Mental Change Gregor example essay topic

1,225 words
In the Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" Gregor the main character goes through a series of mental changes, that symbolize how alienated he becomes from the humans of the modern world. Through the metamorphosis Gregor becomes more aware of what he wants and what he needs instead of what he needs to do for other. The metamorphosis also symbolizes the mental change Gregor goes through, as by not acting as much as a human than what he did before. Gregor's radical change of mind is boosted by the events that take place about all the lies that he was told about his family's financial problems. Thus causing a loss of caring for his family and a feeling of individuality. Which all start to alienate him from his family and the rest of human society.

Through the metamorphosis Gregor becomes more aware of what he needs and not what others need him to do. Throughout most of the story Gregor lives a life of serving and not receiving anything for his troubles. A life of servitude caused by his family who becomes in debt because of bad economic decisions. Gregor is asked to help but he feels that it is his responsibility to pay the debt his family has and his father decide to take advantage of this.

Gregor hated his job, "Oh God, he thought, what a grueling job I've picked. Day in day out on the road... The torture of traveling worrying about changing trains and eating miserable food (1157) ". But because of the responsibility he felt towards his family he would endure it. He realized how he was treated " he was a tool of his boss without brain or a backbone (1161) " and yet said nothing and just would take it as if he where actually an insect working for the queen with out saying anything. He could see and knew that he could leave his job and that his family and his boss poorly treated him.

While working he would see other salesmen and see how easy their jobs where compared to his. Slowly but surely Gregor becomes aware on how he not cared for or not taken into consideration what he needs more than others. Gregor's metamorphosis symbolizes how he becomes less human day after day, ignoring his needs to becoming a person who simply does not care anymore. In the beginning of the story Gregor wakes in the morning complaining to himself that he needs more sleep".

This getting up so early thought makes anyone a complete idiot (1157) ". Through this quote Gregor demonstrates how uneasy he is with his daily routine. As well as how he wants it all to change but yet does nothing about it. He compares himself with other salesmen who a just starting to have their breakfast, when he is returning to do a check in.

Gregor sees how well of he could be but ignores his feeling to appease with his family. Gregor begins to speak to himself about leaving and doing what he wants but just ignores the feeling and the desire to do off with the job that he hates so much. "Well I haven't given up hope completely, once I've gotten the money to pay of f my parents debt to him, that will probably take another five or six years... (1157) ".

Through this quote Gregor talks about leaving the job and doing off with his mean boss. He knows that his job is doing him bad and needs to get another, but feels the need to help his family more than help himself. Towards the end of the novella Gregor begins to ignore his needs and go on with life till he sort of has a mental breakdown, in which he believes that he is a bug. And he begins to act like one. Gregor goes through the change of caring about things to not caring what he needs. This changes him drastically.

Gregor metamorphosis symbolizes another change in which he becomes more distant from his family through discovering all the lies that his family had told him about not having any money. The reason he worked so hard and it was all for a lie, when his family did have money all saved up, just that they wanted more. He becomes les human like and decides to keep to himself because he is probably really hurt. The change the change that he goes threw in the metamorphosis change is mainly shown when he becomes less human and dependent on his family instead of his family being dependent of him. In the beginning he is the one that is supporting the family and works hard everyday to provide, but towards he end he goes threw a mental imbalance that make him incapable of working forcing that family to start caring and working for themselves.

Gregor is less human like because he becomes unable to help himself making him depart farther and farther away from the human society. "The rotten apple in his back and the inflamed area around it, which where completely covered with fluffy dust, already hardly bothered him" (1188). Through this quote we see that the longer he begins to think that he is a bug the less he is caring about his well being. It no longer bothers him that he is dirty and that it begins to seem normal to him. This shows how farther away he is drifting from the human society, because like a normal human he would not like to be dirty if he knew that he could do something about it. He no longer sees what he needs or wants, as well as what is good for him.

He just exists in his own mind as a bug that is just there. Gregor's distancing from his family made him a bit less human since he did not want to interact with them. In conclusion from the beginning of the book towards the ends Gregor's metamorphosis has been a symbol of how Gregor has become distant from the human society and how he has become less human himself. Like in the begging of the book he was a person concerned with the welfare of others and worked hard to help them.

But towards the end he became a bit retarded by believing that he was a bug and started to accept his surrounding and start acting like one. He became less concerned with his well being and that of those around him, but just did not care any more, just wanted to do nothing. He was not concerned with what he could do to help himself but just be there. The more Gregor went through his metamorphosis the less human like he became. Thus separating him from the rest of the human society and, causing him no to want to interact with his family as well as anyone else that he came in contact with, which caused his ultimate demise. The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.