Question

In Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka can someone give me an analysis of how the Samsa family's behavior lead to Gregor's death

Answer 1

• The Samsa family is useless and the rest of the family rely on Gregor for financial support while they lounge around. The fact that Gregor turns into an insect is pivotal in that he can no longer support his family as he can no longer work. Because of this, Gregory's family eventually begins to become more self-reliant although they are distressed by the fact that Gregor can no longer pay their bills.
• Gregor's family alienates him and is ultimately responsible for Gregor's death through their negligence. Clearly, the bug is Gregor, but Mr. and Mrs. Samsa and Grete treat "it" as if he was scum.
• We can say that Gregor may have potentially lost the will to live, especially considering the lack of attention his family was giving him. In fact, they were flat out ignoring him or calling him a monster.
• In the last few pages it'll say that his sister even announces to her parents that the bug Gregor isn't their family member or else he'd have left a long time ago because of the hurt and stress he's causing the family. From the beginning we know that Gregor has been supporting his family and their debts. To find that he's disappointing the family and is a burden must be a terrible blow to him.
• He'll probably feel more like a failure than anything else. Furthermore, this is his sister calling him a monster. Gregor was always closer with his sister, so to hear that she's rejecting him must have been a hard thing to hear. Furthermore, his father basically tried to kill him about 2 to 3 times, and his mother fainted at the sight of him.
• Only after Gregor dies does his family realize that they cannot sit around all day waiting for others to take care of them. By Gregor dying in such an uneventful way, Kafka reveals that, like his death, Gregor's family's eventual transformation into functioning members of society is just as uneventful and they are forced to live once more with the banality of ordinary life.