Monday, November 17, 2008

An Important Word

In chapter one of Metamorphosis, I noticed the word "pain" came up numerous times, seemingly always referring to Gregor. He felt physical pain when he fell off the bed, when he opened the door, and when was shoved by his father back into his room at the end of the chapter (which left him "bleeding profusely," a strange part I thought). It seems as though Gregor is not new to pain, as he meditated on the "torture of traveling" at the beginning of the chapter. This pain for Gregor--not just physical, he will likely deal with emotional pain as well--may not go away. It seems as though it will continue throughout the book, possibly changing as Gregor changes and deals with his isolation.

7 comments:

Kevin said...

The word that I chose, torture, was very similar to the one that you chose. We both used some of the same examples such as him getting out of bed, opening the door, and then being forced back into the room. I liked that you also talked about his emotional pain, and that this pain probably will continue into the future.

Kels said...

I agree totally. I also think that Gregor has had to deal with a lot of pain throughout his entire life, not just now. After reading the first two chapters, I get the feeling that Gregor's dad is not a very nice person. He relies entirely on Gregor and even when he knows his son is the beetle, he physically beats him. It makes me wonder if he did the same when Gregor was human. Also with the pressure of supporting your entire family, comes a lot of emotional strain. I agree with the fact that Gregor has a lot of not just physical, but mental pain as well.

Gena R. said...

I think you have something with wondering whether the father beat Gregor before he turned into a bug, Kelsey. When I was reading, I noticed the father seemed to hold a very dominant position in the family and wondered how forceful he was at reminding everyone that he was in charge. It was also interesting that neither male (Gregor, the father) seemed able to take care of themselves at one point in the story (when Gregor depended on his sister for food and before the father started working).

Becca K. said...

I completely agree that pain (or torture) is a constant motif throughout the story. I wonder if his emotional pain caused him to stop eating. Maybe on some level, he was tired of dealing with the pain of being rejected by his family and being unable to support his family.

The ironic part is that he seems to love his family. This love almost puts him in more pain than he would be if he hated his family. He might not take their violence and revulsion as personally if he didn't actually care what they thought.

I agree with Kelsey's idea about the dad beating Gregor before he was a bug. It would definitely answer questions about why Gregor supported the family completely and why no one else worked or did anything of substance.

Katie B. said...

I agree with Kelsey and Gena. I think there was some abuse by Gregor's father. But it doesn't seem like he beat Gregor's mom or sister. It's probably because the family had only Gregor to rely on for income and when (or if) he ever let them down, Gregor's father had no one to blame but Gregor.

Lisa said...

I agree with you, the pain that Gregor is going through is not only physical, but emotional. I also agree with you that he was feeling pain before the whole turning into a beatle incident. I feel that his family didn't quite appreciate him, they still don't actually. He works so hard for them and all they ever do is expect him to work more to support their lavish lifestyle.

Keenen D said...

Yea you are right. Gregor feels pain non-stop. I actually felt bad for the guy. They should of given him a break a least. That emotional pain is the worst though. That would hit me harder.