Characters
Protagonist: Gregor Samsa
"(Gregor) gazing into the darkness, felt a great pride that he was able to provide a life like that in such a nice home for his sister and parents. But for now, if all this peace and wealth and comfort should come to a horrible and frightening end? That was something that Gregor did not want to think about too much, so he started to move about, crawling up and down the room" (19).
Gregor Samsa is most defined by his kindness, his strong work ethic, and his responsibility towards his family to provide for them. All he wants is freedom, but instead spends fifteen years working to pay off his parents' debt. When he turns into a bug, his only priority is work. Throughout the novella, Gregor never loses his kind nature nor his love for his family, even though they come to stop loving him. He is ultimately betrayed by society and those around him, which leads to his tragic death. Gregor's mental state transitions from positivity (he will be well again) to hopelessness (his family neglects him, he will no longer eat).
Antagonists: Mr. Samsa, Family, and Society
Society as a whole appears to be working against Gregor. Every person who sees him either mocks him (the char woman), fears him and treats him like an alien (Grete, Mrs. Samsa, his boss, the tenants), or tries to attack him (Mr. Samsa). Mr. Samsa seems to be the primary force against Gregor in that he inflicts all the abuse and injuries that ultimately lead to Gregor's death. Mr. Samsa's reaction to Gregor is that of aggression, so quick to turn against him despite all that Gregor had done to sustain him and his family. Mr. Samsa transforms, and this change is recorded as:
"Was that really his father? The same tired man a used to be laying there entombed in his bed when Gregor came back from business trips, who would receive him sitting in the arm chair in his nightgown when he came back in the evenings . . . He was standing straight enough now; dressed in a smart blue uniform with gold buttons, the sort worn by the employees at the banking institute . . . his piercing, dark eyes looked out fresh and alert; his normally unkempt white hair was combed down painfully close to his scalp" (30).
"(Gregor) gazing into the darkness, felt a great pride that he was able to provide a life like that in such a nice home for his sister and parents. But for now, if all this peace and wealth and comfort should come to a horrible and frightening end? That was something that Gregor did not want to think about too much, so he started to move about, crawling up and down the room" (19).
Gregor Samsa is most defined by his kindness, his strong work ethic, and his responsibility towards his family to provide for them. All he wants is freedom, but instead spends fifteen years working to pay off his parents' debt. When he turns into a bug, his only priority is work. Throughout the novella, Gregor never loses his kind nature nor his love for his family, even though they come to stop loving him. He is ultimately betrayed by society and those around him, which leads to his tragic death. Gregor's mental state transitions from positivity (he will be well again) to hopelessness (his family neglects him, he will no longer eat).
Antagonists: Mr. Samsa, Family, and Society
Society as a whole appears to be working against Gregor. Every person who sees him either mocks him (the char woman), fears him and treats him like an alien (Grete, Mrs. Samsa, his boss, the tenants), or tries to attack him (Mr. Samsa). Mr. Samsa seems to be the primary force against Gregor in that he inflicts all the abuse and injuries that ultimately lead to Gregor's death. Mr. Samsa's reaction to Gregor is that of aggression, so quick to turn against him despite all that Gregor had done to sustain him and his family. Mr. Samsa transforms, and this change is recorded as:
"Was that really his father? The same tired man a used to be laying there entombed in his bed when Gregor came back from business trips, who would receive him sitting in the arm chair in his nightgown when he came back in the evenings . . . He was standing straight enough now; dressed in a smart blue uniform with gold buttons, the sort worn by the employees at the banking institute . . . his piercing, dark eyes looked out fresh and alert; his normally unkempt white hair was combed down painfully close to his scalp" (30).