While reading Metamorphosis I felt a lot of things. I felt grossed out mostly because I hate bugs. However I also felt bad because it felt like Gregor was being used by his family for financial reasons only, rather than actually being loved.
It made me really sad that Gregor was being so mistreated. Even though he was a cockroach, there was no instance made to even reach out to him. The ending was upsetting to me especially because he killed himself so they could have a better life, but in the end the family themselves got over the fact that he was dead.
Most of the scenes seemed somewhat dimly lit to me. I was never able to imagine their rooms as lit. Maybe because it was such a depressing story. However, they weren’t rich either so maybe lighting could have been expensive for them? Every scene I imagined was really dark.
I also felt scared for Gregor being a cockroach. I hate roaches but I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him. However, I really wonder what size he was. How big was he? I hope he wasn’t too big or else that would have really freaked me out but the size really mattered. I really think it would have helped me understand the story more.
Because dogs are cuter. But do you think that Gregor would have been the size of the first two dogs? Or the size of the largest one?
Janice Fong
Citations
Digital image. Sad Smileys with Downturned Mouths. Norma Cornes, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. <http://www.123rf.com/photo_3181647_sad-smileys-with-downturned-mouths.html>.
Darkness. Digital image. Choose Hope Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. <http://choosehopetoday.com/the-struggle-what-im-learning-about-depression-anxiety/darkness/>.
Group of Dogs Different Sizes Isolated. Digital image. Nataly Kuznetsova, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013. <http://depositphotos.com/5650936/stock-photo-Group-of-dogs-different-sizes-isolated.html>.
I think you made some really good points because I also thought it was disappointing that his family felt so little for Gregor after his transformation. In addition, I similarly pictured many of the scenes to be dark and I think that may be not simply because of the lighting, but even because of the sad tone of the story. Overall though I wanted to comment on your last concern about Gregor’s size. I also think it would have helped to know how large he was because it would help us picture more while we read. For example, we know it took him a while to reach the door, but how big was he if he was able to open it. Meanwhile, he could still fit under much of the furniture, so I do agree that some more clarity on this topic would have been nice.
Now you might freak out when you see Gregor because he is a large bug, but please keep in mind of the possibility of a inner beauty within things that are ugly. Not to mention that not all bugs are bad.
Personally I think that the best answer to your question regarding his size would be that Gregor’s cockroach form is the about half as tall as a door so about one meter. Infering from how he used his mouth to turn the key.
Janice, I too was curious to find out if Gregor was in fact a human-size cockroach. Throughout the story, Kafka gave us conflicting descriptions of Gregor’s size. Initially, I thought, if Mr. Samsa could kick him in his room, he was probably a small cockroach. However, when Kafka says that a part of him could be seen when he was hiding under the sofa, I concluded he was a human-sized cockroach, or at least, bigger than a regular one. The questions that arise then are: if he was in fact a human-sized roach, (which would make his family’s fear a little more reasonable), then how was he able to crawl back up and down the wall? Why would an apple hurt him so much? Why would he feel threatened by the chair that the charwoman used to defend herself? Even after reading the story, it would be difficult to describe his size. It is reasonable to conclude that Gregor’s size as a cockroach remained a mystery, much like the reason behind his metamorphosis.
I definitely agree with you. I was pretty disgusted while reading the story and I had only a vague idea of what Gregor might have looked like. I also felt bad for Gregor because his family didn’t appreciate his efforts to get out of bed to go to work on the day of his transformation. Instead, they freaked out and locked him in. At first, I thought Grete actually cared about her brother, but the ending proved that she did not want to deal with him. I wish the ending were happier and that the family would at least show some kind of sympathy, rather than relief, upon Gregor’s death.
I like how you pointed out that Gregor’s family is using him for financial purposes only. That is how I see it too. Gregor actually carried the burden of his family when he worked as a traveling salesman but was okay with it. Meanwhile, when the opposite happens after Gregor’s transformation, it seems that his family is unwilling to carry him back as the burden. Also, Gregor starved himself to death just to remove a burden on his family, yet his family didn’t even give him any respect or acknowledgement for all he has done for them before his transformation. As for Gregor’s size, I think Gregor was close to the size of the second largest dog. He did point out that he was having trouble fitting under the couch and he was able to cover up an entire picture on the wall with his body. However, we will never know his real size since there are some conflicting images (like when his father threw apples at him, he seemed smaller).