The setting of this novel is in a room within an apartment. It is a first person point of view with most of the novel taking place in the head of the main character himself/itself. It does not change throughout the book, except when Gregors family rent out a room. Which does play a pretty important role in the book as well, introducing some super minor characters in the novel. Most of the plot that takes place in the main characters head is from his view of everything that happens in his room and what he is able to observe in there.
There is only really one main character in the book, his name is Gregor Samsa. His sister Grete, and his mother and father are also some important characters in the novel, as well. Gregor is a very determined man, or was to say the least, he was turned into a giant bug, hence the name of the book. Before he was turned into a giant bug he was a traveling salesman, making money to pay off his familys debt, and was doing a good job of it. His sister Grete is around 16 and 17, she sticks up for Gregor, but by the end of the novel she has turned and she is the one who wishes Gregor to leave.
Gregors mother sticks up for Gregor when his father gets into a tantrum about Gregor, she has asthma but is still forced to get a job when they are in need of financial support. Gregors father seems to show a dislike to Gregor after he has changed, he is old and also has to work although he has not worked for several years. The characters are affected by the setting of the novel for several reasons. The apartment is very large and expensive to rent, but they cant move because they believe that they cant do it without revealing Gregor in his metamorphosis.
Because of this they must all work in order to pay off their family debt, as well as everything else, including the rent, food, etc. If they were perhaps in a smaller apartment the stress would not have been as great, for the stress is what I believe to have led Gregors sister, Grete, to have had suggested the idea of getting rid of Gregor , which eventually led to his demise. The combination of stress and hardship of maintaining their apartment and paying off their debt, causes them to take drastic actions.
Grete doesnt even address Gregor as him, but it, even she who has stuck by him this long, seems to have given up all hope of Gregor of turning back to normal. The three brothers moving in also affects the play because they are the! ones who makes Grete realize all that and knows she cant take living with Gregor any longer. The character which I most identify with in the novel, would have to be Gregor. I identify because like when Gregors transformation into a bug changed his parents attitude about him. My parents do the same thing when I do something such as bringing home a bad report card, and thats when things get crazy.
I also identify with Gregor because I can take it sometimes, but sometimes I just dont want to. Gregor also seems like the pretty clear headed type sometimes, and sometimes not, he likes to have some sort of fun occasionally and that is sort of like me. Im kind of like Gregor, but then Im kind of not. Im not a traveling salesman, for instance. I didnt turn into a giant bug, but I do have younger siblings though. My little sister does play an instrument, a piano, not a violin, so I guess I also have alot in common with Gergor. Some examples of symbolism in the novel is the apple that Gregors father threw at him, which got stuck in his back.
Gregor had left the thing in his back for the whole month which it took him to heal the wound. The apple was like a symbol of the pain he was going through, and it being in his back showed how he could endure all the pain. He didnt even bother to try to remove it, he left it there and this shows that he can take the pain. The apple also symbolizes the hate Gregors father has for him now that he has changed into a giant bug and perhaps even before he has changed, giving him a better excuse. Gregors transformation is also a symbol.
I think that his transformation is a symbol because it showed how he was now and always will be at the low end of society like some sort of pest. Ways in which the author uses irony is that Gregor, the main character of the story, is determined to pay off his familys debt. But Gregor, one day, wakes and find himself a giant bug, during which his whole family has to get jobs to pay for the familys debt. Also the family was very dependent on Gregor for financial support and the irony is that after Gregors transformation, he is the one who is dependent on them for everything which he needs to survive.
