Life is full of difficult choices. But who knew even a bug and his human family would have to face the same dilemma. In Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” the Samsa family has to deal with making choices concerning their son and brother who has all of a sudden turned into a bug. Gregor’s life got increasingly harder than when he was human and he had to brainstorm and make decisions to survive in his family. “Gregor's father seized the chief clerk's stick in his right hand (the chief clerk had left it behind on a chair, along with his hat and overcoat), picked up a large newspaper from the table with his left, and used them to drive Gregor back into his room, stamping his foot at him as he went. Gregor's appeals to his father were of no help, his appeals were simply not understood, however much he humbly turned his head his father merely stamped his foot all the harder” Mr. Samsa compromised the safety of his own son, just so he could try to keep the little money he had coming in, since Gregor couldn’t work. Mr. Samsa was kind of put into a flight or fight situation. His wife chose to flight into the arms of her husband. But then Mr. Samsa retreated and started to chase Gregor back into his room before the chief had ran away too far. …show more content…
We’ve done everything humanly possible to take care of it and to put up with it.” Gregor’s parents have been considering killing their beast of a son, but the sister had stopped them and had been protecting him. But when the sister realized that he was too much of a burden to take care of, is when Gregor lost the last piece of hope that he had. The thought that she could be the only one taking care of him and then suddenly change her mind to get rid of him, must have been hard on
Gregor’s father demotes societal views of himself by his actions. Gregor’s father depends on Gregor for the income for the family. When Gregor morphs into a bug, Mr. Samsa reluctantly becomes the sole provider for his family. Getting a ...
Gregor Samsa, a hard working salesman providing for his family in need, has sacrifice his own freedom for the sake of the survival of his family. As a provider, his family is expecting him to work, be successful, and bring home the wealth. Although Gregor doesn’t enjoy his tedious job in the slightest, he still agrees to do it. This is more influenced by his father’s debt rather than his own morals. “If it weren’t for my parents, I would have quit long ago, I would have gone to the boss and told him off” (Kafka 2). This shows that he is a frustrated individual. Gregor is someone who would likely hold in his own personal feelings to preserve the family name. A night of nightmares later, Gregor awakes to see his many little legs flailing about. He isn’t initially shocked by this horrid transformation and however terrible it looks to him, his primary focus is how is he going to get to work? In spite of everything, he is still in the mindset of working no matter what the cost. After all, he doesn’t want to lose the tr...
Family Relations it The Metamorphisis In The Metamorphosis Gregors new state both scares and angers his father eventually resulting in Gregors death. Gregors father has been long free from working to support the family and this burden has now been restored by Gregors metamorphosis. Mr. Samsa’s dependency on Gregor is shown in his first appearance in the book were he immediately seems furious that gregor has so little as missed a train. In an incredible display of hypocrisy he says “ He’s not well, sir, believe me, what else would make him miss a train!”
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is the story of Gregor Samsa, his turning into a bug, and his ultimate death. In the beginning of the novel Gregor wakes up as a bug and struggles to become used to his new body. Gregor is locked in his room and late for work; he is the only one who works in his family, so it is important that he shows up and earns money to pay off his parents debts. His office manager shows up wondering where he has been and everyone is shocked to see Gregor’s transformation when he finally makes his way out of his room. Upon seeing him, his father shoves him forcefully back into the room, scraping Gregor’s back. Grete, Gregor’s sister, is his primary caretaker throughout the book and she makes certain he is receiving the food he wants and is the only one to clean his room for him. Gregor’s mother and father do not pay much attention to him at all throughout the book. The mother occasionally checks on him, but can barely stand the sight of him. Eventually, Grete starts working and stops taking care of him too, leaving Gregor all by himself. Betrayal is evident in The Metamorphosis and contributes to
Mr. Samsa, Gregor’s father, whose failed business has cast him into a lifestyle of weakness and despair, reacts very distinctively to the metamorphosis. At first, Mr. Samsa, after his initial shock, seems to be the least affected by Gregor’s nauseating state. It seems that Mr. Samsa feels that he must protect the rest of his family from this abomination living in his flat. Unlike his mother and sister, Gregor’s father no longer recognizes Gregor as his son. This is made clear when Mr. Samsa attacks Gregor by pelting him with apples; the catalyst that ultimately led to the death of Gregor.
When comparing Franz Kafka and his personal life to The Metamorphosis it is obvious in more ways than one that he was writing a twisted story of his life. The emotional and physical abuse Gregor goes through are similar to what Kafka went through in real life. They were both abused and neglected by their fathers when they were disappointed with them. Kafka uses Gregor transforming into a bug as a way of exaggerating himself, trying to express his feelings and point of view. When writing, Kafka felt as if he was trapped in his room which he referred to as "the noise headquarters of the apartment". Gregor was an exaggeration of this because he could not leave the house to escape the noises and abuse.
His sister, who took a job as a salesgirl to help the family. also learns French in the evening so she might get a better position in the future of the world. Mr. Samsa, Gregor's father, takes a job as a messenger for banking institutions and the public. Turning into a bug, Gregor causes a lack of harmony. among the family members.
Even before Gregor Samsa’s random transformation, Gregor was practically dehumanized by his family members. They did not see him as a family member but rather as a source of income. Each member seemed to have a scarce to almost zero amount of interest or
The parents of Gregor ultimately failed to care for him in a time where he needed the emotional support. They also neglected Grete as well and handicapped her true potential as a musician. The biggest betrayal of all; however, took place after Grete quit believing in Gregor and left him to die. While Gregor changing into a bug did put new stress on the family, it was the betrayal of each other that lead to their demise. In conclusion the Samsa family proved to be unloyal amongst each other, and Gregor happened to lose his life because of
In Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, the transformation of the character Gregor from a man to one of the most hated insects, a vermin, may seem exaggerated and ridiculous, becoming more so over the course of the story the action builds and the emotions and ideas of the characters in the story begin to change and become more prominent. Kafka’s intention, however, is to expose and explore the impoverishment of human psychology with respect to the ways in which changes in one’s circumstances and conditions reshape notions people have of the way they believe in justice and mercy which will be explore further in this analysis of Gregor Samsa.
People want their family to love and support them during times of need, but if they are unable to develop this bond with their family members, they tend to feel alone and depressed. In the novel The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Kafka describes the theme of alienation and its negative effect on people and their relationships with the people around them. This theme can be shown through Gregor Samsa, the main character in The Metamorphosis. After Gregor’s metamorphosis, or transformation, he is turned from a human being into a giant bug which makes him more and more distant from the people in his life. The alienation that Gregor experiences results in his eventual downfall, which could and would happen to anyone else who becomes estranged from the people around them. Gregor’s alienation and its effect on his relationship with his family can be shown through his lack of willing interaction with his family members due to his inability to communicate to them, the huge burden he puts on the family after his metamorphosis, and his family’s hope to get rid of him because he is not who he was before.
Gregor Samsa is the protagonist in the famous novella The Metamorphosis, written by the Czech author Franz Kafka. Gregor goes through a physical metamorphosis during his sleep, awaking to find himself entrapped in the body of a giant insect, not knowing how or why it happened. Yet, throughout the story you see that Gregor’s humility, as a human and as an insect, shows that he truly cares for his family in the 1915 classic. Through Gregor’s love for his now neglectful family, we can ask this question: is Gregor actually more human than his family? This question can be answered by looking at one of Gregor’s greatest attributes, his selflessness.
The begging of the story focuses on Gregor waking to his transformation, and gives a deeper insight to how he took on his family’s responsibilities despite his own happiness and his dislike for his job that provides for the family. “If only I didn’t have to such and exhausting profession!” (Kafka 88). Gregor was never really recognized by his family for his efforts, but more or less taken for granted and expected to support the family. This is also show when his family notices he has not left for work yet; as if only caring about being provided for.
The family dynamics are based around performing roles, unlike a traditional family, whose family is based on concern and affection, later leaving to neglect. This results in Gregor’s father becoming the new provider for the family. It is depicted when he walks into the room dressed like a messenger, wearing a blue uniform with gold buttons (Kafka 37). There is a big contrast during this section of the novella since when Gregor was the provider, his father was described as lazy and weak, but he is now the new authority figure of the house, replacing Gregor's role as the provider. This is also shown when in part one, when Gregor’s father clenches his fist, making him return to his room. Out of the family, Mr. Samsa is the one who despises Gregor the most, wanting to get rid of him. He no longer sees him as his son anymore, just a pest. He is also is mad that he had to take over Gregor’s role to provide. His father sees him as a burden and wants to get rid of him, so he bombards him by throwing apples at him: “his father has decided to bombard him, (…) [he] was throwing one apple after another” (Kafka
... foot and tosses him across the room, while recovering from the unexpected assault Gregor’s father cries out, “Talk to me!” Gregor is reluctant to say a word. Gregor’s father throws him into the living room, Gregor takes refuge under the couch, his father takes hold of the broom and begins to mercilessly jab it under the sofa, “get out!” he shouts. Mrs. Samsa Gregor’s mother suddenly arrives from work, she sobs at the extraordinary sight. She attempts to get a hold of her husband but his stubbornness and fury impedes him from grasping on to his rationality. Gregor rises and points his finger in the direction of the two people standing before him, Mr. Samsa halts and Gregor accuses both of them of taking advantage of him. The noise from the radio is heard clearly as a deep silence segregates mother, father and son. Lament becomes apparent in their old crumpled faces.