Executive summary
Franz Kafka
Transformation The
incident that happened with Gregor Zamzoi is described, perhaps, in one phrase of the story. One morning, waking up after a restless sleep, the hero suddenly discovered that he had turned into a huge terrible insect…
Actually, after this incredible transformation, nothing special is happening anymore. Behavior of actors is prosaic, everyday and extremely reliable, and attention is focused on household trivia, which for the hero grow into agonizing problems.
Gregor Zamza was an ordinary young man living in a big city. All his efforts and concerns were subordinated to the family, where he was the only son and therefore felt an increased sense of responsibility for the well-being of his loved ones.
His father went bankrupt and for the most part was sitting at home, looking through the newspapers. Mother suffered from suffocation, and she spent long hours in an armchair by the window. Gregor also had Greta’s younger
Here in this room, he woke up one day in the form of a giant disgusting centipede. He looked round familiar walls, saw a portrait of a woman in a fur hat, which he had recently carved from an illustrated magazine and inserted into a gilded frame, looked
Then the nightmare continued. In his room, knocking already from different sides – and the father and sister were worried if he was healthy. He was begged to open the door, but he obstinately did not unlock the lock. After incredible work he managed to hang over the edge of the bed. At that time a bell rang in the hallway. Find out what happened, the manager himself came. From a terrible excitement, Gregor rushed as hard as he could and fell onto the carpet. The sound of the fall was heard in the living room. Now the manager has joined the calls of his relatives. And it seemed to Gregor more sensible to explain to the strict boss that he would certainly fix it and catch up. He began to blurt out excitedly from behind the door that he had only a slight discomfort, that he would still be on the eight-hour train, and finally begged not to fire him because of an involuntary truancy and spare his parents. At the same time he succeeded,
There was silence behind the door. No one understood a word from his monologue. Then the manager quietly said: “It was the voice of an animal.” The sister and the servant in tears rushed after the locksmith. However, Gregor himself managed to turn the key in the lock, grabbing him with strong jaws. And then he appeared before the eyes of the crowd at the door, leaning against her wing.
He continued to convince the steward that soon everything would fall into place. For the first time he dared to pour out to him his experiences about the hard work and lack of rights of the traveling salesman’s position, which anyone can offend. The reaction to his appearance was deafening. Mother silently fell to the floor. The father shook his fist at him in confusion. The manager turned and, glancing back over his shoulder, began to slowly move away. This silent scene lasted a few seconds. At last the mother jumped to her feet and screamed wildly. She leaned against the table and overturned the coffee pot with hot coffee. The manager immediately rushed to the stairs. Gregor started after him, awkwardly with his legs awkwardly. He certainly had to keep the guest. However, the path was blocked by his father, who began to push his son back, making some sibilant sounds. He pushed Gregor with his stick.
After this terrible first morning for Gregor came a humiliating monotonous life in confinement, with which he slowly became accustomed. He gradually adapted to his ugly and sluggish body, to his thin legs-tentacles. He found that he could crawl on walls and ceiling, and even fell in love to hang there for a long time. Staying in this terrible new guise, Gregor remained the same as he was – a loving son and brother, experiencing all family worries and suffering because he brought so much grief to the lives of his loved ones. From his confinement, he silently overheard the conversations of his relatives. He was tormented with shame and despair, because now the family was without money and the old father, sick mother and young sister had to think about earnings. He felt with pain the fastidious disgust that the closest people felt towards him. Mother and father for the first two weeks could not bring themselves to enter his room. Only Greta, overcoming fear, came here to quickly get out or put a bowl of food. However, Gregor was less and less approached by ordinary food, and he often left his plates untouched, although he was tormented by hunger. He understood that his appearance was unbearable for his sister, and so he tried to hide under the couch behind the sheet when she came to clean.
Once his humiliating peace was broken, as the women decided to free his room from furniture. It was Greta’s idea, which decided to give him more room for crawling. Then the mother first timidly entered the room of her son. Gregor dutifully hid himself on the floor behind a hanging sheet, in an uncomfortable position. From the commotion it became quite bad for him. He realized that he had been deprived of a normal home – they carried a trunk where he kept a jigsaw and other tools, a wardrobe with clothes, a desk, for which he was preparing lessons as a child. And, unable to resist, he crawled out from under the couch to protect his last wealth – a portrait of a woman in furs on the wall. Mother and Greta at that time were breathing in the living room. When they returned, Gregor hung on the wall, clasping the portrait with his paws. He decided that for nothing in the world would not allow him to be picked up – he would rather grab Greta in the face. The sister who entered the room could not take her mother away. She saw a huge brown stain on colorful wallpaper, screamed before she realized that this was Gregor, shrill and piercing, and collapsed exhausted on the sofa.
Gregor was filled with excitement. He quickly crawled into the living room behind his sister, who rushed to the medicine cabinet with drops, and helplessly trailed behind her, suffering from her guilt. At this time, his father came – now he worked as a messenger in a bank and wore a blue uniform with gold buttons. Greta explained that the mother had fainted, and Gregor had “escaped”. The father made a malicious scream, grabbed a vase of apples and began to throw them in hatred at Gregor. The unfortunate man rushed off, making a multitude of feverish movements. One of the apples slapped him hard on the back, stuck in his body.
After the injury, Gregor’s health became worse. Gradually, the sister stopped him from cleaning up – everything was overgrown with cobwebs and sticky stuff, flowing out of his paws. Not guilty of anything, but disgusted by the closest people, suffering from shame more than from hunger and wounds, he locked himself up in pathetic loneliness, fingering all his past uncharted life with sleepless nights. In the evenings, the family gathered in the living room, where everyone drank tea or talked. Gregor for them was “it” – each time his relatives tightly covered the door of his room, trying not to remember his oppressive presence.
One evening he heard that his sister was playing the violin to three new tenants – they had rented rooms for money. Attracted by music, Gregor ventured to move a little further than usual. Because of the dust lying everywhere in his room, he himself was covered with it all, “on his back and sides he carried with him threads, hair, remains of food, too great was his indifference to everything, to go to bed as before, several times once a day on your back and brush about the carpet. ” And this untidy monster slid over the sparkling floor of the living room. A shameful scandal broke out. Residents indignantly demanded money back. Mother came in a fit of coughing. My sister concluded that it was impossible to live like that, and my father confirmed that she was “a thousand times right.” Gregor struggled to crawl back to his room. From weakness, he was completely clumsy and panting. Caught in a familiar dusty darkness, he felt that he could not move at all. He almost did not feel the pain, but he still thought about his family with tenderness and love.
Early in the morning the maid came and found that Gregor lay absolutely still. Soon she joyfully notified the owners: “Look, it’s gone, it’s completely dead!”
Gregor’s body was dry, flat and weightless. The maid grabbed his remains and threw it out with the garbage. All experienced unconcealed relief. Mother, father and Greta for the first time in a long time allowed themselves a walk outside the city. In the tram car, full of warm sun, they were animatedly discussing the prospects for the future, which turned out to be not so bad. At the same time, parents, without speculating, thought about how, despite all the vicissitudes, their daughter was prettier.
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