Can Success be Problematic?

 Everyone views success as a ‘good thing’. This is normally the case when it comes to personal success. In the story The Metamorphosis, it is shown that when personal success becomes shared success, it can be problematic. In this story, Gregor’s family relies on his personal financial success. Therefore, the family has grown to feel successful whenever Gregor is successful. “All had grown accustomed to this arrangement, not just the family but Gregor as well; they gratefully accepted the money, and he was happy to provide it, but the exchange no longer felt particularly warm.” (203) This arrangement creates problems throughout the story as in his new state, Gregor is unable to be financially successful the way he used to be. His family was so heavily relying on his financial success that they did not know how to be personally successful themselves. So, when success becomes a shared thing in an instance that it should be personal, it can cause problems for those who rely on others’ success. This shows that even within your private sphere, it can be very difficult to share success. And not only is this success exemplified in this story through Gregor’s ability to provide financially for his family, but also through the pride they have. Success can not only correspond with physical things such as money but can also relate to a feeling such as happiness or pride. Gregor’s family feels great pride and happiness when Gregor succeeds at his job, so when this is taken away from them, they lose not only their physical success in the form of income, but also their feelings of success such as joy. What do you blog readers think about the success dynamic within Gregor’s family? Is it worth the risk to rely on someone else’s success in life?