(SP:) An Explanation of The Metamorphosis

by Marji Ellard

I read Franz Kafka's story the Metamorphosis, and I decided to write about Gregor, the main character and how he acted when he was a cockroach and the difference between him then and when he was human.

Before Gregor was changed into a cockroach, his family respected him for taking care of the family, but kind of tried to keep their distance. They expected him to go to work, though, and anytime after that was his to do as he pleased. But he never seemed to be doing anything anyway.

Gregor worked as a traveling salesman and he never had really liked his job. The only reason he kept it was to pay off his father's debts. I don't think his father liked the arrangement. I mean his father could get a job and pay them off himself but as long as Gregor was doing it his father probably felt no need to get a job.

The morning Gregor woke up as a cockroach he saw it as every other day. Except he couldn't get out of bed. And after he realized he was somehow different he still felt human. He worried about everyday things. Like if he would make it to work on time and if he was late what would the boss do.

But after he really realized something was wrong he didn't know what to do. His sister did take care of him, but she couldn't look at him because he frightened her so much. And the first few times his mother looked at him she fainted. So he was stuck in his dirty little bedroom.

The change scared his sister quite a bit. When she had to go into his room to clean she had to run to the window because the smell overpowered her. And as a favor Gregor hid himself under he sofa, so his sister couldn't see him.

"He would crouch trembling under the sofa all the time, knowing quite well that she would certainly have spared him such a disturbance had she found it at all possible to stay in his presence without opening the window."

But one day she came in early and Gregor was sitting watching out the window. She got scared and ran out of the room. So from that moment on Gregor remembered to hide when he heard anyone coming. And as another favor to his sister he took a sheet and threw it over the sofa so she couldn't see any part of his body. So you can tell that even though Gregor is a cockroach he still knows how his family feels and he still cares.

After Gregor started getting use to everything around him, his mother and sister decided to clean out his room. He felt like they striped him of all his humanity. They took it all out I think to help him, but they really hurt him. I think it would be painful for someone you loved if you took everything from them. It would probably make them feel unwanted and unloved.

I think the reason Gregor was turned into a cockroach is because if he was turned into something like a cat his parents wouldn't consider him so disgusting. But because cockroaches are always considered to be associated with garbage and old dirty houses it is kind of gross knowing your son turned into one. And also it wouldn't have been so hard for them to clean up after him if he was a cat or dog. And it would also be easier to explain why they have a cat or dog in the house; a giant cockroach is something you would really need to hide.

After his family got use to his change, and that took a while, they all got their own jobs. His sister didn't take care of him like she use to and she sometimes forgot to feed him. I think that is a very self-centered or careless thing to do- forget about your brother that way. They even rented out some of their rooms to boarders, which would be a big step for them. To actually let someone else in the house knowing there is a giant bug in the next room that you have to hide from them would be difficult.

I think that this kind of stuff happens everyday. Not the changing into a bug thing, but the fact that people aren't what they seem to be. Like all people who dress a certain way act a certain way. I think a lot of people are misunderstood and are judged the wrong way. Kafka, I think, was trying to show how little people really know about each other and how that can hurt everyone.