Thursday, September 24, 2015
Imagine that Gregor is not a bug
If we take away the physical and external characteristics of Gregor literally transorming into a bug, then how do we interpret his behavior, his family's reaction and treatment, the treatment of the office manager , cook, maid? What might be sosme bigger themes and issues?
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His family lived off of what Gregor provided from work, and after the business failure the father had, he was the one who was keeping the family afloat. Without providing for his family anymore, we begin to notice how the father no longer has any respect for him, the mother is horrified of him, and his sister is the only one who will even talk to him on occasion. He feels bad that he can no longer provide that service, and doesn't know what he can do to help his family out. Gregor lived the last few years on a tight daily schedule, and now that he no longer does the same routine everyday, he's starting to lose his grip on reality.
ReplyDeleteI would interpret Gregor's behavior as bizarre almost like the behavior of someone in an insane asylum. But I think the reaction of the family would be so cruel because they locked him in his room, fed him scraps, took his stuff away, and beat him. The reactions of the cook, office manager, and maid would just be an over reaction of whatever his problem would be. A bigger theme could be that there are some people who can't accept change and so chose to avoid it or try to get rid of it completely. Another theme could be that people judge others based on the way they look or based on the things that they have done in the past not on what they do in the present. For example the family could have found out about something Gregor did in the past which made him look disgusting to them and treat him they way they did.
ReplyDeleteWe interpret Gregor's behavior as a mental break, and his boss comes in, sees Gregor, and fires him. And this, coupled with Gregor's freakish behavior lead them to lock him in his room, treat him like a rabid dog, as if he is some horrible secret that the family must keep hidden. Gregor was fine when he was taking care of the family, but all this stress from work snaps his mind, and now he is useless to them. His conditions frightens them. But they can't respect him after he stops providing. Gregor learned that his family's love was very conditional. Even after his unwavering loyalty to pay of his father's debt and provide. This story shows themes of conditional love and respect/loyalty.
ReplyDeleteIf Gregor is not a bug his families attitudes and actions towards him are insane, no reasonable people would lock someone in a room and dehumanize them, let alone their own son. Gregor's family took advantage of him because he was the bread bringer of the house, his dad was lazy because he did not have to work and his family lived a fairly privileged life. Now that he can no longer provide for them they lock him and are scared of him because they are scared of not being provided for.
ReplyDeleteHis behavior is that of a man who basically has given up on life and wants someone else to care for him instead, or he is terminally ill and can no longer provide for the family. His family is disgusted by his inability to provide for them, as they rely upon him to pay off their debts and set their lives in order. His family no longer sees him as a vital member, and wish to get away from him because what use is he to them anymore? He is just a hindrance to their lives. The treatment of the office manager is of anger, because he has lost a vital employee, but not one that cannot be replaced and he lets him know this, in a way to try and force him to come to work, and when he cannot, or does not, the manager flees in fear that his own job will be on the line and that sales will go down. The maid and cook are both afraid of him and refuse to serve him. This can be interpreted that they are afraid of change within the household. A major theme of this piece could be alienation and the limits of sympathy. Gregor's family eventually completely shuts him away and off from the family, and the sympathy provided by the minimal amount of people begins to wear off as his presence grows tiring and strains the family bonds.
ReplyDeleteMore so than his family's reaction to him being about the fact he turned into a bug, I think they are treating Gregor this way because of the fact he can't work and is not making any contribution to the family. Now that he is of no use to the family, he is a pest, and I think that's what I think him becoming a bug represents. He doesn't benefit the family, he uses the resources of the family without giving back in the same way as a bug may eat your food but its obviously not paying rent.
ReplyDeleteYesterday, I commented on how "Metamorphosis" reminded me of "The Yellow Wallpaper". As one looks at Gregor's predicament as more symbolic and less literal, this connection becomes stronger. If Gregor is not a bug in reality, but is in an alterered state of mind, the way in which Gregor's fellow characters treat him becomes more clear.
ReplyDeleteAfter realizing that his family only wanted him around because he brought in money and was the financial support of his family he became depressed and hid himself away from his family, to his family he became a burden and they viewed him as lazy and not important because he wasn't beneficial to his family. Gregor didn't know who he was anymore after he realized the people he loved the most only wanted one thing from him and he wasn't able to provide that anymore, he questioned his self identity. The treatment he received from the help could be implied that now that there is no income coming into the family how would they be able to pay for the help, so now they are mad at him because they know they will be laid off of work and they won't be able to provide for their own families.
ReplyDeleteHe is almost being used by his family, them depending and leaning on him for support, not really trying to go out and seek jobs and money. Him turning into a bug could have been the turning point of his career, the turning point in his life, really, where he finally kind of submits to the hard ways. It's ironic because the minute he turns into the bug, his family is all of the sudden appalled. Thinking in the sense that he wasn't a literal bug, one might think of the family as hypocrites, his dad beating him because of his "laziness." (?) His mother is disgusted because he isn't bringing anything in for them anymore. And he is genuinely worried about it, fretting about the family's financial issues and how they were going to get by, worried that his father wasn't saving money for emergencies and such.
ReplyDelete