Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Metamorphosis essay

The book metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is not just about the transformation of a man into a bug, but also the transformation of his family as well. One day a young guy name Gregor Samsa wakes up to find himself to be a bug. The character that transformed the most besides Gregor is his sister Grete. Throughout the book you can see her character maturing. The metamorphosis that Grete and Gregor undergo contribute to the overall meaning of the work, one change in a person can effect a group.


Gregor Samsa wakes one morning to find out that he is some type of vermin. His only main concern is that he may not be able to work and provide for his family like he usually does. When his family discovers that their loved one is a bug, they begin to freak out and they lock Gregor in his room. The only person who is willing to go into Gregor's room and take care of him is his younger sister Grete. She cleans up after him and brings him his food.


Before Gregor's transformation, Grete was seen as a child. She is only seventeen years old. She lives a pretty nice lifestyle thanks to the income that her older brother brings in. Her whole world is turned around when her brother turns into a bug. She takes on a huge sense of responsibility. Her life goes from consisting of what she felt like doing to looking after her brother, taking on a full time job, and helping her mom cook. Her outlook on life starts to change throughout the book. She feels more like an adult and seems to enjoy her new responsibility at the beginning of the book but by the end she is tired of taking care of a bug. She wants Gregor to stop burdening her family's life.





Kafka shows how the significance of gregor to his family is huge. He is the main provider, even though he does not have to be. His family does not value the role of gregor in their life. They take the money that he gives them for granted. When they discover that Gregor is a bug, they start to panic because they realize they no longer have a steady income. The book shows how much one change in a person can effect a group. Gregor's metamorphosis forced his family to get jobs and take more responsibility. Once gregor could no longer provide for his family, he was thought of as useless.

Gregor's metamorphosis, transformed his whole family. Grete was effected the most by Gregor's change. She changes for the best. She begins to mature and is seen as a adult figure by her parents. The fact that she has to change so much beause of Gregor drives home the meaning of the work. One person transformation can transform everyone who is close to them.

3 comments:

Charleen Stempek said...

Bianca!

Good essay! I like it! just a few things that I think that you should take a look at again. I like the effort put toward the overall meaning section of the essay, but I think that you just scratched the surface. I think that you need to emphasize on the effects and support them by using quotes from the book. I also think that you need to concentrate on the analytical character of the paper. The rest of the essay where you describe the changes that are happening to the characters is very good! I think that if you make some changes in the overall meaning section that your paper could be an 8 or 9. Right now I think that it is about a 6-7ish.

JacquiPApEnglish said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
JacquiPApEnglish said...

Bianca

The essay is good, but you need to do describe the character changes better and the idea of the essay is good, but you need to put in some quotes to emphasize the idea.

I give it a 6-7.