Gregor essay
Gregor, throughout Part 3, listens to his sister, Grete, playing violin for the three gentlemen boarders, and he “must aspire” to hear it a little. He is described by music as being much more fascinated than the three borders, and he wants her to come “with her violin in his room” and play for him instead of her. His reaction to music is a reminder of his affection for his sister and contrasts sharply with her response that showed him present. This relationship with his sister is the last bond to be broken and reveals his full and irreparable alienation from the family and the former human self. Earlier, Kafka writes in Part 2, that Gregor’s “dirty plan to send (his sister) to the conservatory” was always that he still liked what a “doubtful, articulate violinist” she was. However, she enjoyed more music than him.
When Grete starts playing the violin in the living room, Gregor is upset. As the sound pulls him out of his room, “He was hardly surprised at his growing disregard for others; at times, he was proud to be considerate.” However, Gregor’s lack of consideration is a slightly overdue answer to his family’s disregard for him. After he has been neglected, he now disregards them and shrinks out of the room in a plain view of all. Gregor is now free: he does not only have to work; he doesn’t have to worry about guilt any longer. He appears to need little more freedom as an insect than that. He finally escaped all the traps set for him. Yet his life lacks something consumed by apathy.
Gregor asks, “Is he an animal, this music had such an effect on him?” Interestingly, it seems as if the answer would be no. The lodgers rudely abandon Grete and flutter through the window amongst them. The parents look at the lodgers too busy to take care of Grete’s play. However, Gregor is attracted to music. The timbre that hears reminds him of his devotion to the Conservatory, reminding him of his sister’s love and wish to send her. Upon the realization that the other people do not like her playing, he desires to bring her in and make her play for him to regenerate their once-in-a-lifetime relations. Although literally, Gregor is an animal, he is the only one who feels and understands the power of art to redemption. His history and his affection for his sister return to him when he hears the violin. Art rescues him from his apathy, recalling that despite his freedom, he was missing: his family. In contrast to the Gregor insect, in which music produces the best, other people are less than human because they do not appreciate art.
Gregor’s greatest mistake, the night before his death, is led by the violin. While Grete is playing with the lodgers, Gregor is so excited and hoped that he’s getting too close. The others misread his actions as a threat, and his intentions fail, although he wants to taste his sister’s music and support, he eventually destroys the lodgers’ income both for the night and for the family. The violin is closely linked with issues relating to family and intentions against results. It is both his love and support for Grete and his will to participate in a beautiful experience and the sad truth that it cannot communicate such things again. It is a sign of his love for Gregor’s character. His life is not worth living, caught within a cockroach, incapable of sharing the moment of beauty.