Explain your understanding of Gregor’s death. How/why does he ultimately die?
-He died mainly because of fasting but there were many other reasons as well. His family instead of understanding the situation and understanding that it is not his fault that he turned into a bug. They pushed him away. He would have to wait for his mother. His father would not treat him nicely. They even wanted to get rid of him. His sister says, “we have to try to get rid of it. We did as much as humanly possible to try and look after it and tolerate it.” (237) They fail to understand that underneath the body of an insect, it is still her brother and their son. They started treating him and kept on calling him a monster. All this upset him so much that he stopped eating, eventually he died because of it. Her sister even jabbed him with a broom. “She grew irritable, and jabbed Gregor with the broom.” (239)
Do you think that Gregor is more powerful BEFORE or AFTER his metamorphosis? Explain your response
I think Gregor was more powerful before he transformed into a bug because he was the one his family depended on but when he became a bug, he was a nuisance to his family. He was unable to speak and stand up to his family when they called him a monster or when his sister jabbed him with a broom. He could not even tell his mother how much he missed her and how much he would appreciate if she came to see him. He might not have been financially stable but at least he could express how he felt. Everyone called him names like it says, “Come here, your old dung-beetle!” (234)
Thanks for these thoughtful responses. You are right that technically it appears that Gregor starves himself to death. Maybe we can think about this in symbolic terms. He is not being nourished in any way at this point in the story, and he, quite literally, eventually flattens himself out and almost disappears.