Ponce 1

Berzelai Ponce

Mr. O'Meara

AP English Literature and Composition

9/23/2021

Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka Annotation

C – characterization

S – symbolism

L- language

(#) - page number

1) Chapter 1

a) C – Gregor Samsa, Main character

i) Wakes up transformed into a Beattle like creature the size of a human (3)

(1) Not dream? - Interacts with bed as a insect would, rolling always

to face upward, seems to have ticks on its stomach and many legs.

b) L – Job description

i) “ this getting up so early … the boss’s being hard of hearing.” (4)

(1) Casual tone, simple description of work without fancy wording or

complex sentence structure.

ii) Switches from first person talking about his work situation to third person

talking about health insurance and being a “tool of the boss, without brains

or backbone” (5)
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(1) Suggests a dissociation between narrator and himself “Gregor”

since it constantly switches from “he” to “I” to “Gregor”

iii) “insistent distressed chirping intruded” (5)

(1) Further expresses dissociation as he hears himself clearly but then

what he actually says becomes garbled but is still interpretable to

his mother

iv) “Why was only Gregor... of the excitement produced in Gregor” (9)

(1) Continues referring to himself as Gregor when talking about work,

implies lack of recognition in the workspace for who he really is.

Fits the fact that the manager himself went to check on him after

he missed the first hour of work.

c) C – Gregor

i) Determined – Has already been working with a boss he doesn't like for 5

years and plans to work for another 5-6 years to pay off his parent’s debt.

ii) Liked – Family immediately shows concern when they see that he hasn’t

left for work

(1) Immediately call for a locksmith and doctor after hearing his

jumbled voice believing he’s sick (13)

(a) Could also be concerned for themselves since Gregor pays

for everything > selfish interest?

(2) “He felt integrated into human society again” (13)

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(a) Implies that to be part of society means to have someone

call for help when you’re ill or have someone that can help

you if you are ill.

iii) Unimpressed/Dense? – Very nonchalant about waking up as a bug like

creature and not even being able to control his limbs properly (6)

(1) Focused solely on getting out of bed and getting to work more than

his bug state. Suggests blindness either to routine, goals, or

something else. “Just don’t stay in bed being useless” (7)

(a) However, is afraid of falling out of bed and hitting his head

so he ends up staying in bed > acts similar to a child.

iv) Rational – Takes moment to think about the best way to get out of bed and

takes a breath to think deeply. (7)

(1) Contrasts with the lack of response to his body turning into a bug

creature.

(2) “But sir,” cried George … to the head of the firm” (11-12)

(a) Manages to appease manager’s question stating that he

didn’t feel fine, take the blame away from his parents,

complain that the manager thinks an illness goes away

without rest, and dis the head of the firm in one breath.

(b) Underlying argument about corporate blindness and

compliance to that blindness. > argument not heard because

his voice sounds all jumbled

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(c) Could stand for ignorance to a person and who they are

over personal view of who they are.

v) Work Addict? - Mother describes Gregor as doing nothing else but

thinking about work when he’s at home

(1) Sister cries when Gregor denies letting the manager into his room

> family love? Remorse? Concern?

(a) If he loses his job his parents are going to have to deal with

the debts to Gregors boss.

(2) Appeals to manager with what’s generally regarded as generic

corporate expectations of a worker > willing to work when asked

to, not concerned with the rest of their co-workers, committed, and

“obligation” to the firm

(a) Could be a stand in for the “ideal worker” or what's

expected of such.

vi) Ex-military

(1) “liteunant’s uniform, his hand on his sword, a carefree smile on his

lips, demanding respect for his bearing and his rank” (15)

(a) Described as if he was describing someone else that was

not him > oddly specific detail to point out, against ties to

the sense of dissociation

d) L – Conflicting ideas

i) “ Two strong persons … smile at this thought “ (8)

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(1) Talks about worrying that if he falls he’ll make noise and be

noticed, then imagines asking for help to get him out of bed and

giving his legs purpose, then smiles as if the situation was entirely

normal

(2) Situation makes little sense by common reasoning at least

ii) “ but in compensation his jaws, of course” (13)

(1) Again, talks about his legs leaving goo on the door, his jaws

suddenly being super strong and brown liquids coming out of his

mouth very nonchalantly and almost as if he expected different

things to happen.

e) C- Manager

i) Walks into Samsa’s house without permission demanding to see Gregor

ii) “Mr. Samsa”... such a thing cannot be tolerated” (11)

(1) Openly tells the entire family that Gregor is at risk of losing his

job, going in debt, and that he should be making sales despite it not

being sale season

(a) Manger could be a stand in for the corporate idea, the focus

on numbers > workers as digits not as people

iii) Ignores Gregor’s appeal that the Manager is the only one that understands

the negativity around traveling salesman and that he’ll be willing to work

harder once he’s back to work.

f) L – Reactions to Gregor

i) “repulsed by an invisible, unrelenting force” (14)

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(1) Describes how the manager and his parents reacted to seeing him

open the door.

(2) Manager is disgusted, mom moves closer but then starts to sob and

then his dad goes from seeming hostile to sobbing

ii) “as if nothing less than an unearthly deliverance were waiting him there”

(1) Goes from disgust to a state of disbelief > like he were waiting for

death to take him

iii) “’Help for god’s sake, help!’ … steady stream onto the rug” (17)

(1) Like before, reacts as if seeing Gregor was like looking at death

itself since they don’t run away in disgust but more like they saw a

ghost> interesting since it’s not what’s expected and implies that

Gregor’s form must be something so horrendous, they are frozen in

fear.

iv) “Pitilessly his father came on, hissing like a wild man” (18)

(1) Contrasts since the others reacted to Gregor like he was some sort

of ravid animal but now his father acts like the animal and rather

than immediately strikes herds Gregor back to his room > odd

decision given the situation, implies some recognition that it’s till

Gregor.

2) Chapter 2

a) C – Gregor
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i) Full bug mode – Realizes he has antennas, eats using his entire head

without a second thought, and now cannot drink milk despite it being his

favorite drink before.

(1) Full Metamorphosis > vivid sensations and lack of second thought

to things that would normally be highly unusual for a human

suggest a mental change as well. > like trying to talk with the

manager despite already stating that he knew no one could

understand him.

(2) Feels more comfortable sleeping under the couch than he does on

his bed despite having slept there for the past 5 years. (22)

(3) Starts to lose his vision and sees less distance every day (28)

(4) Sister despite openly showing care for Gregor appreciates when he

covers himself so he can’t be seen anymore > either Sister’s care is

overpowered by disgust or Gregor’s shape is so revolting love

can’t overpower it.

(5) Starts crawling around the walls and hanging from the ceiling as he

becomes more accustomed to being an insect > or is it an insect?

ii) Disassociation – One moment sees the way the family can live as an

accomplishment using third person and continues in third person talking

about how it might all come to an end. (21)

(1) Realization - “When he heard his mother’s words... for so long,

had shaken him up.” (32)

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(2) Sees that he was willing to remove the remaining signs of his

humanity in exchange for gratification > conflict of who he was

versus who he is or what he is becoming

(a) Idea that human essence is tied to human objects or without

certain things one starts to feel less humane

(3) “He squatted on his picture and would not give it up. He would

rather fly in Grete’s face. “(34)

(a) Despite making great efforts to conceal himself for the sake

of his sister, is now fully willing to be terrifying for the

sake of protecting part of what he feels will keep him

feeling human.

(4) “And yet, and yet –was this still his father? “ (36)

(a) Seeing the burning hatred in his dad’s eyes, he questions

whether it’s the same man > no longer seen as a son, just as

a thing > as if the person Gregor, was tied solely to the look

of Gregor and a physical change meant a whole new person

had emerged.

(5) “her hands clasping his father’s neck, begged for Gregor’s life”

(37)

(a) His mother stands up for him and protects him against his

father

iii) Caring – Began working when his family's business lost everything > “In

those days ...state of total despair” (25)

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(1) Sole goal had become to take the lead for his family's financial

situation. > at first family is delighted but over time becomes used

to him making their living and doing so no longer feels special

(a) Comment on how adjusting to someone’s contributions can

make it less meaningful for them but also how we only

appreciate immediate sources of gratification.

(2) Planned to pay for lessons so that her sister could continue playing

the violin.

iv) Inconsiderate? – Despite seeing that it takes his sister a lot of willpower to

take care of him every day, he still sees her as a child and would prefer his

mom whom hasn't come one once take care of him because he sees her as

a child.

(1) Ties to the blindness, that everything changes if the perspective

from which things as seen is changed.

b) L – Interesting

i) “She did not see him right away … and slammed the door shut again” (22)

(1) Written as if he was very aware of what he could do but said

almost sarcastically like he wasn’t aware of what he could do >

conflicting descriptions of how aware he really is of his situation

ii) “if he had not been positive … gray earth were indistinguishably fused”

(28)
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(1) Just by reducing his field of vision, his environment completely

changes as it no longer looks like a city of everything within small

distance blends together > perspective changes environment

iii) Fully third person, describes everything as him or Gregor > explicitly

describes change as “Gregor’s metamorphosis” (28)

c) C – Sister - Grete

i) Intelligent – Realizes that Gregor's tastes have changed and rather than

bring something regular again brings an assortment of spoiled foods >

other also see him as an insect creature > sister realizes this and acts

around it

ii) Caring? - Forces herself to clean up Gregor’s leftovers despite being

clearly cautious and afraid of whatever Gregor is. (23) > continually does

this for a couple of days but does it when parents are not looking> Gregor

suggests that she does this to spare her parents of realizing what he eats

iii) Gregor sees as childish – 17 but has lived with just herself and the home to

worry about > contrasts with the intellect she’s showed toward Gregor’s

situation so far.

d) C – Gregor's parents

i) Father – still refers to Gregor as he and is concerned for what he does but

has made no attempt to interact with him

(1) Healthy but old and out of shape to work

ii) Mother – Not the brightest, has not tried talking with Gregor at all either
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(1) Suffering from asthma and just walking in the apartment is a

struggle

(2) Considerate – Does not want to remove the rooms furniture to

avoid making it seem like they gave up hope and so that Gregor

can still feel like himself in his room.

3) Chapter 3

a) L – Family

i) “It was the commandment of family duty to swallow their disgust and

endure, him, endure him and nothing more” (38)

(1) Restatement suggest that it’s the only thing the family has to do

(2) Use of “commandment” could refer to the 10 commandments in

the sense that they are things that should be unconsciously

followed but the point out specifically “endure” suggests the

limitations of that.

b) C – Gregor

i) Confused/ disarray – starts to have conflicting interests

(1) Some day resents not being able to take care of his family, others

he feels like rushing out and eating what he wants and feels

neglected at the lack of care they are showing him. > starts to

become an inconvenience

(a) Irony – He might have seen them as an inconvenience since

he paid for all the expenses but now they see him as the

inconvenience since they can’t do anything with him

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ii) Negligence

(1) Comparable to being treated as a pet

(a) Sister does not want to clean the room anymore and maid

starts calling out to him like a pet Beatle (42)

(2) They start throwing things they can’t fit somewhere else in his

room

(a) Treat him as if he’s not even there anymore > adjusting to

living without him

(b) Covered in dust, food, hairs and fluff like a relict of the

house and not a person (45)

(3) “My dear parents”.... I don’t think anyone can blame us in the

least” (48)

(a) Main issue, never considered the creature to be Gregor and

just a monster.

iii) Human essence

(1) “He kept picking up the sound of their chewing teeth … toothless

jaws you couldn’t do a thing” (44)

(a) Like before, ties human value to small physical actions like

chewing or before to having possessions.

(2) “You just have to try to get rid of the ide that it’s Gregor ...and for

us to sleep in the gutter”

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(a) Grete believes that if the Creature was Gregor it would

have ran away a long time go on the basis that no one can

live with a creature like that.

(b) Seen as just a creature because of looks and nothing more.

> no longer human to his family.

c) S – Father's uniform

i) “Gregor would often stare … uncomfortably and yet peacefully” (39)

(1) Stains contrast with the glimmer of the buttons and his father uses

it all the time even when napping. > Juxtaposition could parallel to

George’s form, perpetual but having something glimmering or

positive

ii) Goes back to his room and puts it on to come back and look at Gregor > a

sign of persistence or that Gregor still lives with the family in spirit (53)

d) L – Dang

i) “What the world demands of poor people they did …. the women mingled

their tears or stared dry-eyed at the table” (40)

(1) Emotional, the endless cycle of poverty to put maximum effort for

minimum gains in what seems hopeless most of the time.

ii) “The family was completely absorbed by the violin.... firm intention of

sending her to the Conservatory” (46)

(1) Describes the lack of attention from the men, the nervousness in

the parents' eyes and the sadness of her sister’s face, heavy

emotion.
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(2) Gregor’s desire to protect his sister and show her that he really

appreciates her playing and wants to help her achieve more strikes

with his condition covered in dust, food, hairs and neglected in a

room of the house.

iii) “Then, without his consent, his head sank down to the floor, and from his

nostrils streamed his last weak breath.” (51)

(1) “without his consent” > death comes without regard for what we

desire

(2) Single line, built up with emotion, “last weak breath” suggests that

he had been struggling to live this entire time > loss of his families

attention was the final push.

iv) Use of third person now makes sense, story continues beyond George as if

the narrator was another part of George or some abstract form of such.

v) “The greatest immediate improvement in their situation would come easily

of course …. which Gregor had picked for them” (55)

(1) Leaves reader confounded, story had primarily been from Gregor’s

perspective looking at the family and their challenges making it

odd to see the change they go through now that Gregor is gone

despite having left a visible imprint on them.

(2) Gregor is described as a steppingstone for them to become

themselves, as if him taking care of everything had been a bug

holding them back from finding individual success.