Commentary on The Metamorphosis Essay

The metamorphosis is set in a small working class neighborhood in the early 1900s. The events take place entirely in the Samsas home where Gregor lives with his teenage sister Grete, his timid mother, and his resentful father. With the exception of three scenes where Gregor escapes to the hallway, every other moment takes pace in his bedroom until his death. The final scenes of the story takes place on a train bound for the countryside after Gregor is dead. The setting of the Gregorys bedroom is important because that is how the whole story starts, when he turned into a bug.

There are four main characters in this story Gregor Samsa, Mr. Samsa, Mrs. Samsa and Grete Samsa. The minor characters are the three lodgers, the Chief Clerk, and the cleaning lady. Gregor Samsa is the traveling salesman who wake up one morning and discovers he has turned into a bug. Mr. Samsa is a tired old man who depends on his son to support the family but is resentful and suspicious of Gregor. He is the one in the story that delivers his sons fatal wound. Mrs. Samsa is a soft spoken woman who is worried about her son. She never liked her sons transformation and hoped he return to a normal human being. Mrs. Samsa shows her love to her son as a bug only twice. Once when Mr. Samsa was throwing apples at Gregor and again when she picked up the cleaning ladys broom so she wouldnt sweep Gregors body away. Grete Samsa is close to Gregor and she is the one who takes the disgusting job of taking care of her brother. Grete dislike the new state of Gregor and seems to destroy Gregor the most. The three lodgers are the temporary residents in the Samsa household. They are arrogant and insensitive and were forced out by Gregors father after Gregor died. The Chief Clerk is suspicious man who says that Gregor is missing work because he ahs stolen from the company. The cleaning lady is the maid in the Samsa household.

The plot of the story takes place in three parts. In part one, Gregor wakes up one morning from uneasy dreams and finds he has turned into a bug. His boss and his parents are outside his bedroom door trying to get him to answer. They cannot figure out why he is not at work. Gregor finally opens the bedroom door and reveals himself to all of them. His boss runs away and his family is terrified. His father pushes him back into his room and locks him in. In part two, the family returns to some degree of calm. Gregor stays hidden in his room and his sister dutifully and kindly leaves him food and cleans his messes. His parents ignore him acting as if he were not there. Gregor listens to them in the evening and notices how their lives have changed. Preoccupied with money and financial woes, they do not talk or eat much. His mother finally one day goes into his room but accidentally catches sight of him and faints. Gregor tries to help but only makes a mess of things. His father comes in and blames Gregor for the mess and throws apples at him, wounding him badly and driving him back into his room for the second time. In part three, the family slowly grows to resent Gregor. Even his sister Grete stops caring for him very well. The wounds from the apples slow him down until he is weak and in poor health. On one occasion when Gregor is thinking about how much he loves his sister, he hears her say she wishes he were gone. He retreats into his room a third time and dies.

The key theme of the story is man's isolation. After Gregor's transformation into an insect his entire family rejects him. Than later seeing the bug Gregor's boss runs away. His father locks him in his room and later wounds him by throwing apples at him. His mother faints at the sight of him and Grete tires of caring for him wishing he would go away. None of them think about how Gregor feels about his miserable transformation. Instead they are worried about the affects of the metamorphosis on them personally, especially since Gregor has been the sole main source of income for the family. To add to his sense of isolation Gregor must stand by and watch what is happening to the family in silence. He is powerless to speak, complain, or criticize. I chose this book because one of my friend recommend it to me. I did enjoy the book because it thought me that no one really cares for someone that is different. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys short stories.