How Does Gregor Samsa Have Sympathy

     I have chosen The Metamorphosis as my subject for this paper; I will take a close look at how the death of Gregor Samsa opens the doors to understanding the story. I will give examples of irony through Gregor’s metamorphosis and how this irony brings together the conclusion of the story. Through his death we see the truth behind his parents, which in it’s self is ironic. It is difficult to pinpoint one specific thing to write about in the story; there are just so many things that can be brought to light. If I happen to lose sight of my topic bear with me, there is just so much to be discussed in the novella.

Turning the character into a giant, monstrous insect helps the author demonstrate the situation in which a person becomes absolutely vulnerable, helpless and pathetic. At that very moment of Gregor’s new form the attitude of the family becomes absolutely clear and transparent: everyone feels ashamed and diverted from the personality of Gregor. Betrayal of his mother and his sister is nowhere near what Gregor would have ever imagined. His relationship with his father was rocky. He never expected the mishap to become so realistic and his lift to be so heartbreaking. So the main

To fully understand the depths of Gregor’s family’s betrayal, it must be mentioned how much he does for his family. His father had once owned a very unsuccessful small business, and when the business went under the family’s financial woes were unimaginable. Gregor saw this and wanted to bring joy to his family again. Kafka states, “At that time Gregor’s sole desire was to do his utmost to help the family to forget as soon as possible the catastrophe that had overwhelmed the business and thrown them all into a state of complete despair” (Kafka 25) He found a job so that

Grete undergoes a change in perspective to such a degree that by the end of the novella it is she who declares, “we must get rid of it” (84). This change in perspective shows how Kafka believes that members of society often stop sympathizing with the isolated group when it becomes inconvenient for them to continue doing so. Gregor’s mother reacts in an initial manner somewhere between the father and sister since when first seeing him she “went two steps toward Gregor and collapsed right in the middle of her skirts” (23). These conflicting desires continue through the novella, such as when Mr. Samsa tries to kill Gregor, “she begged him to spare Gregor’s life” (65) but at the same time she is repulsed by him. This illustrates how she wants to help him and tries to think of him the same way she did before his transformation, yet is unable to. This resembles the idealists in society who theoretically support the alienated person but often succumb to social pressures when they are forced to face the problem. These three reactions to Gregor’s transformation as a result of the initiation of his isolation by the manager demonstrate the spectrum of reactions. From the immediate acceptance of the hierarchy represented by Mr. Samsa, to the true compassion of Grete and the idealism of Mrs. Samsa, Kafka shows how a wide variety of reactions is expected from society, and how people often change their opinions.

But, as time goes on his sister Grete, who had been the one to care for him the most, begins to lose faith in his humanness. She says to her parents, "You must just try to get rid of the idea that this is Gregor. The fact that we've believed it for so long is the root of all our trouble." This same idea is reiterated when Gregor finally dies and his mother says, "Well, now thanks be to God." His family was convinced after a short while that it wasn't even their own Gregor underneath that hard exoskeleton.

When Gregor transformed into a bug many of his physical appearances changed. Gregor could really only lay on his back and it was difficult to do anything because he had short stubby arms and legs. “Instead of these, however, he had only small limbs which were incessantly moving with very different motions and which, in addition, he was unable to control” (Kafka 140). When his mother wanted to talk to him he refused because he didn't want her to see what he has transformed too. Another reason why is because Gregor was unable to get up to open the door and when he finally could get up he didn't have hands to unlock it so he had to use his mouth. Gregor then had a hard time getting through the door because of his large and the weird shape of his body. He wasn't a human anymore so he had to figure out a way to get through the door. “But to continue was difficult, particularly because he was so unusually wide” (Kafka 140). Before all this happened Gregor was a traveling salesman, this was a good job and he was able to pay for lots of the family's bills and he

So concerned with ensuring his parents and sister were taken care of, he forgot his own needs. It was apparent to everyone that he was no longer thought of as a son or an extension of the family, but merely as a "support system." The tragic fact is that "everyone had grown accustomed to it, his family as much as himself; they took the money gratefully, he gave it willingly but the act was accompanied by no remarkable effusiveness" (Kafka 48). It appears that in the course of his hectic work schedule, he overlooks that in return for dedication to his family, he remains unloved and unappreciated. Yet Gregor still "believed he had to provide his family with a pleasant, contented, secure life" (Emrich 149), regardless of how they treated him.

While the weeks and months passed Grete and his mother and father struggled to give little any compassion or concern for Gregor as their finances plummeted to the ground. Prior to his metamorphosis Gregor was physically alienated from any semblance of a social life due to his job and financial obligation to his family afterward the transformation and he was deemed a burden to his family that he had provided for countless months he was psychologically isolated from them as well. Notably while Gregor had finally been emancipated from his dreaded job as a salesman, he had become a parasitic to his family without being labeled as a provider they slowly began to turn against him only worsening his mental state and exile.

the family representative of Gregor, in a sense, to a mother who does not understand and a father who is hostile and opposing. The father is physically violent toward his metamorphosed Gregor, pushing him through a door in Part I: "...when from behind his father gave him a strong push which was literally a deliverance and he flew far into the room, bleeding freely" (20). Grete appears to concentrate on protecting Gregor from this antagonistic father and an indecisive mother. In Part II, when Grete leads her mother into Gregor's room for the first time, we see the strange way in which Grete has become both the expert and the caretaker of Gregor's affairs (Nabokov 271). She convinces her mother that it is best to remove all of the furniture from his room. Kafka attributes her actions partly to an adolescent zest: "Another factor which might have been also the enthusiastic temperament of an adolescent girl, which seeks to indulge

As the intensity of Gregor’s change grows, Grete loses her positive characteristics and the desire for her favorite hobbies. By the end of the novella, Grete turns completely bitter and loses all empathy for Gregor’s issues. This goes so far that when Gregor dies as a bug, Grete, along with her family, is content to have the maid simply take his body out with the

Many views of existentialism are exposed in Kafka's Metamorphosis. One of these main views is alienation or estrangement which is demonstrated by Gregor's relationship with his family, his social life, and the way he lives his life after the metamorphosis. Namely, it suggests that man is reduced to an insect by the modern world and his family; human nature is completely self absorbed. Kafka reflects a belief that the more generous and selfless one is, the worse one is treated. This view is in direct conflict with the way things should be; man, specifically Gregor should be treated in accordance to his actions. Gregor should be greatly beloved by his family regardless of his state. This idea is displayed in three separate themes. First,

This happened because Gregor’s family now has to earn their own money and they have to be responsible for fulfilling their own needs. However as this is occurring Gregor the once glorious provider has now became the burden of the family. Even Gregor's little sister Grete transformed her behavior and persona. Grete becomes an Empress, ready to be soonly wed. By the end of the story Mr.Kafka shows us that all of the family’s hope is placed onto the newly bloomed flower known as Grete. “And it was like a confirmation of their new dreams and excellent intentions that at the end of their journey their daughter sprang to her feet first and stretched her young body.” When I finished the story it dawned on me how parallel Grete and Gregor's transformations are; Grete is the worthless daughter in her parents eyes. However Grete soon becomes a worthwhile human being while

Grete was initially reliant upon Gregor for providing for her dream of attending, “[t]he conservatory”, however, she had always thought of it as, “a beautiful dream, whose realization was unimaginable” (34), due to the family’s financial predicament. Her reliance upon others exemplified her similarity to a larva/immature child, as she was unable to provide for herself, and set the beginning of her eventual metamorphosis. Additionally, her character during the beginning of the novel contrasts directly with her character after Gregor’s transformation. As after Gregor’s metamorphosis, “[Grete] … had taken on a job as a salesgirl”, and, “in the evening studied stenography and French, so as perhaps later to obtain a better position” (52), which signaled her metamorphosis from a larva to a butterfly. As after Grete had accepted a job and was able to provide for her own financial need which contrasts with her earlier reliance upon everyone else as a larva.

Kafka reveals very little about Gregor's life prior to this incident: all we know of him is that he had been a traveling salesman who was constantly "busying himself with his fretsaw" and who "never (went) out in the evenings," instead spending his time "sitting . . . at the table quietly reading the paper or studying" (Kafka 12-13). This imagery of Samsa as a studious carpenter characterizes him as humble and, in this, somewhat unlikable to the toughest audiences. Even imagery as simplistic as this conjures the image of Gregor as a bookish, studious milquetoast. At the same time, the carpenter characterization connotes Christ, and thus immediately hints at Samsa's eventual heroism, even before anything significant has happened. So when the book's first "metamorphosis" occurs in the first sentence, Gregor's prior circumstances make him fertile ground in which a change in spirit can occur. Samsa even acknowledges the metaphysical change enacted in himself: when he tries to explain to his family and the head clerk why he cannot leave his room, his audience can "no longer (understand) his words, even though they (are) clear enough to him, clearer than before even" (15). It is as if he is in another dimension from them completely and therefore a sort of "immortal" at heart, before the knowledge is even imparted upon him in the form

Again, like Grete, Gregor’s mother has found employment as a means to independency. After she is frightened by backlash she received from Gregor after trying to remove furniture from his room (26), she decides to help support the family herself. While there is no sense of changing gender roles like there is with Grete, Mrs. Samsa’s gain of independence through the metamorphosis of Gregor is just as enlightening. While a normal person may think the family would care for Gregor so that he can be restored to his former, working self, the family focuses more towards their inner