Metamorphosis Reflection

Gregor is the only person in his family that is hard-working, or that has any sense of work ethic. All he wants to do is please his family so they can live a comfortable life. "It struck him how easily it would be if someone could come to his aid" (Kafka 3). This shows how incredibly lazy his own family is, and how uncomfortable Gregor is with asking them for assistance of any kind. It is a luxury to have a servant girl, they could be using that extra money to pay off their debt but instead they use it for their own selfish good. But he has been isolating himself from his family for all of this time that it is not of Gregor's nature to ask for help in a situation like this. Some people think that Gregor dug himself into this hole, and it is up to him to move on from his family, though others think that he is a selfless person. "Must the manager himself come, and in the process must it be demonstrated to the entire innocent family that the investigation of this suspicious circumstance could be entrusted only to the intelligence of the manager?" (Kafka 4). At this moment in the story Gregor still looks to his family as helpless and in need of his economical assistance. He has yet to question their life style, and that is what makes Gregor such a noble, genuine person.

After a certain amount of time where Gregor became less and less useful to his family, he became more of an after thought. And he was no longer understood by anyone. "No request of Gregor's was of any use; no request would even be understood. No matter how willing he was to turn his head respectfully his father just stomped all the harder with his feet" (Kafka 8). Gregor cannot communicate with others because he is of a different mindset than his arrogant family. This alienation (a popular existential theme) is profiled throughout the story. "For instance, he cut out a small frame over the course of two or three evenings. You’d be amazed how pretty it is. It’s hanging right inside the room. You’ll see it immediately, as soon as Gregor opens the door. Anyway, I’m happy that you’re here, Mr. Manager. By ourselves, we would never have

made Gregor open the door. He’s so stubborn, and he’s certainly not well, although he denied that this morning" (Kafka 4). His entire family is extremely oblivious to the fact that Gregor is miserable in his own little "society" of his room. He is separating himself from the rest of the world.