Gregor's Father and His New Appearance

Gregor is metamorphosizing from an asset to a liability to the family, to put it into our accounting terms. In other words, Gregor has become a nuisance to the family when he was previously the main contributed. He feels proud about the fact that his parents had savings from his work and support of them but is worried about his parents being incapable of holding a job since his new condition does not allow him to provide. Gregor's change can be seen through the character development of his father. Before the metamorphosis, the father appears to be lazy and unimportant to the function of the family, as much of the responsibility falls on Gregor. Kafka describes the change in the father when he writes, "who, incapable of rising, would merely raise his arms to signify his delight...Now he was standing properly erect; dressed in a smart blue uniform." (Kafka 209). We discussed in class how Gregor's appearance was never described, but the reader gets a vivid description of the change in Gregor's father's appearance. Since Gregor can no longer provide for the family, his father has completely changed, and this includes rarely interacting with his son. It seems that Gregor has very limited potential to grow, and since his father was able to step into his role shows that he has become insignificant. He is cared for by his sister and has to hide himself whenever in the presence of his mother. This shows that his family has to sacrifice just for Gregor to exist in this household, let alone have a meaningful and fulfilling life. This will also reflect the insignificance he will have in his new state of being at his workplace and in society. It is also interesting to me the expanded role that his sister has to care for Gregor, and it demonstrates her strong character for her work to help Gregor merely survive and enjoy life as a bug trapped in a bedroom.