Gregor In Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis

Gregor’s major transformation occurred not when he turned into a bug, but through the changes in his life. Gregor’s life before the changed into some sort of bug was like a bumble bee. He would go through life doing as others told him. In

“The Metamorphosis” is a surreal story by Franz Kafka surrounding the transformation and betrayal of Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one day, reborn into a large insect. Along with the bizarre and nightmarish appearance of his new hard back, brown segmented belly, and many legs, Gregor only desire is to live a normal life, unfortunately, this is impossible because he struggles to even get out of bed. Gregor transformation into an insect is a vivid metaphor for the alienation of humans from around the world. After losing human form, Gregor is automatically deprived of the right to be a part of society. Franz Kafka could relate to Gregor because he too was mistreated/neglected by his father and worked a job that he was unhappy doing. Franz and Gregor both were providers for their families. Alienation, isolation, and loneliness were not hard to recognize during the Modernity and Modernism time period.

In Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis”, the character Gregor transforms from a man into a bug, specifically a cockroach. Although Gregor physically changes, he does not change as a person. Gregor merely accepts his new condition as a bug and his family’s continuous abuse and hostility. Gregor’s acceptance of his new bug form is representative of his passive personality before and after his transformation. Gregor’s passivity, in response to the hostile world around him, causes his eventual downfall. Therefore, Kafka uses the character Gregor to exemplify how a passive attitude can cause one’s demise.

In his "Metamorphosis", Kafka utilizes an allegorical technique to compare Gregor's sacrifices to those of Jesus in the Bible. Ultimately, both Gregor and Jesus sacrifice their lives so that they can help their loved ones, despite betrayal.  Kafka uses this biblical allegory to illustrate Gregor's Christ-like actions.

He was very shocked by this change and couldn’t go to work and even tell his family about this. But his family soon came to know about his transformation into a big insect. They were surprised because they counted on him for the family’s income as he was the only source of money in the house. Gregor was transformed into an ultimate insect both psychologically and physically. This transformation into led to complete alienation which prevented him from working and providing his family with money. His transformation not only changed his life but also made his family’s economical condition bad. They used to have cooks and maids for household works but now they worked by their selves and also had people living in their house who paid them monthly rents. This shows how bad their economical condition had become.

In the beginning of the novella, Gregor undergoes a transformation. Many readers view his transformation as he turns into a bug because of the way Kafka describes Gregor. Kafka may have been undergoing a transformation of his own. Kafka dealt with many issues growing up such as self doubt, issues with his father, and eventually, health issues. Like Kafka, Gregor deals with issues with his father and within himself and begins to feel less and less like himself as the novella continues. He awakes from his sleep to ask himself, “What’s happened to me (Kafka, 3)?” With the conflicts Gregor has with his family, especially his father, he begins to feel unwanted and unappreciated. Gregor also feels that he is becoming less sensitive when that used to be one of his main traits as a human (Kafka, 24). Seeing that Gregor is losing his sensitivity, that shows that he is truly losing himself since he is losing one of his main traits. Feeling less like himself, Gregor becomes more distant with his close

Diction surrounding Gregor’s father: Gregor’s father is portrayed as a lazy man, however under certain circumstances, he is forced to work. He is transformed into a working man and as time goes on his physical appearance shows that he is now enslaved to the working class and his life revolves around his job. Despite being a more productive member of society, the negative connotation of his descriptions shows that he is still being suppressed by society.

The deterioration of Gregor's life was in part due to the ostracism associated with his being turned into a bug. Once his family found out what happened, they banished him to his room, and his parents could not even bear to look at him. Prior to his metamorphosis, Gregor was an integral part of the family. He provided the money by which the family survived. Yet as soon as he changed, he was labeled an outcast, who was useless to the family, and therefore not paid any attention. He felt this ostracism, and it made him not want to continue on in life, he gave up because he felt unloved.

One of the reasons Gregor morphed into a bug is so the family could go undergo their own transformation instead of always relying on Gregor. The transformation was more of wakeup call for the family so they could realize that they shouldn’t put all the financial burden him and that they should share the responsibility for the debt and income. Another reason why Gregor turned into a bug is because bugs are mostly considered insignificant and little and most of Gregor life he was just someone that the family looked up to for money reasons and he never got to enjoy his life or even do normal things such as relationships. Immediately, he’s concerned about how’s going to get to work “I’ve got to get up, my train leaves at five” (Page 8) and isn’t worrying about his health which shows how worried is about his job because he knows that income is going straight to his family

Throughout “The Metamorphosis” we learn about a character named Gregor and everything he has going on with him, his thoughts, with relationships, his physical and mental limitations, and the overall situation he’s been so unfortunate to be a part of. Gregor has a lot going on now that he’s transformed so i’ll cover everything i’m able to.

‘The Metamorphosis’ by Franz Kafka, the composer of the novel, explores the relations between an outsider and an insider, and Gregor Samsa’s relationship with his family, gradually following up on how Gregor decided to become an insect that he was physically being seen as, although he had been psychologically/ mentally been feeling like an “insect” for a while now. Gregor allowed himself to transition into an insect, as he chose he would let his family affect his personal happiness. Subsequently, he made the choice to become accustomed to the routine of the life he was living, to exclude and suppress himself from all persons and things, and to become fully focused on his job and his duties, despite the fact that he despised it so much. Gregor wanted to believe that he was in full control of his own life and emotions, when he only allowed his family to affect him thoughts and progression, similarly just like Kafka’s did as well as confiding to become an insect

“Go to college”, “go to bed’, “stop being so weird”. Demands from society are a constant that will constantly breath down your neck. Gregor is a gargantuan ball of stress who always has a demand to be fulfilling whether it be work, family, or money. All of these will pile on causing Gregor to morph into a bug. Demands like these represent what the stresses of society can do on most individuals, not every person could be affected like this but it's possible for the majority.

Gregor’s first concern after he discovers he is a bug is that he hates his job. “Good Lord” Gregor thought, “What an exhausting profession I have chosen (Kafka 23). Then a few paragraphs later he is worried about paying off his family’s debt and missing his train the first step in accomplishing that. “Well all hope is not yet lost; as soon as I’ve saved up enough money to pay back what my parents owe him—another five or six years ought to be enough… For the time being, though, I’ve got to get up, my train leaves at five (Kafka 24).

In The Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka, the protagonist of the story undergoes psychological and physical pain after mysteriously transforming into an insect overnight. Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, is a lonely and quiet young man who solely supports his family as a result of his father’s business’ failure. Living a lifestyle close to poverty, Gregor wakes up early and goes to bed late without a single complaint. Since he is always traveling he can never develop a lasting relationship with anyone, and this makes him feel sad and alone.

Even after he turns into a bug, he is still trying to figure out a way to go to work. "The next train left at seven o'clock. To catch that one, he would have to go in a mad rush"(6). He is attempting to go to work but he can not even get off his bed because he still has not figured out how to move his newly acquired body. Although Gregor is willing to go to work to support his family while he is a bug, his family members do not appreciate his efforts and they blame him for becoming a bug. "His father clenched his fist with hostile expression, as if he wished to push Gregor back into his room"(23). His father is unbelievable, he hates Gregor even after All the things Gregor has done for them. Not only does his father threaten him, he actually physically hurts him. After his father comes home and finds the mother passed out from the sight of Gregor, he goes straight to the counter and "From the fruit bowl on the sideboard his father had filled his pockets, and now, without for the moment taking accurate aim, was throwing apple after apple"(65). Gregor's father forgets all the things that Gregor does for the family and starts hurting down Gregor and eventually being the cause of his death. Gregor is willing to deal with anything and everything for the sake of his family, but his family is not willing to exchange the favor and help Gregor for a little