Gregor Samsa In Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis

Gregor Samsa in Franz Kafka’s Metamorphosis undergoes a physical and psychological transformation derived from the estrangement and loss of identity from within himself and Gregor’s family. Although Gregor’s exhaustion is caused primary by his parents, Gregor still attempts to communicate with his family after his metamorphosis. Gregor aims to prove that he still is part of the family, despite he cannot efficiently communicate his essential needs. Gregor strives to connect with his family through Grete’s violin music, as the music not only speaks to him but the rest of them. Yet even though he attempts to, Gregor only connects with them through death. The family perceives that Gregor is not a person as he cannot meet their expectations to be a person. Gregor Samsa perceives …show more content…
However, Gregor’s “physical transformation gradually erodes his family’s love and emotional support for him… eventually leaving devastating effects of challenging his status as a person” (Sweeney). One of the first social groups which recognize an individual as a person is the family (Sweeney). A special group such as a family, might reject an individual to be a person because that “individual is perceived as not satisfying what that group claims as necessary conditions for being a person” (Sweeney). As a child grows and carries on the values of what constitutes an individual, power is given to the family as the family started the perception of what is allowed. In Gregor’s situation, his family’s financial responsibilities constitute a person. The family no longer values Gregor a person as he cannot decrease the debt or provide for the household any longer. One of the “most important ways that social ties are maintained is through communication,” however neither Gregor or his family try to communicate to uphold a status as an