College Writing II

Who are we?

Ever since the beginning of human beings, we were always a dependent being. We would always be dependent on one another and many students in college today are dependent on their parents for the student’s financial situation. When many of us first came to Marist College, we became exposed to a completely different environment and many of us changed as a result. We learned how to adapt and evolve in our new environment and deal with the ongoing conditions. In Frank Kafka's Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa, a successful sales man transforms into a giant bug that led a drastic transformation in his family. Gregor’s family was dependent on him because he was the main source of income however when he changes, they are forced to change as well. There was always an reverse relationship between Gregor and the rest of his family, and hence, there are two metamorphoses in Kafka's story: when Gregor functioned as a human, the rest of the family is dysfunctional; when Gregor, due to his metamorphosis, became increasingly dysfunctional, the rest of the family began to function and flourish.

Gregor’s dysfunctional behaviors starts to show when he undergoes a transformation into a monstrous insect. When he wakes up from his sleep, he does not focus on the problem that he is an insect but instead, is worried about being late to work. He constantly rocks back and fourth in order to get up however he would fall back to his original position again. He feels a dull ache on his side that he never felt before. "Oh God," he thought, "what a hard job I picked for myself! (472). The quote shows that Gregor is going through something very unusual and that, there is something wrong with him. It is hard to fathom why his human priorities are his main priorities in his current situation. Gregor’s unbalanced behavior is the first step to his dysfunctional state. Previously, Gregor, to a great extent, was functional. On the other hand, his family was not. Gregor was the main source of income for this family. He was a traveling salesmen and he was able to earn hard cash in order to pay off the family’s debt and other living expenses in order to satisfy their living style. Gregor being this effective makes the family very dysfunctional. However, when Gregor goes through a transformation, the family becomes very effective and Gregor becomes dysfunctional.

Gregor was very useful during the days when he was able to provide for the family working as a salesman. The moment he transforms into a monstrous insect, he is disabled and his family turns the table in order