Realtionships and Society

 

Gregor's transformation into a bug kind of struck me as an exploration of success for Gregor. Gregor prompts us to reevaluate our understanding of success and it's real meaning. Gregor's transformation made him question his relationship with his family members and his place in society. A quote that stuck with me was "Was he a beast, that music so moved him? He felt as if he were being shown the way to that unknown nourishment he craved"(Reader, 216). I thought this was a good representation of Gregor's effort to find connection and spiritual peace which goes beyond his physical transformation into a bug. The words "unknown nourishment" symbolize his desire for emotional sustainability. Which means this transformation was showing us you don't find success just by what you've done but how at peace you are in society. For example, I thought success was mainly I have achieved such as having high status in some way or earning a vast amount of money. It's just like friendships and relationships, success is not based on what we achieved during our time as partners but it's how deep the emotional connection and support is to one another. I think Gregor was lacking in his support his family would always disregard him. This showed that Gregor was just the upkeep of the family and was used as a tool for the family's needs. Then when he was unable to upkeep the family he was cast aside like a used tool. But once Gregor heard the music it was a wakeup call that put him at peace even though he wasn't treated as if he were human by his family. Once he found this peace he achieved the success he'd wanted for a while.