Metamorphosis In Gregor Samsa's The Metamorphosis

Gregor Samsa conveys to the reader that, “He could not be bothered to worry about his family; he was filled with rage at their miserable treatment of him” (Part III). This indicates that internal changes occurred within the family which caused Gregor to feel this way about them. Although Gregor undergoes the main metamorphosis in the novella The Metamorphosis, two secondary characters also transform throughout the story and they have a major influence on the story and develop crucial themes. These two characters are Gregor’s sister, Grete, and his father, Mr. Samsa. Grete’s metamorphosis comes in the form of how her attitude changes toward Gregor. Mr. Samsa’s revolution centers on how he views work and having a job. Grete’s drastic …show more content…
He was saving up money so that he could send her to the music conservatory that she dreamed of attending. However, Grete betrays him. Grete is the one who firmly states that the family needs to get rid of “it” (Part III). She has taken away Gregor’s humanity and now simply refers to him as “it”. She says that they cannot continue living with it and that they have already tried everything to save it. This is an example of the themes of isolation and alienation that are present in the story. Grete is completely isolating Gregor from the rest of the family, which goes along with why he is locked inside his room. She is stating that he is no longer part of the family. After Gregor transforms into a vermin, he is of no use to his family and is portrayed as an outcast. Grete is basically the only true connection that Gregor has to humanity itself, so when she discards him he has no one else to turn to and he loses his connection to the world. This demoralizes Gregor and is one of the factors that causes Gregor to starve himself and ultimately die; the one person that he used to be close to and could count on now does not even consider him a human …show more content…
Samsa’s conversion focuses on how he views the concept of working. When the story opens, the reader gathers the information that Mr. Samsa does not have a job. He primarily just sits in his chair most of the day and relaxes. As a result of this, “he gained a lot of weight and became quite sluggish” (Part II). This shows that he has not done anything productive in a long time. It is also revealed that he has a debt to his name. The debt is owed to the boss of the business that Gregor works for. Gregor works as a traveling salesman to pay off his father’s debt, even though he dreads it. Work takes over Gregor’s whole life. He cannot wait for “the day he can rid himself of the job” (Part II). Gregor is the only financial support for the entire family and the money that he makes is given to them. Mr. Samsa thinks he will never have to work again since Gregor is able to fulfill this responsibility. So, when Gregor is transformed into a vermin and cannot go to work anymore, the family loses its only means of financial support. Mr. Samsa now has to find a job and provide for his family. He has to accept this role and cannot let the family down. His lifestyle is going to totally change; he is not going to be able to relax anymore. This will be the first time he has worked since his business failed five years