The change that occurs on Gregor's father in The Metamorphosis is very interesting. From the beginning of the book, it is clear that Gregor and his fathers relationship isn't quite normal. "Because he was in danger of losing his job, and because the head of the firm would start pestering his parents about those old debts?" I don't think it is typical for a child to pay his fathers debts. And even though Gregor is helping his father, it is not as if his father seems impressed. "'The chief clerk has arrived and wants to know why you didn't leave by the early train. We don't know what to tell him.'"
When Gregor makes his transformation, many things begin to change in his life. But one change that stands out most to me, is his fathers change. From Gregor's perspective, we readers get the idea that his father was kind of weak, and lazy."the same man who used to lie wearily sunk in bed whenever Gregor set out on one pf his business trips; who was always reclining in the armchair in his dressing-gown when he greeted him on his return in the evening; who was actually hardly capable of getting to his feet". But the first time we see Gregor's emerge as a bug to his family, his father automatically reacts with violence. This violence and drive take Gregor by surprise, because it isn't something he hasn't seen in his father for a while. We notice Gregor's father taking initiative at the family meetings, and going out to find a job. Then later when Gregor is once again chased violently by his father, . This is something that is surprising, and yet, somehow positive to Gregor.
I think that Gregor's change made his father realize his own worth. I think it is sometimes easy to be lazy when there is someone around to take advantage of. Especially in this situation where Gregor may not even have felt that he was being taken advantage of in the first place. But now that the family can no longer be dependent on Gregor. The father has somehow found his misplaced strength. I can't wait to see how the father's drive will develop as the story continues.
I agree with you that there is something off in the relationship between Gregor and his father. I was shocked in the first section of the book where Gregor's father's automatic reaction to his sun being transformed into a bug is to brutally beat him. However it is also definitely true that Gregor's absence forced his father to become more hardworking and productive-- but the father still continues to behave violently towards Gregor (such as when he throws the apples at Gregor later in the book.)
ReplyDeleteI also found it weird that his father didn't even try to work off his own debts and instead relied on his son. In my mind I tried to work this out and thought that maybe Gregor owed something to his father, or the debts were some how related to him. However, with this weird Kafka dream logic, we can't always assume that our own logic will fit in. And even though Gregor is the person dutifully paying off his fathers debts, his father is the person to beat his own son and assume the worst of him. I do think that reading on, Gregor is kind of taking on the role that his father used to have, and I think his thought process is also changing. While we don't get a lot of insight into how Gregor thought before his transformation, in our past readings, it has become evident that Gregor feels like he isn't being taken care enough.
ReplyDeleteIt seems very James and the Giant Peach-y to me, with the adults taking advantage of a poor kid they don't really love. Like, kind of reminiscent of children's stories about children with no-good caretakers who know they can take advantage of the free labor they have been given, you know? Like the evil aunts. In the end the kid always gets away and is okay, but in the Metamorphosis things are taken to a much more extreme degree, so I really wonder what Kafka will do with that dynamic. Idk, first impression-wise and especially with the way you explained it here the dynamic between Gregor and his father just feels like a strong nightmarish element in an already nightmare-y children's story. Very Roald Dahl or like, Edward Gorey lol
ReplyDeleteGregor's father's change in behavior is quite an interesting topic in the book as well as how his change in behavior affects their relationship. The father definitely did seem, as we discussed in class, parasitic in the ways that he did nothing to take care of the debt in the house, leaving it all to Gregor. I'm really not entirely sure what their relationship was like before the transformation. But, I don't think it was as aggressive as it was after Gregor turned into a bug. It's scary to see how violent and repulsed the dad feels towards Gregor, especially with this new surge of energy. It certainly is a good and awful thing for family dynamics that the father has stepped up his game and decided to take over Gregor's working role.
ReplyDeleteFor me, his father's constant hatred of and violence towards the insect that Gregor has become is more than disgust with his form, but some sort of anger towards Gregor. The father has been virtually inactive for a number of years now, and it's probable that he feels bad or inadequate as a result of Gregor doing everything and working off all his old debts. As he is forced to become useful and start working again, he seems to regain a ton of confidence. I think that his beatings of the insect, who he seems to recognize in some capacity as Gregor, are perhaps a way of him showing that he doesn't have to rely on his son and expressing dominance over some form of him in the insect.
ReplyDeleteIf I were in Gregor's situation I'd have really conflicting feelings on my father's change. On one hand, it's great to see that my dad is able to get up and change from his lazy ways to become the hardworking provider for the family. On the other hand, why did it take such a radical transformation for my dad to actually become useful and why is he so hostile towards me? In the end I'd be feeling happy that my dad is doing what he's doing but also really upset that this couldn't have happened sooner and that how he's treating me so terribly.
ReplyDeleteI think that Gregor's father's personality change has both positive and negative impacts. It's good for his health that he's up and actually moving. Plus, he is playing a part in helping out his family. But I think his newfound strength also gives him an easier way to hurt Gregor. Now that he is moving and actually caring about things, he uses a lot of his energy against Gregor. That is why I think there is a drawback to this new personality of Herr Samsa.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that Herr Samsa's new strength comes from being forced to work; there wasn't a 'journey' for him to find his confidence. I also don't think this strength is new; it was probably there all along, but with Gregor working it was so much easier to become lazy. Clearly it was really easy for Herr Samsa to get a new job, so I'm really wondering why he didn't get one before, or for that matter Gregor's mother and sister. Speaking of which, I also find it odd that they are so unhappy and shut in while Gregor is working for them. I mean, isn't that the dream life of the rich? People do their work for them and they can live in a large apartment. Yet the family complains that it's 'too large,' and they dream of moving to a smaller apartment. Overall, it looks like they want to and eventually become a 'honest, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth family.' Maybe I'm going out on a limb, but it sort of looks to me like Kafka is (perhaps subconsciously) endorsing stereotypical American values, and for some reason I find that really amusing. Kafka and American values....
ReplyDeleteOh man, I gotta disagree with this. Gregor's dad becomes just as insectoid in many ways as Gregor! After he first sees Gregor he pushes him back into his room making "hissing sounds." After he gets his job as the bank messenger, he doesn't take off the uniform at night, his "shell." He stays up late at night, just as Gregor did, like a moth attracted to light. Just because Gregor's father is doing more doesn't mean to me that he's worth more all of a sudden, just that he's undergone a similar, if more subtle, transformation.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very peculiar situation because of how the father treats someone who has been providing for him. It is very weird when you think that the father would be so ungrateful for his son who has given up his life to pay back his father's debt. The changing nature of the father is a hopeful situation for me since his dynamic nature can give us at least some sliver of hope for a positive outcome. In the end the father doesn't change in the desired way and unfortunately we end the story with a sour taste as we know the father's anger and apple throwing ability is what has lead to our dear friend Gregor's death.
ReplyDeleteThe father is such a strange character in this book, but with Kafka's confirmed daddy issues the distant Poppa Samsa becomes a subconscious-authoritarian-type figure. He seems entirely devoid of love or affirmation for Gregor, and maybe his laziness to start out is some sort of way to assert dominance on him, by forcing him to work. Gregor remains working because of his deep-seated fear of Herr Samsa. Especially when Gregor undergoes the transformation and pops starts working, it seems like he had no real "deficiency' for work before. I definitely agree that the father becoming a stronger character towards the end of story is supposed to play into Gregor's inferiority.
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ReplyDeleteGregor's relationship with his father is very strange. He becomes estranged from his family as the novel progress, but it is with Gregor's father that we see an utter lack of sympathy for his son. We as readers tend to dislike the father because we sympathize with Gregor, and he feels that his father doesn't really care about him post-transformation and we see that he took advantage of his son pre-metamorphosis. I believe that their relationship was never really strong, and his father seemed to not care that he lost this connection with his son. In terms of the change that his father undergoes, I feel that the transformation did help Gregor's father see his worth, like you mentioned, as well as it made him more authoritative over Gregor through gained responsibility, which is something he didn't have before.
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