–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?
–Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis? Explain your response.
Physically Gregor has become weaker after his metamorphosis. His movement is complex, his body has become weaker and sensitive, and he lacks freedom. His appearance breeds disgust and animosity from his family; even his sister who Gregor once harbored a friendly relationship with swiftly deteriorates.
I’d argue that symbolically Gregor has become more powerful. Before the metamorphosis Gregor was simply a wage slave for the family. He committed his body and mind to pay off his parent’s debts while the rest of his family would grow complacent and idle with his sacrifice. It appears that as Gregor’s family became accustomed to Gregor’s harsh work, they became less grateful of it. As such the once confident Gregor serving in the army has deflated to that of a belittled worker disrespected by both family and employer alike. With his metamorphosis, Gregor is able to escape this melancholy life at the cost of his freedom. But as an insect, Gregor’s transformation in a twisted form of power allows the Samsa family to basically shape up. The lack of Gregor’s wages forces the rest of the family to become self-sustaining. Without his arduous employment, Gregor is able to become free to do what he wishes (in his room) and perhaps denoting to that Gregor fancies climbing around the walls and the ceiling.
–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?
“Could he be an animal, to be so moved by music?” (Kafka 236).
The significance of this is the following: Gregor is not an animal. Gregor’s family treats him as an animal. They don’t know that in reality he can understand and listen to everything they say, he has feelings and thoughts. The music brings melancholy to Gregor. Listening to his sister playing the violin makes Gregor think of his desire to send his sister to a conservatory.
Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis? Explain your response.
Personally, I believe that Gregor was more powerful before his sudden change to becoming a cockroach. His transformation made him undesirable and shunned by his relatives throughout the entire story. One example includes his father who kicked Gregor into his room at the end of the first chapter and later assaulted him with apples at the end of the second. On the other hand, Gregor’s sister Grete and his mother tried to assist him by moving out the furniture in his room since they felt that he would have more space to crawl on the walls and ceiling. Doing this did not benefit Gregor at all however as he actually preferred the furniture to stay. The second to last paragraph of page 227 states that the reason he wanted his furniture to be kept is because the furniture had a positive influence on him and the furniture brings him old memories to when he was still a human (227). Nevertheless, both Grete and Mrs. Samsa still continued to remove all the furniture in Gregor’s room but his sofa. After his metamorphosis, Gregor was put into a lower position of power in his family which was proven by his father attacking him and his family members stripping his room of furniture that he valued.
–Explain your understanding of Gregor’s death. How/why does he ultimately die?
Gregor ultimately dies out of starvation and depression. He begins to starve after his family stops caring about the food he prefers and Gregor cannot eat the food that they give. Even though Grete, Gregor’s sister, sees that he does not even touch the plate of food, Grete pretends not to notice and continues about her day. Depression is another factor that leads to Gregor’s death because the longer he stays as a giant bug, the more alienated and powerless he feels. At times he hopes that “the next time they opened the door he would take the business of the family in had, just exactly as he had done before.”(233)However, the more ignorance Gregor’s family shows towards him, the more Gregor confirms that he has forever his power. This was seen in the last scene as well when Gregor tries to see how his sister plays the violin but when Grete sees him, she says they must get rid of the bug.
Gregor’s death signifies the darker nature of human beings which is ignorance and alienation. When Gregor was a human, his family loved him when he was the provider in the family and was paying off the family’s debt. Yet, after turning into a bug, everyone who was close to him eventually became ignorant of his condition, and alienated him from the rest of society. Alienation and society’s ignorance are what lead to Gregor’s death and they help to show the conflict between appearance and reality as well as love and hate.
1) I think that Gregor is more powerful after his metamorphosis because before Gregor was working very hard to pay off his father debt but nobody was taking care of him, but after Metamorphosis his family realized that Gregor is an important person and Now, they were taking care of him very well.
1) Do you think that Gregor is more powerful before and after his metamorphosis? Explain your response.
I think that Gregor is more powerful after his metamorphosis because before he was supporting his whole family. He did not have his own life because he was the only one who works in their family . But after metamorphosis his family start take care of him and started giving him attention.
1. I think Gregor is more powerful BEFORE his metamorphosis because up until his transformation he had agency over the family by being the breadwinner, the producer in the house. Besides having strong agency economically he was also physically fit to live a functional life, not impaired by a cumbersome cockroach body.
2. Gregor was the foundation upon which is family was living. Once the metamorphosis took place, and Gregor could no longer be the same provider for the family, the aforementioned foundation collapsed; and in the same way it takes time to rebuild a collapsed house, so it took time for the family to begin producing little by little, and surviving.
6. Towards the end of the novel we see that Gregor starves himself, until death finally take over. Kafka was known as “The Starving Artist” for he used to starve himself til he finally died in 1924. I think Kafka has lived a parallel life with his character Gregor, for probably, with the aim to not be a burden to himself and not being killed by the Nazis in 1924, he aided the process of his death. Through starvation your brain chemistry can’t work properly. Therefore the body cant work properly if the brain doesn’t have nutrients to tell the body how to act. It follows that Kafka’s health problems (migraines, boils, depression, anxiety and insomnia) began through his inclination to starve himself. The reason Gregor decides to end his life is because he couldn’t serve any helpful/useful purpose in his his, and that of the people who surrounded him. He was a burden to himself, and others.
Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis? Explain your response.
Gregor was more powerful before the metamorphosis. Sure now he was a giant bug and everyone was afraid of him but before the metamorphis the whole family relied on him. He was the sole proprietor for the entire family and they were all livng off his earning. This staus of the bread winner earned him respect around the house. He was sort of the decision maker in the house. This made him clash with his father who was fighting for the same role in the household. But since he was the one working, he had an upper hand. However, it all changed after his transformantion, the father had the upper hand in this competion. Which was demostrated by the father physically beating Gregor. Plus, his room was made this sort of room in which all the garbage in the house was plase in. Thus, he was much powerful beofre the transformation.
Explain your understanding of Gregor’s death. How/why does he ultimately die?
Gregor dies for his family. His death is more of a sacrifice of his life an existence in exchange for his family’s relief and alleviating them of their burden of taking care of Gregor. Upon hearing Grete’s complaints of Gregor and how “it” is not really Gregor but just a large bug that has taken residence in Gregor’s room, Gregor now fully understood that he has been alienated and forsaken. His family believes he is not the real Gregor and instead of being angry and feeling self pity, he actually agrees with them. Gregor’s loyalty to his family is seen in the very beginning where it is shown that he is the breadwinner of the family and he obediently caters to his family’s needs. Gregor’s death is just another one of his tasks to please his family. Ultimately, Gregor agrees with his family, he was dead the moment he turned into a bug, the human Gregor is gone and hence why he shouldn’t bother them as a bug and instead let them grief at the loss of their HUMAN son.
Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis? Explain your response.
I think that Gregor is more powerful before his metamorphosis. Gregor was the breadwinner in his family basically making him the man of the house. After his metamorphosis, Gregor is reduced to nothing. He can no longer do the things he could do – he lacks the freedom he once had. As a cockroach, his family is repulsed by him and is shunned. The relationships Gregor had when he was a man are no longer strong considering that no one wants to see him. For example, the relationship Gregor has with his mother. As a cockroach, Gregor’s mother cannot bear the sight of him and sometimes even faints.
Explain your understanding of Gregor’s death. How/why does he ultimately die?
As Gregor’s life completely went up-side down, he realized that everything he has ever done for his family was falling apart. Instead of being supportive and bringing in money, something he has done for a prolonged period of his life, he now is causing panic and pain to his family. For starters, his whole family has to work to keep their lifestyle afloat. On top of that, Gregor is a coach roach that is ugly and scares anyone that looks at him. He causes his mom to pass out more than once and then scared the tenants living at the house away. At that point Gregor knew that without him, the family would be way better. I think that Gregor ultimately killed himself by giving up hope and starving himself to death.
–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?
When Gregor hears his sister playing her violin for the lodgers, it brings out his humanity and what he has been missing despite his freedom, which is family. The sound of the violin also reminds him of his love for his sister and his desire to send her to the conservatory. he feels those lodgers do not appreciate for her music, he wants her to play for him.
–Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis? Explain your response.
I think Gregor was more powerful before his metamorphosis because he was the man in the household who was able to provide for the family. His father didn’t do anything at all and was a lazy man while he took care of everyone else. Also, he had a great relationship with his mother, which weakened and he eventually lost after he had turned into a cockroach. Gregor was mentally torn apart several times after his metamorphosis and it was definitely his weakest moments, especially seeing him burden his family and be viewed as a nuisance.