Metamorphosis Flashcards
Gregor’s inital personality
Dedicated to work
“I better get up my train leaves at 5”
“I must at all costs be right out of bed”
Gloomy weather- pathetic fallacy reflecting his emotional state
Quotes that show Gregors alienation
“Gregors entities were to no avail. None were understood”
“Doors were locked” (fensterbilder)
“He could not understand why his family did not see that he was still the same Gregor Samsa inside, and that he was only prevented from explaining this by his present unfortunate appearance.”
“It” “vermin” “useless burden”
How did Gregor initially react to his transformation
“Uneasy dreams”
Casual language is used to describe such an absurd situation (juxtaposition shows how Gregor is trying rational his situation)
Had a practical approach about his situation and worried more about getting to work over the fact he was a literal bug= dedicated to his family
Communication motif
“hoping perhaps that such total silence might bring about a return to normal everyday reality”- associates silence w normality showing communication was always void in his life
Could no longer speak furthering his isolation
“No control”- lack of autonomy
How did Gregors Sister evolve
Initally- “gentle voice” “soft plaintive of voice” and devotedly his primary caretaker “well qualified specialist for Gregors affairs”
Then- “exhausted” “clearing out his room, depriving him of everything he loved” “harsh voice” “raised fist” “piercing eyes”
Gregor’s demise
“Lying there motionless”
“Dead”
Darkness motif/Comp axis
“Down where Gregor lay it was dark”
“He lays in the darkness of his room, invisible from the living room”- Darkness=absence of light/hope
“Light from the street lamp flickered paley on the ceiling but down where Gregor lay it was dark”- flickering=hope wearing out
Gregors character evolution (hatred)
Initally when he finds himself transformed into a “monstrous bug” his concern is more practical then existential as his concerns centre around work as he is breadwinner. Highlights that his self worth is centered around his family/ he’s responsible
As he realizes full extent of his physical transformation he realizes his lack of autonomy. His family becomes resentful and Gregor notices his family sees him as burden (APPLE)- role in family gone=self worth gone
Due to his families rejection of him, he becomes more alienated and loses all his ties to humanity (crawls on walls, less interest in human things like sister violin)
Gregors death viewed as form of liberation that allowed them to move into new apartment
Apple motif
Allusion to bible- eve ate apple and got cast out of paradise and paradise collapsed
The apple being thrown at Gregor symbolized him being cast out of his family and his humanness collapsing and his place in his family collapsing
A “visible reminder” of his alienation
What do the lodgers emphasize
Gregors alienation- they are treated with far more respect then Gregor is being treated when though Gregor is blood
