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  • Essay / The relationship between Gregor and Grete in The Metamorphosis

    The Metamorphosis is a novel written by Franz Kafka and published in 1915. The novel tells the story of a family who struggles against the transformation into insects of the main and supporting character of the Gregor Samsa family. Although the book has different themes, Grete Samsa's metamorphosis is probably the main theme. The relationship between Gregor and Grete changes the course of history. Once a caring and close friendship between brother and sister, the bond continues to fade and family problems deepen as Gregor's shapeshifting appearance unfolds. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Initially, after Gregor's transformation, Samsa seems to be the only one who cares about him, and she seems to be the only one who understands his needs. When she realizes that Gregor has not taken her milk, she reacts in a benevolent way, as the author states, "to find out what he likes and what he doesn't like, she presented different things, all arranged in an old newspaper: old, half-rotten vegetables; remains of bones from the evening meal, covered with white spring… which Gregor had judged inedible two days before […]” (p. 290). At this point, she is a loving sister who cares about her brother and wants him to eat well even in his condition. She does everything in her power to figure out what will satisfy her brother in his new transformed form. Gregor is so grateful that his eyes well up with tears of satisfaction. Before the transfiguration, Gregor is not used to being treated so kindly, and Grete tries her best to change from a formerly idle sister to a caring sister for her ailing brother. In addition to becoming the nurse she chose for her brother Gregor, she obviously also became the family spokesperson, a role that was Gregor's before the metamorphosis. This is after their mother became afraid of her son, while Samsa, their father, became violent towards him. After treating Gregor at the end of the day, she was to describe the room, what Gregor had for dinner, his behavior at that particular moment, and whether there were any signs of improvement toward his recovery (p 294). Grete became the only intermediary between Gregor and their parents. Gregor is quite intrigued by his sister's charitable behavior, which makes him feel as comfortable as an insect and gives him hope that everything will return to normal in time. Additionally, to accommodate Gregor's new desires, Grete feels it would be appropriate to remove the furniture from his house in order to create more space for crawling. After convincing his mother that this is an appropriate action, they decide to remove the furniture while Samsa is away, fearing that he will disapprove or violently arrest them. Although Grete's intention to remove the furniture was good, the plan ends up turning ugly when Gregor tries to stop them from undertaking the operation. This act shocks their mother and prompts his father to attack and injure him. This marks the beginning of an intense relationship between Gregor and Grete, and perhaps a new transformation for her. Eventually, it becomes clear that Grete is tired of taking care of her insect brother. He becomes less sensitive when he does anything in Gregor's "den", as they call it. She seems to have forgotten that the insect is still her brother and that he has human feelings and desires. In one instance, Grete is seen violently tearing open the window to let fresh air into the damp, moldy room. The tolerance she had towards her brother seems to fade with time. For example, when she arrives earlier than usual and finds Gregorlooking out the window, motionless and terrified, she does not enter the room, but she jumps out and closes the door behind her. She became completely indifferent to her brother's feelings; she has succeeded; it becomes clear to her that she is no longer comfortable with her insect-like appearance. However, Gregor, altruistic and human despite his metamorphosis into an insect, strives to prevent his sister from having to look at him. He spends four tiring hours wrapping a sheet over the couch he hides under, ensuring no one will have to see him. The first word Grete speaks, "You Gregor", is humiliating and full of disgust with a raised fist after their mother passes out after seeing her son. After what happens that night, the family becomes even more distant from Gregor and becomes more moody and distracted in caring for him. Before Gregor's transformation, he is the only member of the family who works and provides for the family. However, after the tragedy, everyone must do something to ensure a family's livelihood, including their sister. Grete Samsa's decision to take care of her brother was partly to erase their parents' mentality that she is useless, not good at what she was trained to do (violin), and a shy girl who is afraid to go out. However, she must find a job to replace Gregor as a caretaker for a family. She gets a job at the store, which often leaves her exhausted and little time to care for her brother. The family had to cross further borders to help overcome financial difficulties. This made Gregor's room a storage room, because as the author states, "anything not used at that time was thrown into his room..." Eventually, Grete comes to consider her brother like a burden that needs to be gotten rid of. She convinces her parents that things must change and that they must get rid of Gregor, whom she now considers a monster (p. 306). Gregor has become irritated by the way his sister treats her and leaves the room unsupervised. Highly offensive to his sister's behavior, Gregor stood particularly offensive when his sister walked in as if ready to scold her. He also experienced change and he becomes hostile towards his younger sister, who now it is obvious that she has stopped considering him as a brother but as a daily routine. When the borders arrive, Grete becomes more concerned with helping her parents with other tasks and entertaining the guests. Essentially, the family now seems to have forgotten about Gregor. His room is filled with trash and useless objects, and Gregor must lie helplessly among them. His true transformation into a horrible insect is almost complete. One evening, after the family and Borders finished their dinner, he heard his sister playing the violin. He decides to leave his room to listen more clearly to the violin, surprised to have stopped caring about others, which, before transforming, was his strength. Crawling towards the living room, Gregor has disillusionment with conciliation. with his sister and having her play the violin for him. He plans to tell his sister that he is taking her to music school and that she will burst into tears of joy, and that Gregor will get up and kiss her neck lovingly (p. 305). Deep down, Gregor hopes to be able to fix things with his sister and restore the relationship he had with his sister and therefore with his family. While he is in this fantastic state, one of the residents spots him, takes offense and declares that he will no longer stay and that he will not pay for the boarding with his two other partners. It is after this incident that it becomes clear that Grete no longer wants Gregor alive. She shouts to her parents that she has..