The characters of the story all have deeper insights. Gregor has always lived his life to please his family, being the sole supporter of the family. He always care for others over himself. He is not entirely happy with his job and he is extremely sad and pitiful. Being this way, could be what some people assume was the reason of his morphing into a bug. Gregor is alienated from his family, prior to being a bug, but once turned into a bug, he is alienated from the entire world. He accepts all of the hardships and misfortunes that are brought upon him without any complaints. While Gregor is a bug, his humanity never fully disappears and goes away. The family as a whole is very unsympathetic towards Gregor, before and after his bug transformation. They are all very reliant on Gregor and are lost without him during his bug stage. They are very quick to write him off, being extremely neglectful. Grete is the only person that cares for Gregor, before and after is he a bug. Grete is Gregor’s caretaker. When he is morphed into a bug, he steps aside, letting Grete prosper and blossom into a woman. This was like a role reversal.
There are many different themes and symbols throughout the story. A major theme in the story is to appreciate what you have. The saying “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone” is very prevalent. The family is so reliant on Gregor and don’t realize that until he is already transformed into a bug and can no longer provide for them. This then makes them before extremely quick to get rid of him and forget about him. The main symbol of the story, in my opinion, is food. Food is seen as a symbol of value. The food represents the way that the family acts, feels and passes judgement toward Gregor. Food is also what Gregor provides for the family before he is transformed into the bug. After he is transformed he can no longer give what he was giving to the family, food being one. The setting of the story, is somewhat of a symbol as a whole. Gregor’s bedroom goes from being a home to a prison and a cage. The main symbol is the Lady in Furs picture shows a connection to humanity and normalcy. Looking at the picture, Gregor is able to hold on to the last bit of humanity that he has. He can look at the picture as something that he would want to embody and strive to be.
The point of view of this story, being the last close reading done, is very vague. The author leaves the reader in the dark on many different things. Much is left unexplained such as, why he was morphed, why the family wasn’t working to help in the first place, and how her could transform back. The author uses this tactic to leave the story up for interpretation for the reader. For myself, I enjoyed this because it made the story more enjoyable to read.
I liked how you touched upon how the reader was left in the dark for most of the story, because that's exactly how I felt. Although unlike you, I didn't like not knowing the specifics as to how he got turned into a bug and why... and how he randomly got turned back. I feel like the plot for this story is meant for a novel, not a short story. I guess you could say the point of view "bugged" me... lol
ReplyDeleteThe part of your post that stood out the most was how you corresponded the quote "You don't know what you have until it's gone." This quotation is exposed throughout the entire story between Gregor and his family. I also enjoyed how you stated the author leaves the reader in the dark throughout the story because I strongly agree with your opinion. Lastly, the picture you included helps anyone reading your post fully understand Gregor's grotesque appearance and the true effect it has on not only his life but his family's as well. Great post Alexa :)
ReplyDeleteThis is another story where he was another person being used. I really like how you really dug into the facts about themes and symbols. I really like the major theme you pointed out about " appreciating what you have" and its a theme that we should all take in consideration because we never think about what could happen and that what you are not appreciating, could be gone in seconds.
ReplyDeletebaler story. One of the worst story of the literature I have ever read.
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