When I first read Metamorphosis, I was surprised that Gregor only cared about work and not being late after he realized he had become a bug. That, to me, is unrealistic (the whole story is unrealistic but even more so with that). It’s almost comical, even, how he simply accepts the fact that he’s no longer human and tries to continue on with his normal life. If I were in his place, I would have been like:
and trying to figure out why this happened and ultimately, probably burst into tears.
When I came across the part when Gregor turned into a bug, I imagined him to be a mix of a cockroach and a beetle, so these colors came into mind:
very neutral, somewhat bland colors (actually kind of like Gregor’s life).
I was surprised when Gregor died in the end because in the books that I normally read, the protagonist never dies. I pitied Gregor when only his sister and mother cared, but ended up giving up on him towards the end. Not to mention how the father downright despised Gregor as a bug — it shows that even a parent’s love has its limits.
I was a bit angry at the family for abandoning Gregor and even being relieved of his death, since Gregor was the one who financially supported them and without him, they would not have been living so comfortably. Then when Gregor was in need, his family essentially neglected him (save for his sister in the beginning). Even when Gregor was a bug, he only cared about continuing to support his family; I become enraged when I think of how he was treated in return. My emotions at that time could probably be best expressed like this:
The book was very enjoyable to read; it was just sad how Gregor died and to see how much his family really cared for him (not very much, apparently).
First off, I thought I’d mention that the pictures you used are really cute, and truly do sum up the feelings that arise while reading certain parts of this story. For example, the girl waving her hair brush in an angry manner is certainly a good image for how I assume many of us felt while reading this. I like how you used the word enraged because I do think that sums it up well. Overall though, I thought it was interesting how you brought up the idea that in many stories the protagonist stays with us in the end. I think that is a very good point, and is one of the key reasons that many of us found this story so upsetting. Now that Gregor is gone, his family happily lives on and this is very unjust.
I love your images! Especially the ones of Patrick and the girl with her poor hairbrush. I had the same reactions as you had for the moments when he realized he was turned into an insect and when he was neglected by the rest of the family. How careless Gregor was of the fact that he had transformed into an oversized bug was a frustrating scene to read about because even at such a tragic moment he was more concerned about work. Even though it upset me, this fact somehow made me feel more sympathy towards Gregor as a character. His values revolve around his family and are never distracted by any sort of obstacle – such as becoming a vermin.
In the instances that the family abandons their care for Gregor, I really wanted to jump into the book and work that purple hairbrush in front of their faces. Gregor lived his whole life laboring to make their lives better – he went through being a slave for his boss by putting aside his own pride – and now that he is struggling, you aren’t even capable of bringing him garbage to eat and clean his room once in a while?! So yes, I agree with you.
Like everyone else who commented, I really love your use of pictures and GIFs (especially the one with the little girl; I watched that like 5 times because it was too funny!). I agree with you when you mentioned how Gregor’s reaction was unrealistic. To me, his quick acceptance of being transformed into a bug was eerily calm. Because he accepted his nature so fast, we as readers had a hard time accepting how nonchalant he was which is ironic. Like you, I was quite angry when Gregor’s family just left him. Leaving their house was like leaving Gregor in the past, never to speak of again.