–Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis? Explain your response.
–How is Gregor’s family transformed in the wake of his metamorphosis?
–At the end of the second section of the story, Gregor’s father pelts him with apples. What do you think this episode is about?
–Gregor emerges from his room one last time when he hears his sister playing her violin for the lodgers. What is the significance of this? What meaning does music hold for Gregor here?
–Ultimately, what do you think Gregor’s metamorphosis means? What does it mean to be transformed into a giant bug?
–Explain your understanding of Gregor’s death. How/why does he ultimately die?
Gregor ultimately dies from starvation and from his injury that he sustained when his father threw apples at him. However, I also think that Gregor died out of his love for his family. After hearing what his sister said about him and how he’s essentially a burden to the family, Gregor himself started to become convinced that his family would benefit from his death. This is shown from what Gregor thinks right before he dies, “He thought back on his family with devotion and love. His conviction that he needed to disappear was, if anything, still firmer than his sister’s” (239). From this quote, we can see that even with the way he was being treated by his family after he turned into a cockroach, Gregor still loved his family deeply and continued to sacrifice himself for their happiness. Because of his devotion to his family, he was willing to succumb to his imminent death, knowing that it would do his family good and set them free from him and all the burdens that he came with. So while Gregor did technically die from starvation, I think that it was his love for his family that really finalized his decision to die.
How is Gregor’s family transformed in the wake of his metamorphosis?
Towards Gregory, his family are less welcoming and inclusive of him. Gregory was the breadwinner and provided for them. His mother barely looks at him as his father is violent towards him. Meanwhile his sister tries to care for and accommodate him. Gregorys presence seems not to be real. At last, Gregorys sister accepts if he was inside the vermin he would have thought to let go.Transformation is a huge uprising for the family, As Gregory turned into a giant bug, he hadn’t had any use for them.The family all started to get jobs because Gregory was unable to work.
Gregor was powerful before his metamorphosis because, before he got respect from his family when he worked at his job until after his metamorphosis, his family depended on him to make money. Gregor worked as a traveling salesman and his family did not earn enough money so, Gregor had to work for his family. He did not get along with his father because he depended on Gregor to pay off his debt. Throughout the story, Gregor was transforming into a cockroach in bed and woke up to open the door. His transformation caused him to lose strength and respect from his family because before, he was a powerful man who did everything for his family. After his transformation, he was struggling to get out of his room to get to his job.
Gregor was more powerful before his metamorphosis because he wasn’t a burden to his family and was thought of as human. He had power in the sense that he was the family’s breadwinner and could do everything himself. Everyone talked to him nicely, and no one in his family belittled him. However, once he turned into a cockroach, he became a burden. He constantly relied on his family, and no one in his family wanted to be near him. The treatment he received from his family changed dramatically. His dad threw apples at him, and the food he received slowly decreased until they didn’t bother to feed him anymore. This all happened because they now viewed him as a cockroach which meant he was ranked lower than a human. Being a cockroach means being looked down upon as an insignificant disgusting creature. His presence and power in the family diminished, and his family hoped that he would disappear from their lives.
–How is Gregor’s family transformed in the wake of his metamorphosis?
Gregor’s family transformed in a big way in the wake of his metamorphosis, specifically financially. Before his metamorphosis, Gregor was the one working, being the breadwinner while his sister and father were at home. After his metamorphosis, however, both his sister and father took the duty of being the breadwinner by having jobs. Because Gregor metamorphosis makes it basically impossible to work his sister and father now have to fit in that role, which might is probably a burden to them (although it shouldn’t be since everyone will work one way or another).
–Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis? Explain your response.
Gregor is more powerful before his metamorphosis. I say this, because before his metamorphosis Gregor was the primary breadwinner of his family. He was the one that had to go to work everyday in order to provide his family with food on the table. Therefore, he had more power because he was financially in charge. After his metamorphosis, Gregor had to be in hiding and suffered from the judgement of his family. Thus, his power went away because his family no longer depended on him to provide and went out to find work for themselves. Also, after his transformation Gregor suffers from beatings from his own father, thus showing how he grew weaker by the end of the story.
How is Gregor’s family transformed in the wake of his metamorphosis?
All three of them, the father, the mother, and Grete started working so they can get money because Gregor could no longer work. The father is now the leader of the family whereas before, Gregor was the leader. His father turned more violent in a way because he does attack Gregor to force him back into his bedroom. At first, Grete still takes care of Gregor by providing him food and seeing what he likes to eat. However, after a while, she was disgusted by how nasty Gregor is and carelessly passed him food. The mother was looking forward to a day when Gregor will transform back to human form, yet, she would faint when she sees a sight of Gregor/Gregor’s stain. As a whole, they started off believing that Gregor will transform back in no time. But to their disappointment, he did not transform back to human form and they think it’s time to get rid of Gregor.
–Ultimately, what do you think Gregor’s metamorphosis means? What does it mean to be transformed into a giant bug?
I think that Gregor’s metamorphosis is a sort of inward to outward reflection of how he has felt internally. He described how he hated his job as a salesman, but he grudged his way through it in order to support his family. From an outward perspective, we see how his family is a but useless, not working and expecting their son to pay off their debt.
He is sort of forced to do a job that has no purpose or real contribution to society, similar to how cockroaches and vermin simply exist, and don’t really contribute anything to the chain of life. His family certainly treats him like vermin, overworking him and not really caring for his well-being. This is reflected in how they also treat him in the beginning with more empathy, and then not really caring for him and wishing for him to be gone, as he isn’t contributing anymore.
–Explain your understanding of Gregor’s death. How/why does he ultimately die?
My understanding of Gregor’s death is that he dies because of the guilt he carries for no longer supporting his family and his family no longer needing him. Throughout the story, Gregor’s family depends on his financial earnings and since he turns into this giant bug, they viewed started to push him away. This put Gregor in this scenario where he is hopeless, when he stops working we can see how his family starts to push him away by his father abusing him, his father’s new job, the mother in the end looking out for herself by not caring for Gregor and his sister saying that the bug is not actually Gregor but explains how he would have killed himself rather be this bug. Gregor ultimately dies by depression, he feels so guilty because he cannot contribute and how his family does not view him as a son/brother anymore but as a giant bug.
At the end of the second section of the story, Gregor’s father pelts him with apples. What do you think this episode is about?
I think this episode is just about how angry Gregor’s father is with Gregor for the fact that he no longer provides for the family anywhere. He generally feels threaten by him now because he has become this giant bug and because Gregor can no longer communicate with them, he is unpredictable. The family has since gotten their own jobs and Gregor’s father has decided that he is no longer needed in the family.
Ultimately, what do you think Gregor’s metamorphosis means? What does it mean to be transformed into a giant bug?
Ultimately, I believe that his metamorphosis symbolizes the way that life can all of a sudden change. Of course, the actual physical change of him turning into a bug is a transformation but also the way that his family changed, by the way, they acted towards him. Before the metamorphosis, they trusted him to cover the bills and to provide for them from the new job he had received. However, after they completely neglected him and had to sustain themselves. The change shows how he transformed into a burden to his family. Thus the cockroach represents how he changed into a burden towards his family.