great works ii – 2850 jta 12:25-2:05: love letters from the world

Terell Thompson

One major difference in the reactions of the father, Mr. Samsa, and the chief clerk to Gregor’s metamorphosis is the natural fight or flight response. The chief clerk took the flight response as he, “…had turned his back on Gregor the moment he had begun speaking, and only stared back at him with mouth agape, over his trembling shoulder” (Kafka 218). The chief clerk was stunned and could not speak and left shaking with fear after seeing Gregor’s metamorphosis. Mr. Samsa initially had a  fight response before being stricken with grief as he, “…clenched his fist with a pugnacious expression, as if ready to push Gregor back into his room, then looked uncertainly round the living room, covered his eyes with his hands and cried, his mighty chest shaking with sobs” (Kafka 217). Mr. Samsa did not run, but made fists in preparation of defending his family.  Both, the charwoman and Mr. Samsa seemed to be relieved by the death of Gregor. The charwoman says, “Have a look, it’s gone and perished; it’s lying there, and it’s perished!” (Kafka 239). She did not acknowledge that the cockroach is in fact Gregor, but addressed him as it, which shows the lack of sympathy for a lost life. Mr. Samsa says, “Now we can give thanks to God” (Kafka 240), which shows his relief and how he feels this is some gift from a higher being than a devastation.

Mamasiray Camara

The clerk and the father both react in two completely different ways as the clerk reacts out of fear while the father in enraged. Gregor describes the clerk’s reaction as “now he saw him, nearest to the door, pressing his hand against his open mouth and moving slowly back, as if an invisible constant force was pushing him away”. Here Gregor who has remained calm during this whole transformation is now getting of glimpse of how terrifying he has become through the actions of the clerk, as he is so terrified he begins to move away from him. Meanwhile the father less intimidated “clenched his fist with a hostile expression, as if he wished to push Gregor back into his room”. Here we see that Gregor’s father is angry but the reason for his anger is a combination of Gregor no longer being able to work and embarrassment and shame of his new appearance.

When Gregor eventually dies it’s as if the humanity dies with him. The maid states “Come and look. It’s kicked the bucket. It’s lying there, totally snuffed!” In this quote Gregor is referred to as” it” showcasing that the world, his family no longer views him as a person but as a thing. There is little to no emotion in the maid’s announcement of his death. Similarly the father reacts with no emotion either as he states“‘Well,’ said Mr. Samsa, ‘now we can give thanks to God”. The father is relieved that the bug is dead as it no longer associates the bug-“it” with his son Gregor.