How Does Gregor Samsa Change In The Metamorphosis

His boss tells him that he is causing his parents unnecessary worry, but his parents are not worried at all or they would have busted into his room to see if he was okay. Whilst in the middle of all of this Gregor is starting to get scared of what the change is bringing into his life and causing unnecessary worry. In chapter 2, Grete brings in food for Gregor and for a change he is being treated somewhat correct and they notice he has became a full time crawler. This causes the family to question what he is doing is not human and they are starting to fear his new abilities as a “bug”. As an example, his mother and Grete take out the furniture to give him more room to crawl. Losing all faith in Gregor they take the furniture out because the fear is too great they may never get their son back and they have to accept the fact Gregor is a nasty vermin.

Thirdly, he suffers isolation from the physical world, which he is no longer able to participate in due to his presence and lack of mobility. Lastly, he suffers isolation from other people around him, especially his family. By the end even his sister, Grete, the most compassionate member of the family, explanations that they should stop thoughtful of the creature as the person they knew. She says that “the fact that we’ve believed it so long is the root of our trouble” (Kafka 48), which can be taken to mean that at some point Gregor stopped being a person not only because of his entrance but since of his non-conformist actions. The beating he receives from his father shows the extent of the cruelty he endures, though his father knows that “family duty compulsory the conquest of disgust and the use of endurance, nothing but patience” (Kafka 36). The tragedy is that this alienation ends up killing Gregor, who “dies not as a vermin, but as a human being thinking of his family”. The transformation is an indication of the breakdown of Gregor’s psyche and alienation within his self. The reader is not told how the transformation

Although Gregor’s mother defends him throughout most of the story, she starts to have her doubts once she sees how difficult Gregor has made life for the rest of the family. Before his transformation into this vermin, Gregor and his mother have a stable relationship. But, after Gregor’s metamorphosis is complete it was not until after “two weeks…[that] his parents could not bring themselves to come into see him,” (Kafka 29). The strength of the mother’s unconditional love for Gregor has diminished over the process of his metamorphosis, so much so, that she is repulsed by Gregor’s presence and is afraid to even be in the same room as him. The mother further rejects the physical state of her son by “pointing to Gregor’s room,” (Kafka 40) and telling Grete to “close that door,” (Kafka 40), therefore leaving Gregor in isolated and in the dark. Gregor’s mother has now caught on to the idea of distancing herself from her deformed son by

Throughout the novella, “The Metamorphosis”, the audience notices two transformations. At the start of the story, Grete is the most understanding of Gregor and his situation. She makes sure that he is comfortable and healthy. On the other hand, Mr. Samsa is the least understanding. He wants nothing to do with him. However, as the story progresses, these two characters shift roles. After taking care of Gregor and seeing that his appearance is ruining their lives, Grete decides that he should no longer be a part of their family. In contrast, Mr. Samsa decides that they should give him a chance and treat him like the son that he has always been.

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.

The human truth in The Metamorphosis can be seen in various ways depending on your point of view of Gregor and Franz Kafka. Gregor Samsa was working for his family in result of the family needing money (so he thought); his parents and sister did not work. He is the only working child in the entire family. His father forced him to work, but he dislikes his job, and this does not make his life any easier. Gregor had to give up his own ambitions to provide for his family. Gregor finds himself trapped in a bubble. “Gregor’s goal to sustain his parents’ debt and provide for the family becomes more important than his own happiness”(Sadler). He struggles with the burden of providing for his family and maintaining himself simultaneously. The truth at this point of the book contains the little facts we know about Gregor, alienation will get you nowhere in life and will hold you back from accomplishing goals in life. Gregor takes notice to his transformation, but “does not seem to find it terrifying or even that unusual, merely an inconvenience or perhaps a delusion” (Smith). I think Gregor is transforming into a bug like creature due to his financial burden, his depression, alienation, guilt, and his terrible job.

She eventually shared, “‘We must try to get rid of it,’ [Grete] now said exclusively to her father, since her mother was coughing too hard to hear anything. ‘It will be the death of you two, I can see it coming.’” (49), stating an opinion in which was completely the opposite at the beginning of this story. Through the combination of Gregor's effects on their family as well as the work in which the family endured, Grete became more realistic, finally admitting her mature thoughts on the subject. Likewise, others took notice in the transformation in which Grete was going through, commenting on how much of an adult she has really become .

In chapter one the families begins to grow ashamed of Gregor and try to hide him from others, like a mentally ill person. They refuse to allow the doctor and locksmith to come into the house because of their misfortune and lock him away in his room, slowly dehumanizing him. When Gregor is seen by outsiders, it is possible that Gregor really is not a bug because they recognize him as a person. For example, the Lodgers find Gregor amusing. However, Gregor’s father finds it more important that he hide Gregor from the lodgers, because Gregor is acting like a lunatic. Even the “old widow, who in her long life must have managed to survive the worst with the help of her body frame, had no real horror of Gregor” (Kafka 37). Gregor’s behavior is disgracing the Samsa name, because if other people see him it reflects poorly on his family.

Gregor hides himself under a sheet, and she throws him a grateful look" (12). Grete, Gregor's sister, went off the deep end with Gregor- she lost all patience. She used to lay out food scraps for her brother, but now she can not stand the sight of him! The young Samsa girl would be very attentive to Gregor, she would feed him, and she would even clean his room for him.

Samsa treats Gregor the worst in “The Metamorphosis”, he still have some hope left that the Gregor that they once knew, will come back to them. But when Grete suggested that if Gregor were to stay with them longer, they will be ruined, he changed his mind. “‘She is right in a thousand ways,’ said the father to himself.” (84, Kafka) Though all the things that the Samsa family have tried to do for Gregor, trying to make his transformation more bearable, Gregor did not show any appreciation for them. And after the lodgers left due to Gregor, it made it even more clear that if Gregor were to stay longer, their lives will be ruined. “‘If he only understood us,’ repeated the father and by shutting his eyes he absorbed the sister’s conviction of the impossibility of this point, ‘then perhaps some compromise would be possible with him. But as it is…’” (86, Kafka) Mr. Samsa still thinks that the “creature” is still Gregor, and hopes that Gregor would leave on his own will. Little does he know, Gregor understood his statement, and slowly moves back to his bedroom. And upon realizing that his presence is a burden for his whole family, he kills himself. Grete and Mr. Samsa are the main culprits for Gregor’s death. On the other hand, Mrs. Samsa did not play a role in Gregor’s

Mr. Samsa attacks Gregor twice and each time he jumps to conclusions that Gregor is doing something wrong. Additionally, Mrs. Samsa can not even bring herself to look at Gregor. Whenever she does catch a glimpse of Gregor, she gets physically sick. Her love for him is clear as she does care for him and even

A bug is treated as an insignificant creature that is constantly shooed away. Gregor Samsa, in the “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, is a traveling salesman who changes into a bug and is unappreciated by his family. His life takes place mostly in his room and with him as a bug, each member of the family has taken on a job in order to live, when before, Gregor was able to provide for his whole family. He is selfless and if he ever wanted to do anything for himself, seeing his family happy is enough to fill his void. However, Gregor’s changing character, limited omniscient point of view, and the text’s monotonous setting, magnifies the importance of contribution to society by leading from Gregor’s economic contribution to lack of social contribution

Worried about their son, his entire family urges next to the door and demands Gregor to unlock it. At that moment, his manager angrily storms to his house and demands an explanation for his delay. His mother tries to pleads his manager by complimenting Gregor’s devoted and hardworking attitude. She didn’t want her son to lose her occupation as she still perceived him as the successor of the family, and if anything were to happen, it would only disrupt the sustainability of her family. Finally, Gregor opens the door and witnesses the repulsive and scared faces of his family and manager. The horrified office manager backs away, his mother who was "already in tears...yelling" (12-13) passes out, and the father cries. Nevertheless, Gregor “[filled with] assurance and confidence” continued to see himself as his human self, and tries to protect this identity by delivering a long explanation. However, he doesn’t realize that no one saw him as Gregor, and regardless of how strongly he believed in his perception of himself, his family simply saw him as a disgusting creature. Courageously, the father shoves him back into the room and isolates the hideous Gregor into the room.

He was the son, the sole breadwinner of the family. Before Gregor’s transformation Grete really had no place in the family. Now since Gregor was unable to help the family Grete became important, needed and most of all appreciated. “He often heard them expressing their appreciation of his sister’s activities, whereas formerly they had frequently scolded her for being a somewhat useless daughter”(99). Now Grete’s parents need her for something. Grete by making herself responsible for Gregor gains a certain power over her parents. This however in not presented to the reader clearly because Gregor is unable to grasp the fact that his sister might have ulterior motives.

Furthermore, Gregor’s descent into social and physical abjection then forces his family to change radically in order to support themselves. In the beginning, Gregor starts off as the provider for his family. He hates his job, but he still goes above and beyond the call of duty to give his family a more comfortable life, even indulging the expensive endeavour of his sisters’ dream of studying the violin. However, after the metamorphosis, he is thrust into the role of a dependant – forcing his family to take responsibility and support themselves. His sister steps up to the plate in the beginning, giving him a selection of foodstuffs to find what he likes and even cleaning up after him. His parents are still in denial at this point, so much so that they refuse to see him at all. But as time goes by, his family begins to accept the situation and even try to help Grete out. His father produces some money from his previous failed business venture and his mother and sister try to make life more comfortable for Gregor. Grete in particular changes the most noticeably; Gregor himself notes at the beginning that her life up till that point had been “enviable”, consisting of “wearing nice