Discussion 13

1.Gregor’s relationship with is family is not very good. He is kind of like the annoying one in the family. I think this is shown by the fact that he turned into a cockroach. Out of all bugs he turned into a cockroach, one of the most annoying bugs in my opinion. His relationship or lack there of with his family is demonstrated in the interactions between his family members and himself when he is a cockroach. For example in the story his sister says, “…and so I will merely say: we have to get rid of it’ (973). Although at first she gave him food and tried to look after him, end the end everyone wanted Gregor gone. I would say the relationship between his father and Gregor is one that was very prominent in the story. In the story his father is constantly trying to get rid of Gregor in ways that demonstrate that he is the person in the house that holds the power. I think this symbolizes that Gregor’s dad feels threatened by him and his coping mechanism is to try and prove his place on the power ladder.

2.The first central event in the story tells about how Gregor is afraid of losing his job and how his family doesn’t really get along that entirely well. The second part is centered around his actual metamorphoses and what happened while he was a cockroach. The third section focuses on the fall of Gregor and the “rise’ of his family. In the second event it really shows how weak Gregor is in the situation. He can’t feed himself and so his siter has to feed him. He also can’t work which means he can’t make money. This is what leads to the strengthening of his family though. Because he can no longer be the provider for the family they start to learn how to provide for themselves and in the end become a better and stronger family.

3.I find Akhmatova’s Requiem as a political protest was not effective for trying to persuade people one way or another during Stalin’s rule solely because it was not published. I do think that it has been very effective in giving an example for the people after that time and has made an impact in history.

4.I think we should interpret the quote as being a hint as to how as individuals, we should try to be in the world. Everyone can benefit from changing their lives, even if there is just one thing in their life that they change. This change also sparks other people’s ideas and thus creates advances throughout society and the world.

4 thoughts on “Discussion 13

  1. veyjustin

    I also found Akhmatova’s Requiem to not be very effective until later for teachings. No one was able to read it.

  2. geborgeson

    I agree that Gregor’s relationship is fairly poor with his family but I don’t think it was because of how his family felt about him. Gregor took upon himself the responsibility to provide for his family. When he was turned into the cockroach and could no longer provide for his family they no longer valued , and so he very presence was an annoyance to them.

  3. swtrinchet

    Wonderful interpretation of the poem for number 4! It finally makes sense to me why the torso is Apollo – the god of knowledge and medicine. I bet it’s connected to the realization you made, how “This change also sparks other people’s ideas and thus creates advances throughout society and the world.” It’s not just a personal thing, by changing yourself, you change the world around you.

  4. sehoyos

    I thought your interpretation of Gregor turning into a cockroach because he was a pest to his family was an interesting one. I didn’t think he was necessarily a nuisance, just that he was only concerned with money and so caught up in trying to be successful and provide material comfort to his family.

Comments are closed.