer to be himself again and be working instead of being a bug for the rest of his life. Gregor keeps struggling throughout the story about the fact that he is no longer the breadwinner of the house and no longer has a job to help out with his family’s financial money debt. He took on the work and debt despite his own dreams and ambitions. This was not a job that he wanted but one he did out of love for his family.
But, it is his sister Greta that implies that they should get rid of the furniture in his room. She starts to feel that she does not recognize her brother anymore. Gregor tries numerous times to get his families attention so, they could maybe try to understand more what was happening to him. With every attempt, he tried he failed and was injured by his father in the process. Which caused him to stop eating and drinking water.
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
It wasn't the hard-work that had the alienating impact on Gregor but it was the lack of a companion. Gregor did not have time to dwell about what he wanted to do. He just wanted to pay off his parents debts and move out of the firm because of the unfavourable conditions, that prevailed. Gregor worked for a tenure of five years in the firm, without a day off but on the one day on which his somatic metamorphosis took place, the chief clerk was sent in to find out what has happened. The chief clerk mocked Gregor’s parents about their debts and Gregor could not wit-stand this mockery.
Gregor shuts himself off from having human interaction with others to focus on his job. Gregor Kafka did not like his job, he actually hates it. Gregor thinks to himself in the story, “‘O God, what a demanding job I’ve chosen! Day in, day out on the road. …