Question #5:
I think that this scene is significant because I feel like he wants to hear his sister play the violin even if they don’t want to see him. “…because no one rewarded music here as much as he wanted to reward it.”(236) I think in this line we see Gregor wanting to encourage his sister and help her with her music as she did help him at the first stage of his metamorphosis when she brought him food or cleaned his room carefully. I also think that as the writer mentions “ Could he be an animal, to be so moved by music?”(236). This scene is also important because we can see the distinction between human and animal. Maybe in his mind he realizes that despite his looks he is a human and that’s why he decided to go out with his family and the three tenants.
Question 4:
I think that Gregor’s father was maybe because he did not want to kill him by himself, and by throwing apples would somehow be the apple that killed him. He probably knows that this is his son and even if they had their differences he can’t be the one that killed him. It might also be a contrast between his sister trying to feed him and keep him alive and his father trying to kill him with the food that is supposed to keep you alive.
Eva, Thanks for these responses. Both highlight the complex relationships between Gregor and his family after his metamorphosis. How are we meant to answer Gregor’s question about what it says about him that he is still so moved by music? I’m not certain that Gregor’s father is trying to kill him with the apples, but he is certainly sending his son a very strong message in this scene.