The Metamorphosis; Gregor Samsa Character Analysis

 Hannah Elshennawi

Dr. O'Brien

Language and Literature 2

05/01/2025

The Metamorphosis; Gregor Samsa Character Analysis

            Gregor Samsa from the Metamorphosis is an interesting main character. His overall personality and character traits really plays an essential role in determining the outcome of the story. He continues to love and care for his family even though they treat him only as a pest and completely avoid and hurt him for something that was not at all his fault. He continues to have empathy and constantly thinks of them even in the worst cases.

 In the Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa is a businessman who wakes up one day as a monstrous vermin. He gets shunned by his family and they resent him for not being able to provide for the family anymore and because they have to start working due to his inability to work. He stays locked in his room and even when his own family looks at him, they only see him physically as a bug not as a brother/son who worked day and night providing for them and doing everything for them. He has to hide under a sofa when they come in to give him food or clean his room because they only recognize his physical change into a bug, rather than who he really is, considering he still has the same thoughts and emotions as he had as a human. In the end, his father ends up throwing an apple at him and getting stuck in his back and he eventually dies because even then, his family didn’t have the decency to treat it.

Some of Samsa’s key traits that lead to the overall outcome of the story is his care and dedication to his family, regardless of their unappreciation. Before he woke up as this vermin, he used to constantly overwork himself to provide for the family and save his family from the trouble of needing to work for themselves but they saw it as kind of the bare minimum and did not show much affection in return. Page 33 of the Metamorphosis states, “They had even got used to it, both Gregor and the family, they took the money with gratitude and he was glad to provide it, although there was no longer much warm affection given in return. “ This shows that even though Samsa recognizes his family’s lack of sincere appreciation for everything he does, he was still dedicated to providing for them.

Additionally, in the text, Samsa’s family sees he physically changed into a bug but knows he still has emotions and thoughts like a human but they disregard that and treat him like a bug. Knowing this, he worries about them and blames himself for the whole situation. Even though his sister takes care of him and feeds him, she slowly starts to think of him the same as her parents. Page 35 says “Whenever they began to talk of the need to earn money, Gregor would always first let go of the door and then throw himself onto the cool, leather sofa next to it, as he became quite hot with shame and regret.” This shows that even though his family, specifically his parents, treat him badly, he still blames himself for the effects of his metamorphosis and inability to work.

To conclude, Samsa’s character greatly impacts the story and his reactions to his family’s mistreatment. He remains empathetic despite his family seeing him as a burden and being unappreciative of how much he has done for them. His family constantly expected so much from him as a human and showed little affection in return but he continued to provide for them. When he was unable to provide for them as a bug, even though his metamorphosis wasn’t his fault, he continued to blame himself and sympathize with his family.