Metamorphosis Part one and two

            Both friends and family feed off of their companion's or relative's  success.. Gregor's father, who has not worked in five years is riding off the success of his son, and at the same time, Gregor is paying for his father's debt in order to keep his family afloat. "Gregor's only concern had been to use everything he had in order to allow his family to forget as quickly as possible the business misfortune. And so at that point  he had started to work a special intensity and from a minor assistant had become, almost overnight, a traveling salesman." (Kafka 12). This is just an example of how Gregor shows himself as a selfless man who is putting his head to the grindstone and is sacrificing his life in order to keep his family happy. In comparison, over those five years that Gregor had been working, his father had put on some weight. " He had in these years, the first holidays of his laborious but unsuccessful life, put on a good deal of fat and thus had become really heavy." (Kafka 13). As Gregor is working, his father is enjoying a leisurely life of reading newspapers, eating breakfast for hours, and just plain ol' relaxation. They are the true vermin, not Gregor, he is acting humane towards them by optionally paying for their bills, while the family eats, and enjoys life (exempting Grete because she helps Gregor) This just isn't fair to him as he is spending his life helping to pay off the father's debt. But hey, family or not, people can still feed off their child's or friend's success.

           The ideas of Existentialism are exemplified throughout this story, angst, isolation, and alienation. The feeling of isolation from the rest of the world, goes hand-in-hand with Gregor's new bug body. "But while Gregor could get no new information directly, he did hear a good deal from the room next door, and as soon as he heard voices, he scurried right away to the appropriate door and pressed his entire body against it." (Kafka 11).He is almost in a prison, but in his own house, because he is unable to speak audibly, can not interact with the other's there because of their reactions towards him. He is slowly loosing that human aspect of him, the ability to be social. As Gregor is trapped in his room, he thinks about his old life. "[He] leaned against the window to look out, obviously with some memory or other of the liberating sense, which looking out the window used to bring him in earlier times." (Kafka 13). He's feeling trapped because he does not want his mother, father, or his sister to be afraid at the sight of him, showing his humbleness and humanity. This feeling of isolation coincided with Existentialism because of the thoughts of isolation and alienation from the rest of the world.  Even in modern society, the feelings of isolation are still very prevalent, and cause emotional pain to many.