Gregor is a young hardworking business man who brings home the money and provides for his mother, father, and sister. One morning Gregor wakes up and he has suddenly transformed into a bug of some sort. After his transformation, no one pays him any attention other than his sister and that is only to feed him. Over time everyone forgets about Gregor and pays him no attention; he just stays locked inside of his room. Gregor's family is not even concerned with the fact that their son has become a bug. The only thing that concerns them is that they now must go out and get jobs and support themselves. As Gregor's neglect continues he begins to deteriorate. He is no longer fed and trash is thrown into his room. Ultimately Gregor's family decides he is not their son and he is not needed. Gregor dies from his hunger and from a broom beating from the house maid. After his death, his family continues on with their lives as though nothing happened.
Theme: One major theme of this story is to not let others walk all over you. People need love and nourishment to carry on living
The irony of the story is Gregor's family was the pests living off of him and now that he is actually a bug they want nothing to do with him and don't even consider him family.
I really like what you said about the irony of the story. I had never thought of it that way, and I completely agree with you. Gregor's family were always pests to him because they fed off of everything that he did for them. Although this obviously annoyed Gregor, he never left them and stuck by their sides to support them. However, once Gregor turns into an actual bug or "pest", his family completely abandons him. It really shows what a compassionate character Gregor is because throughout the story he doesn't even show the slightest resentment toward his family.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree as well. Gregor has become such a workaholic that it consumes his life. He is so focused on providing for his family that he doesn't have a life. He just exists. The family also furthers this thought by how they do not really interact with him on a family level which goes to the "parasitic" life they live which was mentioned in class. They truly did live off him until they were forced to stop. It's also amazing in a way how the different people react to his change. The father loses all connection, the mother is in denial, and the sister is the only one trying to show some kind of compassion toward him. And it is his sister that Gregor has the most compassion for of his family.
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