Isolation In The Metamorphosis

“It is not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it,” states Hans Selye. In The Metamorphosis, the novella by Franz Kafka and the graphic novel by Peter Kuper, Gregor Samsa does not react well to the daily stress of life. The stress causes him to feel isolated from others. The daily stress of Gregor Samsa’s work, family, and personal life choices are the reasons for his feelings of isolation.
Due to the fact that Gregor is always working and rarely stops, he becomes isolated because of all the stress. Gregor became very nervous when he awoke as a bug and missed his train. Gregor’s main concern was not his transformation, it was the fact that he would not be able to make it to work in time. His job surrounds his life, and he has no way of quitting either. …show more content…
Not only that, but he has an extremely strict boss. He must be to work everyday and cannot ever not come to work because he is sick. This causes Gregor to be worried about staying healthy so he may work. It puts a lot more stress in his life because he knows that if he ever misses work the chief clerk will be knocking at his door. He works so much that he has no time for a social life. Because he works so much, he becomes isolated. An individual who reads the novella finds out quickly Gregor is a very conservative and unsocial person. Gregor is this way because of his stressful job.
Gregor Samsa’s work life causes much stress to his life just as his family does. His family lives off of Gregor’s income. His family does not work themselves, so Gregor makes all of the money in his household. Being that Gregor’s parents owe his employer money, he works to pay off their debt. He is very distant with his family. Gregor often sacrifices for his family, so they may be comfortable. His family seems to stand Gregor just because of the income he brings in for the family. Gregor feels very much unappreciated by his family members. His father is very strict with him. Therefore,