has happened to her son.

Do let me in to Gregor, he is my unfortunate son! Can't you understand that I must go to him?

She tries to be supportive, but cannot bear to look at him. Entering his room ends up being too difficult for her. She tries on several occasions to defend Gregor, in maintaining that he should have his furniture when Grete wants it removed, and trying also to stand up for him when Grete suggests they get rid of him, but she is too weak and becomes ill. Though she cannot look at him, it seems she still has a mother's love for him.

Mr. Samsa is cruel and angry. Of all of them, he is the one who has most become used to Gregor working so hard and handing them his money so that they may all live a life of leisure while Gregor continues to support them. It is when Gregor can no longer do so because of his metamorphosis, that his family begins to reject him.

Gregor's father is the one who becomes violent. When Gregor first leaves his room, Mr. Samsa's behavior (waving a newspaper and a cane and making noises) frightens him so that Gregor pushes himself through the narrow door to his room, scraping himself and harming parts of this "body." When the women try to move Gregor's furniture out, Samsa believes Gregor has done something terrible and begins throwing apples at him: one that painfully lodges in Gregor's back.

An apple thrown without much force grazed Gregor's back and glanced off harmlessly. But another following immediately landed right on his back and sank in; Gregor wanted to drag himself forward, as if this startling, incredible pain could be left behind him; but he felt as if nailed to the spot…

Mr. Samsa and Grete don't have a problem with Gregor until he is no longer of financial use to them. Ironically, before Gregor's "illness," Grete is considered something of a waste: she does nothing. When Gregor is changed, slowly she becomes the favored child. By the end, she becomes more "valuable," as the family, released from worries about Gregor, goes out for the day and realizes that Grete is of an age to marry. It is not for her happiness that the family is pleased, but more because she will be able to find someone else to support the family while they continue to live a life of leisure. Though Gregor appears "monstrous," his family members are truly the parasites. By the end of the story, Grete and Mr. Samsa want Gregor gone. Mrs. Samsa cares for her son, but cannot stand up to Grete.

Gregor dies alone and detested: had he been able to go to work as a giant insect, I expect the family would have been able to tolerate him.

Gregor is rather placid when he firsts awakes to learn he has turned into an insect. Instead of screaming in horror or despairing, he tries to go back to sleep. He is unable to do so because he only sleeps on his right side and now that he is an insect, he cannot position himself that way. He also thinks about how much he hates his job as a traveling salesman and how grueling the work is since it forces him to get up so early that he is never able to get enough sleep.

Gregor's wanting to fall back asleep after this dramatic realization is the first manifestation of one of his key personality traits: passivity. He hates his life but does not try to find a way to change it. That he goes into musing about how miserable his job is also suggests that being an insect is not nearly as awful to Gregor as his work. Furthermore, his being an insect might even have been triggered by his work: insects are perceived as single-minded (think of worker ants or bees), which is all Gregor's family and co-workers want him to be. They see him more as a beast of burden to benefit from than a human being—this was the case even before he grew six legs.

His shape might have changed, but Gregor does not assume it will have any effect on his daily life: this does not show that Gregor is delusional, but that he is resigned to suffering.

Gregor's reaction is not what one might expect. His main fear, in the opening of the story, is the consequences of being late for work; indeed, his transformation is less horrific than it is inconvenient, as Kafka describes in great detail the difficulty Gregor has in moving around in bed or in getting out of bed.

It's not that Gregor is unaware of what has happened to him; he recognizes that his body had horribly changed, that instead of arms he has many legs which he seems largely unable to control; he even recoils as if from a "cold shower" when he touches his body with one of his legs. He closes his eyes so he won't have to see himself.

One way of thinking about the opening is that Gregor is fixating on his daily routine to distract himself from what he has become. On the other hand, is it also possible that Gregor's slavish sense of duty to a demeaning job has literally transformed him into an insect. Either way, Gregor's reaction is not one of horror, but anxiety and resignation.

Gregor's initial response to realizing that he has changed into a "monstrous vermin" is largely observational.  He doesn't panic; in fact, he doesn't even seem to be surprised.  He notes his "back as hard as armor plate" and "vaulted brown belly" as well as his "pitifully thin" legs that squirm "helplessly before his eyes."  He does wonder, "What's happened to me?" but it is unclear whether he is referring to his physical change or something else.  He looks around at his "small" room, his "traveling salesman" paraphernalia, the picture of a woman he cut out of a magazine and hung on his wall, and even the "overcast weather" outside, weather that "completely depressed him."  It seems, then, that he has more of an emotional response to the rain than he does to the fact that he is a bug.  

Further, he considers his "grueling job" and his "day in, day out [life] on the road."  He eats "miserable food" and has "no relationships that last."  The narrator's choice of words such as "pitifully," "helplessly," "depressed," "grueling," and "miserable" help, I think, to explain why Gregor is so calm in the face of his apparent physical change.  There isn't really much that will change for Gregor between his life before he became a bug and his life after.  He had no fulfilling relationships then; he'll have none now.  He ate miserable food then; he will now.  His life was relatively pitiful before, so much so that he had no picture to hang on his wall except a rich stranger from a glossy magazine, and his life will continue to be pitiful and lonely.  He lived only to work before, and bugs are usually pretty good at working.  Therefore, his life before and after his physical metamorphosis will be virtually the same: only his shape has changed—not his situation.  

In the novella, Metamorphosis, by Kafka, Gregor’s sudden transformation into a bug causes quite an unusual reaction. Although some people might panic, Gregor responds in a quite unexpected way.

When Gregor first wakes up, he discovers that he changed into a bug during his sleep. Instead of jumping out of bed or screaming, Gregor responds by trying to go back to sleep and avoid dealing with the transformation. As Gregor himself states:

"'Why don’t I keep sleeping for a little while longer and forget all this foolishness,’ he thought.”

Despite his best attempts to simply go back to sleep and avoid dealing with his transformation, Gregor could not avoid the change by sleeping. As a result, he eventually got out of his bed. At this point, he could have panicked or thought about the repercussions this transformation could have on his life. Instead, he thought about the daily struggles he experienced (such as a frustrating transportation and job that he does not enjoy).

As a result, Gregor has an unusual reaction to his transformation. It is not until later in the story that he must confront his change. Despite his lack of normal reaction, this change still greatly impacted this character’s life.

While Gregor's family never cares for him, they at least treat him like a human before his change; after his change, they're increasingly cruel and distant.

Gregor's family puts up with him before his metamorphosis because he takes over as the provider for his family. The relationship between them isn't warm, but at least they give him some respect so that he'll continue paying for them to live. When they think he's going to be late to work, they check to make sure he goes. Even though his father doesn't work, he still has a warning in his voice when he tries to get his son up.

Later, however, they start to treat him worse. His father chases him back into the room with a newspaper. He eventually injures him by throwing a piece of fruit at him that causes an infection. His parents and sister are all now working and getting an income since he can't anymore.

Even Grete is eventually unsympathetic to her brother. She was likely the family member he was closest to, but caring for him is a burden to her. She eventually tells her parents she wants them to get rid of Gregor. He decides that dying is the best thing he can do for them, and he does.

Before his metamorphosis, Gregor is exploited by his family as he is the only one who works; afterwards, when he changes and can no longer work, they become cruel and are repulsed by him because of his hideous appearance and because he is a disgrace to his family.

An absurdly comical meditation upon the human state of alienation, guilt, and insufficiency, The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is a bizarre tale of a young man who transforms into a bug in which apples hurled at him stick in his casing and he is imprisoned in his own room. Georg Samka awakens into a surrealistic dream world, and he receives little sympathy from anyone, even though he has sacrificed for years his own desires so that his sister can attend the Conservatory and study music.

Yet, his transformation may also be due to his desires to be freed of the responsibilities that should be his father's, his hatred for his job and the drudgery attached to it, and his resentment for the rest of the family's exploitation of him and their irresponsibility in not contributing to the family income.

Gregor lives with his mother, father, and sister (Grete). One morning, he wakes up and realizes that he has transformed into a bug. As he ponders what to do, his family comes to his door, reminding him that it is time to get up and start his day. Because he does not get out of bed, he is late for work. The chief clerk comes to his house to question why he did not leave on the early train. Through all of this, Gregor's mother insists that Gregor is sick, and the chief clerk insists that, whether sick or not, business and work are priorities.

Finally, Gregor decides to try to get out of bed, although he is a giant bug. He has been talking with with his family and the chief clerk through the door but has not tried to get out of his bed until now. After he falls from the bed, he tries to talk to his family and the chief clerk, but this time he makes mere bug noises:

"Quick, get the doctor. Did you hear the way Gregor spoke just now?"

"That was the voice of an animal", said the chief clerk, with a calmness that was in contrast with his mother's screams.

Immediately, the house is in an uproar as they try to find out how to get to Gregor. (And, they haven't even seen his bug-self yet.)

After great effort, Gregor manages to open the door. Upon seeing him, the chief clerk shouts out, "oh!" and his family responds with even greater shock:

Gregor's mother, her hair still dishevelled . . . unfolded her arms, took two steps forward towards Gregor and sank down onto the floor into her skirts . . . His father looked hostile, and clenched his fists as if wanting to knock Gregor back into his room

His mother goes into a state of immediate shock, falling down in weakness as she witnesses Gregor in his bug form. His father grows angry, with his fists clenched, as he aggressively urges Gregor back to the confines of his room. The chief clerk storms out of the building looking afraid, and Gregor retreats to his bedroom.

The only kindness Gregor receives after his transformation is from his sister. When he wakes up from his deep sleep he finds a plate of food:

By the door there was a dish filled with sweetened milk with little pieces of white bread floating in it. He was so pleased he almost laughed, as he was even hungrier than he had been that morning . . . . But he soon drew his head back again in disappointment . . . the milk did not taste at all nice.

Gregor leaves the food where it was placed; as a bug, Gregor is much more interested in rotten foods than fresh foods. Gregor's sister soon realizes this and begins to bring him the rotten, smelly foods that he desires. Immediately after his transformation, Grete attempts to show Gregor kindness.

However, as the novella continues, Grete grows less patient with Gregor and her kind acts change. First she neglects him; later, her growing anger and frustration becomes evident. She tells her father:

It's got to go . . . that's the only way, Father. You've got to get rid of the idea that that's Gregor. We've only harmed ourselves by believing it for so long.

Gregor, once the financial provider and leader of his household, is transformed into a helpless creature who depends on others for his survival. He loses his job and seemingly loses the affections of his mother and father upon his transformation into a bug. When he remains a bug, even his sister stops showing him kindness. Grete, meanwhile, goes through her own sort of metamorphosis from a carefree young lady with plenty of leisure time to practice her violin to a woman called upon to help provide for her family's finances.

At the beginning of the story, Gregor wakes up to find that he now has an "armour-like back," and a "brown belly, slightly domed and divided by arches into stiff sections." He also has "many legs" which are "pitifully thin." A little later in the story, when trying to get out of bed, Gregor notices that his new legs are very difficult to control. When he manages to move one leg as he wants, "all the others seem to be set free and ... move about painfully."

As the story progresses, Gregor seems to slowly adapt to his new body. He finds that his back is "more elastic than he had thought," and he begins to use "the adhesive on the tips of his legs" to hold himself upright. He also notices that, while he may no longer have teeth, he does now have a "very strong jaw." Gregor also learns to control all of his legs, so that they do "exactly as he (tells) them."

The moment in the story when Gregor starts to adjust to his new body is also the moment when his family see it for the first time. They are of course horrified and disgusted, and his father gives him a "hefty shove" which sends him flying, and leaves him "heavily bleeding." The next morning Gregor's left side seems "like one, painfully stretched scar," and one of his legs appears to be broken so that it "drag(s) along lifelessly." Later his father throws apples at Gregor, and one becomes "lodged in Gregor's flesh." Because of such injuries as these, Gregor begins to lose "much of his mobility."

Towards the end of the story, Gregor resigns himself to the reality of his situation. He becomes used to "his entire body aching." The pain in fact seems to get "weaker and weaker" and "finally disappear(s) altogether." Soon Gregor can't even feel the decaying apple lodged in his back. His head sinks and the "last breath flow(s) weakly from his nostrils," and Gregor dies.

The changes to Gregor's body throughout the story reflect his changing emotional state quite closely. At first his body is completely new, and his emotional state is, understandably, one of shock and confusion. As he then begins to adapt to his new body, he becomes calmer, and a little more confident. Just at this moment he dares to show himself to his parents. They retreat in disgust and injure him in the process. It is at this point that Gregor becomes scared again, and begins to lose what little hope he had of being accepted by his family. This new emotional state, of abject hopelessness and sadness, is reflected by the injuries he sustains, and by his consequent immobility. The eventual death of his physical body is synonymous with, and inextricable from his emotional death.

As we all know, Gregor Samsa fully turned into a giant, "monstrous vermin." This is, essentially, the biggest physical transformation that he goes through in the book. Interestingly enough, however, he doesn't seem to be particularly shocked or surprised about his newly acquired body form, nor does he wish to know why the change happened; in fact, he immediately tries to adapt to his new lifestyle as an insect and doesn't try too desperately find a way to transform back into a human. He soon realizes that some tasks are harder to do—like sleeping, for instance—but he also learns that he very much enjoys climbing and crawling on the walls.

The minor physical changes he goes through after his transformation, such as the brown liquid that comes out of his mouth whenever he hurts himself or the changes in his physical appearance, are usually metaphorical and symbolic. Thus, it's safe to say that his confusing physical transformation and metamorphosis does affect some aspects of Gregor's life, but his personality and his emotional state remain constant throughout the book; he never truly loses his humanity, and he still does everything out of love for his family. Unfortunately, his family is disgusted and repulsed by him, and they are embarrassed of his existence. Samsa fails to understand that he only lived to work and provide for his family and realizes that the only way to please his family is to die. Thus, he stops eating and eventually dies, unceremoniously and alone, similarly to how he lived.

“The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka begins with one of the most memorable opening lines in literature:

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

Once this premise has been established, Gregor then goes through three stages of his physical metamorphosis: shock, acceptance, and then a decline.

In part 1, the narration describes Gregor’s new form as like that of a beetle, with a back that is “armor plated,” an abdomen that is “dome-like," and multiple legs that “waved helplessly before his eyes.”

Despite his physical transformation, Gregor’s mind continues in its previous train of thought—that of a worried traveling salesman. Aware of his responsibility to his family, Gregor intends to resume his normal activities, but he is prevented from doing so by this new insectile body. When Gregor’s mother taps on his door and asks about the train he needs to catch, he attempts a reply:

Gregor had a shock as he heard his own voice answering hers, unmistakably his own voice, it was true, but with a persistent horrible twittering squeak behind it like an undertone that left the words in their clear shape only for the first moment and then rose up reverberating around them to destroy their sense so that one could not be sure one had heard them rightly.

Gregor tries to rationalize away the change in his voice as an oncoming cold, but as he tries to get out of bed, he is confronted with his new reality. As he falls out of bed, and then assures his family and the chief clerk that he’s all right, he notes that his insect body is vulnerable to injury. The ends of his legs are sticky, and with effort, he can use his mandibles to turn the key in the lock.

Despite his good intentions and attempts to communicate, Gregor’s appearance horrifies his family and the chief clerk. His father drives Gregor back into his room with the chief clerk’s walking stick, an action which results in Gregor being injured.

Part 2 of the story finds Gregor in his room, his body wounded:

His left side felt like one single long, unpleasantly tense scar, and he had actually to limp on his two rows of legs.

His wounds heal, but he can do little except stay in his room, contemplate his situation, and eavesdrop on the family conversations in the living room. He works out a system with his sister by which he gets his meals and learns how to push a chair over to the window so he can look out. He gets used to his new body:

for mere recreation he had formed the habit of crawling crisscross over the walls and ceiling. He especially enjoyed hanging suspended from the ceiling; it was much better than lying on the floor...

However, the peace doesn’t last. While arranging the furniture in his room, Gregor’s mother catches sight of him and faints. As his sister runs out to get smelling salts, Gregor follows her. One of the medicine bottles breaks, and glass cuts into Gregor.

Meanwhile, his father has gone through a metamorphosis of his own, transforming from a “sluggish” retiree to a uniformed clerk ready for work. Once more, his father drives Gregor back into his room, this time by throwing apples at him. An apple becomes lodged in Gregor’s back, wounding him again.

Part 3 marks Gregor’s decline and eventual death. His room becomes dirty, he’s unable to remove the apple stuck in his back, and he stops eating and sits around “motionless for hours.” His parents and sister are now too busy working and letting out the extra rooms to lodgers to take care of him, instead employing a charwoman for the unpleasant tasks.

Gregor manages to leave his room one more time when he hears his sister playing the violin, startling the family and the lodgers. After they drive him back into his room again, Gregor’s sister tells her parents they must get rid of him. Gregor agrees with his sister and finds his previous strength and agility are now gone:

Soon he made the discovery that he was now unable to stir a limb. This did not surprise him, rather it seemed unnatural that he should ever actually have been able to move on these feeble little legs.

When the charwoman arrives the next morning, she finds Gregor has died. She calls in his parents and sister, who confirm that ”Gregor’s body was completely flat and dry.”

As gpane's very clear and thorough answer shows, Gregor brings in the only income in the single-income family, supporting his mother, father and sister.

The pressure on him suggests the family's lack of resources and, perhaps, its lack of resourcefulness. Should we see the Samsa family as lacking imagination or should we see them as a family that would like to shirk work? Should we see them as a family adhering to social forms and so unwilling to entertain the notion that anyone but the lone son should be a part of the labor force? 

There is an implication that the family is concerned with perceived social forms in addition to its practical concerns. 

"...what mainly prevented the family from moving was their complete hopelessness and the thought that they had been struck by a misfortune as none of their relatives and acquaintances had ever been hit."

Gregor's disturbing transformation is socially awkward, of course, but its greatest impact is a negative shift in the family's financial situation. This fact is arguably the most prominent element of the story and informs Gregor's emotional situation to a considerable degree. 

The family's willingness to rely on Gregor - then turn on him - suggests a willingness to also exploit him. However we characterize the family's mentality, the fact remains that when we meet them they rely on an implied assertion - only Gregor should work. 

The firm he works for appears as demanding as the family. 

"What a fate: to be condemned to work for a firm where the slightest negligence at once gave rise to the gravest suspicion!"

Gregor's value as a person, it seems, is derived entirely from his willingness to submit to toil. Taken for granted as a wage-earner and as an employee, Gregor is just a "bug" in the system, as it were, identified with a function and not attributed any qualities of humanity. While we may certainly want to be more sympathetic to the family in reading the story, there is ample evidence to suggest that the commercial and social expectations of the family lack a sense of humanity and instead focus on the perfunctory and the superficial. 

As the previous answer makes clear, Gregor is the breadwinner of the family, and so the pressures on him are enormous. We see this at the very beginning of the story when, even after his inexplicable transformation his main concern still seems to be about his work. He muses about how much he hates his job yet he frets that he can't get there on time and is worried about his probable dismissal.

We can gauge right away, then, from his reaction to his metamorphosis, when he continues to focus on his work rather than on the startling fact that he is now a giant bug, how much he struggles under the weight of his responsibility. The family are dependent on him and the job itself seems to exert a great pressure on him. It seems that neither in his family nor at work does he have any meaningful contact whereby he can express what he really feels. It has been observed that his bizarre transformation perhaps occurs as a result of a subconscious desire to be rid of his responsibilities. If he is a giant bug, obviously he can no longer be expected to go to work.

After his change, from having a central role in the family, Gregor ends up with no role at all - unless it is to be a source of amazement, disgust and ridicule. His father, for whom he has done so much, appears unsympathetic from the start. It is only his sister Grete that actively helps him for a while, venturing into the room in which he has been secluded, feeding him and so on. But even she ends up turning against him. It is after this final rejection that Gregor decides it'd be better for all concerned if he were to die. He does just that, and subsequently the family appear to have a sense of great release and relief; they go on an excursion in the country and Grete blossoms out into a beautiful young woman. 

It seems, then, that Gregor was much put-upon and personally not much valued by his family, although they relied so much on his duties as the breadwinner, and that he himself was fed up having to do so much for them. His death appears to be a great release for both his family and himself. He is finally freed from his burdensome role as the central, yet under-appreciated cog in the family wheel.

We are told that Gregor has the job of working as a travelling salesman so that he can support the rest of his family, his parents and his sister, who do not work. Thus his job is incredibly important to all of their well-being, which perhaps explains how upset and concerned his parents and Grete are when he is unable to get himself out of bed and misses his train at the beginning of the novel. However, it is obvious that Gregor does not enjoy his job. He feels "condemned" to work there and finds it very exhausting and soul destroying. He is an example of a man who is ground down by an impersonal job that forces him to engage in work he has little care for, yet he has no escape. Note what he "says" to his superior:

"And then, I have to take care of my parents and my sister. I'm in a tight spot, but still I'll work my way out again. So please don't make things more difficult for me than they already are."

We see a man who is forced into a job to support his dependent family without any liking for this job, yet with no escape.

Up until his metamorphosis, Gregor was the sole breadwinner for the family, which consisted of his parents, his sister, and himself. Gregor's father was both demanding and demeaning, expecting Gregor to pay off his debts and support the family, even though it is traditionally the father's role to be the provider. Gregor went along, submitting to the humiliation and sacrificing his own desires to please his overbearing father.

It make the transformation into an enormous bug an interesting choice. Insects have exoskeletons, meaning they are restricted to certain and limited types of movement. Exoskeletons also mean there is no spine. Gregor certainly shows no evidence of a "spine" in our modern vernacular. He doesn't stand up to his father, nor does he refuse to pay his father's debts. He simply crawls along, doing what it expected of him even though he is miserable doing it.

Gregor's movements are also limited, both figuratively and literally. Since Gregor submits to the expectations of his father, he limits himself in career choice, lodging, and social circle. He lives at home without friends or hobbies. Once his metamorphosis occurs, he cannot easily move even to leave his bed. He is ultimately paralyzed by the exoskeleton he created first in his mind, and then in his own actuality.

In the Samsa household, it seems that Gregor is treated by his family only as a means to an end. Gregor is responsible for paying off his parents' debts and his sister's educational costs. It is a dehumanizing experience to be used as a tool for the rest of the family's well-being at great personal cost to himself. His metamorphosis to an insect is the ultimate manifestation of his dehumanization; he ceases to be a man, something that has metaphorically happened to him long before the moment he becomes a large insect.

The fact that his family cannot understand him once he has transformed is simply a continuation of his inability to communicate with them. His father communicates only in a demanding and threatening manner, and so when he brandishes his cane at Gregor, threatening to crush him, it is really no different than the way he has long treated his son.

Without Gregor's ability to support them, the family must resort to taking in boarders. But Gregor's appearance causes them to move out in disgust, and the family realizes that he has become too much of a liability and begin to speak of getting rid of him. Gregor dies, and the savings that the family has accumulated enables them to move into a better place and move on in their lives, apparently forgetting him and the sacrifices he had always made for them. They are characterized as callous and self-absorbed.

After Gregor turns into an insect, he can no longer work. This creates financial problems for the family, as without his income, they barely have enough money to make ends meet. Gregor's father already has a job in a bank, his sister works, and his mother has been taking in sewing all along to earn money, but now they all have to do more work. They also have to get rid of their servant, which adds to the labor that Grete and her mother have to do to keep the household clean and running.

Grete's relationship to Gregor changes because she is constantly tired from overwork and no longer perceives Gregor as a human being. She resents being the person who has to bring Gregor his meals and clean his room—two jobs that nobody else wants to do. Because they can no longer talk and relate as they used to do, the exhausted Grete begins to neglect Gregor. She shoves his food in his room and runs off to work. She doesn't clean his room properly, letting balls of dirt accumulate. She also begins to complain to her parents about having to take care of him. Only the charwoman, brought in a few hours a day to do the heaviest labor, treats Gregor decently.

Gregor's transformation into a bug reveals the extent his family exploited him economically. In fact, the way in which one by one his family members—first his father, then his mother, and finally his sister —abandon all care and concern for him as a bug shows that he is worthless to them if he cannot perform the function of bringing in a salary. In other words, there is no deeper love for his spirit—all that matters to his family is his role as breadwinner.

Whereas Gregor may have always suspected the power dynamic of his family "using" him for his job, it is only with his transformation that it becomes blatantly clear that he means nothing else to them. Gregor is therefore at the bottom of the financial hierarchy of his family. At the top are his parents, particularly his father who is the most disgusted by his transformation and who does not even pretend to care for him once he loses his job. This structure can be considered a critique of capitalism as an economic system, as those at the top completely exploit those at the bottom in order to gain a surplus of value. Gregor is exploited by the authoritarian "boss", who is his father. Moreover, at the very end of the story, the parents have moved on to the exploitation of their other child, Grete. The final lines of the story indicate they are now plotting how to marry her off:

Mr. and Mrs. Samsa were struck, almost simultaneously, with the thought of how their daughter was blossoming into a well built and beautiful young lady. They became quieter. Just from each other's glance and almost without knowing it they agreed that it would soon be time to find a good man for her.

Ultimately, the power dynamic in the story, revealed when Gregor loses his ability to earn money, is reflective of the economic system of capitalism in which those at the top exploit workers for a profit.

The Metamorphosis is an argueably nihilist work by Franz Kafka about an ordinary man who turns into a giant insect, and how his transformation affects his family life.

One of the major changes Gregor suffers is to his voice; no longer able to communicate as a human, he strives to make his new insect voice audible to his family. It seems at first that his voice is the last thing to change; after waking, Gregor communicates (sight unseen) with his family and is upset to discover that his voice has started to deteriorate, with an unintelligible squeaking overpowering his articulation. After his revelation, Gregor makes a speech explaining his desire to go to work, but it is unclear how much, if any, is intelligible.

It was clearly and unmistakably his earlier voice, but in it was intermingled, as if from below, an irrepressibly painful squeaking...
[...]
"For God's sake," cried the mother, already in tears. "Perhaps he's very ill, and we're upsetting him." [...] "Have you heard Gregor speak yet?" "That was an animal's voice," said the attorney.
(Kafka, The Metamorphosis, eNotes eText)

Gregor's voice is perhaps the last vestige of his true humanity, as after his family understands his transformation, they treat him entirely as an unintelligent creature rather than as their relative. The only time someone truly shows Gregor compassion is after his father attacks him with apples, and his sister, understanding that Gregor is still her brother, defends him. Gregor stops trying to communicate and begins to accept his role as an animal; his voice, one of the defining factors of sentient creatures, is the last thing with which he defends his humanity. When Gregor's voice fails, his humanity similarly ends, and his family abandons their worry and care in favor of disgust.

Gregor Samsa goes through a horrifying experience: he wakes up transformed into a bug.

"One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug."

This strange and incomprehensible change causes his relationship with his family to shift throughout the story.

At the start of the story, soon after Gregor wakes as a bug, his parents (especially his mother) begin to distance themselves from him. At first, Gregor's mother tries to wake him up for work with a "soft voice." She shows tenderness and love for her son. After she sees him in his bug form, her treatment of her son changes. As he rocks quietly near his mother in his bug form she cries out, "Help, for God's sake help!" Her fear of her bug-son is so great that she "collapsed into the arms of [Gregor's] father." His mother grows afraid of Gregor in his new form.

Gregor's relationship with his sister changes greatly throughout the plot as well. At the beginning, soon after Gregor transforms into a bug, his sister treats him with sympathy and compassion. She "had already cried while Gregor was still lying quietly on his back." Her emotional response (crying) seems to show concern for Gregor's well-being.

In part II, Gregor's sister brings him food. First, she tries sweetened milk and white bread. (This is known to be Gregor's favorite dish as a human.) However, he does not enjoy this dish as a bug. His sister then begins to bring him decomposing foods that a bug would like:

There were old half-rotten vegetables, bones from the evening meal, covered with a white sauce which had almost solidified, some raisins and almonds, cheese, which Gregor had declared inedible two days earlier, a slice of dry bread, a slice of salted bread smeared with butter . . .

Early in the story, Gregor's sister (Grete) goes to great lengths to make sure her bug-brother finds foods that he likes to eat.

However, her kindness toward her brother lessens. Midway through the story, Grete first speaks to Gregor (as a bug) while he is on a wall. His appearance upsets her mother; Grete seeks to keep Gregor far away from his mother:

"Gregor, you . . . ," cried out his sister with a raised fist and an urgent glare. Since his transformation those were the first words which she had directed right at him.

These words, instead of showing concern toward Gregor, show some aggression and possibly fear toward him. Grete is thinking more about her mother's happiness than Gregor's needs.

By the end of the story, Gregor's sister is entirely distanced from her brother. She no longer shows any concern for his well-being. Grete explains to her parents,

"My dear parents . . . things cannot go on any longer in this way. Maybe if you don't understand that, well, I do. I will not utter my brother's name in front of this monster, and thus I say only that we must try to get rid of it. We have tried what is humanly possible to take care of it and be patient . . . We must try to get rid of it," the sister now said decisively to the father . . .

Grete urges her parents to "get rid of" Gregor, the bug. She no longer wants her bug-brother living in their house. She no longer wants to provide for his needs. She shows no kindness toward her brother at the end of the story.

Interesting question! In the story the “The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka, the profound transformation of Gregor causes many of his relationships to alter while some components remain. Some of the main ways this is seen is through Gregor’s dependence on and distance from his family.

Beginning with Gregor’s dependence, after Gregor’s transformation, he is forced to rely completely on his family to meet his needs. Before his transformation, Gregor provided for his family’s financial situation. However, after his transformation, Gregor was forced to depend on them. For example, he daily relied on them to bring his food and even to clean his room.

On the other hand, some components remained the same with Gregor’s relationship with his family. In the past, he was unable to connect with his family due to his responsibilities and focus on work. As a result, he did not know much about his family, such as their daily routines, their abilities, or even their complete financial situation.  After his transformation, he was forced to stay home, which was physically closer to his family. Despite this physical closeness, he still felt a great distance due to his inability to communicate with them. As the story reveals:

“As he heard his mother’s words Gregor realized that the lack of all immediate human contact, together with the monotonous life surrounded by the family over the course of these two months must have confused his understanding.”

Thus, Gregor’s transformation incites much change in his life. Although his relationship with his family alters in some ways, he still feels a distance with them. Unfortunately, this distance cannot be removed and remains throughout the story.

In the story by Franz Kafka, “Metamorphosis,” Gregor experiences an interesting family situation. Although Gregor supports and cares about his family, he does not appear to feel very close to them. As a result, he provides for them financially; however, there appears to be a lack of close familiarity between them.

Throughout the story, the readers begin to learn that Gregor has been providing for his family financially. As the story unravels, it becomes evident that Gregor’s father lost his business and that Gregor took it upon himself to help his family. Although Gregor’s family is appreciative, they do not seem as grateful as they once were or even very close to Gregor (especially his parents). As shown in the story:

They had become quite accustomed to it [Gregor's financial support], both the family and Gregor as well. They took the money with thanks, and he happily surrendered it, but the special warmth was no longer present.

Furthermore, Gregor illustrates that he cares about his family; however, there is much he does not know about them. For example, he does not realize that his parents have been saving money or that they have saved money from his father’s past business. Regardless of him not being familiar with this more personal information, he still cares about them and desires to provide for them. He also cares about their passions and interests, especially with his sister. He desires to pay for her to go to the conservatory to learn the violin more, which she loves.

Consequently, Gregor has an interesting home environment. Although he provides for his family, he lacks knowledge about some of the more personal information. Despite this lack of closeness, he continues to care about their necessities and even their interests.

There has never been any firm evidence as to why Gregor becomes a giant insect in Kafka's The Metamorphosis, though it has been debated widely.

There are several things that might account for Gregor's change. It could be something rooted in his own mind. In keeping with this argument, it could be a "waking-dream." He notes that he had strange dreams the night before:

One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in his bed he had been changed into a monstrous verminous bug.

However, Gregor soon dismisses this himself:

“What’s happened to me,” he thought. It was no dream.

That is not to say, however, that he could not be having a "dream within a dream."

It has been argued that Gregor might simply perceive himself as a "verminous bug" because of the way his family thinks of him. Once his father lost the family business, Gregor has slaved so that the rest of his family can live in comfort. He notes that at first it was appreciated. However, as time goes on, it is taken for granted, and we see that once he is unable to continue to work, he is regarded with contempt, particularly by his father. Gregor's desire to help the family is evident from the first:

At the time Gregor’s only concern had been to use everything he had in order to allow his family to forget as quickly as possible the business misfortune which had brought them all into a state of complete hopelessness. And so at that point he had started to work with a special intensity and from a minor assistant had become, almost overnight, a travelling salesman, who naturally had entirely different possibilities for earning money and whose successes at work were converted immediately into the form of cash commissions, which could be set out on the table at home for his astonished and delighted family. Those had been beautiful days, and they had never come back afterwards, at least not with the same splendour, in spite of the fact that Gregor later earned so much money that he was in a position to bear the expenses of the entire family, costs which he, in fact, did bear. They had become quite accustomed to it, both the family and Gregor as well. They took the money with thanks, and he happily surrendered it, but a specialwarmth was no longer present.

His father's lack of tolerance is seen when Gregor comes out of his room—his father throws apples that painfully lodge into his son's back. Grete stops her father, but later, even she turns on her brother.

It is also possible that Gregor feels like a "bug," or an "outcast" because of his job. The company he works for shows him little regard: checking to see if he's lying when he doesn't show for work, rather than showing concern. He also works hard:

“O God,” he thought, “what a demanding job I’ve chosen! Day in, day out, on the road. The stresses of selling are much greater than the actual work going on at head office, and, in addition to that, I still have to cope with the problems of travelling, the worries about train connections, irregular bad food, temporary and constantly changing human relationships, which never come from the heart...”

The fact that Gregor cannot have a relationship that comes "from the heart" indicates that he feels isolated, alienated. Gregor is disconnected from society—always traveling; from his family who see his value in his salary; and, from his coworkers.

Because of the way he is treated, Gregor may be an insect or simply feel like one.

Prior to his transformation, Gregor was faced with the prospect of paying off his family's debts by working at a job he hates, all the while attempting to win acceptance from his bully of a father. Gregor seems to have a compassionate sister, Grete, but even she eventually turns on him. Gregor is a self-sacrificing character; after his transformation, his family can no longer depend on him and particularly his father now feels completely justified in berating his son as a worthless insect; literally and figuratively.

After Gregor's transformation the familial tensions grow exponentially. Being an insect, trapped in his room, Gregor becomes a burden rather than a breadwinner. But, in his isolation and freedom of this role of the sacrificer, Gregor is able to escape. Only through isolating himself from the world (in his room and then in death) is Gregor able to escape his role in his family.

To be more direct to your question, I don't think Gregor's transformation symbolizes the problems in his family. The radical nature of the transformation does show how ingrained the family's function is. They are more concerned with the mundane daily concerns than with the fact that their son is a giant insect. Gregor has been so worn down that a transformation of such significance is the only way to extricate him from this situation.

There are so many interpretations of this story. One perspective regarding the transformation, in this context, is that even the most radical change might not affect the habitual, repetitive function of a somewhat robotic society. And sadly, that isolation from that world may be the only way to escape that routine. Kafka was known for this kind existential look where the individual is on an endless quest of meaning, acceptance or entrance into a more open world. Check out his short story "Before the Law" and his novel, The Castle.

This is a very interesting question, as you will find if you read the story carefully that the metamorphosis of Gregor actually triggers other transformations in his family, including his father. Note how at first he is described as a failure who is dependent on his son's income. When Gregor reveals his transformed self, he shows his weakness and also his anger towards Gregor:

The father clenched his fist, glaring at Gregor as if trying to shove him back into his room, then peered unsteadily around the parlour before covering his eyes with his hands and weeping so hard that his powerful chest began to quake.

Although he shows weakness, what stands out in his relations with Gregor is his anger. Notice how when Gregor attempts to leave his room, it is his father who violently forces him back, hurting Gregor both times.

It is the fierceness that dominates, however. The first two times Gregor ventures out of his room, his father forces him back in, the first time brandishing a walking stick and a newspaper at him, the second time bombarding him with apples. He does injury to Gregor both times.

Yet what is key to realise is how Gregor's tranformation galvanises his father, turning him from a "failed businessman" into the head of the family who starts dealing with their financial affairs with skill:

From time to time, he rose from the table to fetch some document or notebook from his small strongbox, which he had salvaged after the collapse of his business five years earlier.

Interestingly, though, he still shows elements of his weakness by the way he craves pardon from the lodgers. It is only when Gregor has actually died that he conquers his inner weakness, dismissing both the charwoman and the three tenants, who suddenly see in Mr. Samsa a new strength:

"Well, then we'll go," he said, looking up at Mr. Samsa as if, in a sudden burst of humility, he were requesting sanction even for this decision. Mr. Samsa, with bulding eyes, merely vouchsafed him a few brief nods.

It is key to note that Mr. Samsa is only referred to as such after his son's death. It is as if Gregor's demise gives him the release necessary to become the new man he has always shown the potential of being. Yet Kafka's text asks us a very hard question of why it takes his son's death to transform his father.

After his metamorphosis, Gregor remains largely the same self-sacrificial personality he was before he turned into an insect at the beginning of Franz Kafka's novella. However, he changes in that his hatred and dread of his traveling salesman job disappears, since he can no longer go to work. Without that animating focus for his resentment, he becomes sadder and more passive.

His family, always important to him, becomes more so as his world shrinks. He accepts their rejection of him as a burden now that he can no longer earn money, and evening after evening watches them longingly from the door of his room as they eat dinner and talk without him.

He does not fight back when his father throws the apple at him that lodges in his back and eventually infects and kills him. Once he realizes he has become a problem to his family, he accepts his death with peaceful resignation. Throughout the story we feel both sympathy and yet frustration for the caring he has for his family and wonder that he can maintain it when they do not return it.

Your original question did not really make much sense, so I have edited it to make it hopefully more understandable, both to you and to me. Well, it is quite clear that Gregor's transformation has wrought significant changes in his relations with his family. Although his sister at first tries to show love and kindness to Gregor, finding him food that he will eat, she later regards him with hatred. It is she that confronts the facts and also forces her parents to confront them as well when she says:

"My dear parents... things cannot go on like this. You may not realise it, but I do. I will not pronounce my brother's name in front of this monstrosity, and so all I will say is: We must try to get rid of it. We have done everything humanly possible to look after it and put up with it; I do not believe there is anything we can be reproached for."

This, of course, is the ultimate betrayal that arguably is responsible for Gregor's death as he faces the way that even the most seemingly stable and solid affections have turned against him thanks to his transformation.

Of course, although it is his mother who is dragged along by the will of the others, his father, from the first day, makes his animosity known towards his son. Note how he tries to crush Gregor. Gregor reflects on the size of his father's boot soles, but not for long:

But he did not dwell on this; after all, from the very first day of his new life, he had known that the father viewed only the utmost severity as appropriate for dealing with him.

Above all, the change in relationship is characterised by the way in which the family celebrate and are happy when Gregor finally dies and leaves them to focus on the future and live a happy life.

Interesting questions! In Franz Kafka’s story “The Metamorphosis” the unusual events and attitudes incite numerous questions in the readers’ minds. Although the book was first published over a hundred years ago, questions still remain about the characters and events in “The Metamorphosis.” For example, some readers still discuss Gregor’s transformation, his relationship with his family, and even his death.

Beginning with Gregor’s transformation, Gregor suddenly transformed from a human into a bug. When Gregor awoke one morning, he discovered that he had transformed overnight. Although this startling and monolithic transformation would have shocked numerous individuals, Gregor appeared to merely continue with his day, focusing on the stress of work and other daily struggles. As his own thoughts reveal:

“what a demanding job I’ve chosen! Day in, day out on the road. The stresses of trade are much greater than the work going on at head office, and, in addition to that, I have to deal with the problems of traveling, the worries about train connections, irregular bad food, temporary and constantly changing human relationships which never come from the heart.”

This reaction to the transformation illustrates Gregor’s profound focus on the providing for his family. He had lost his sight of enjoying life or even his own self-worth. Instead, he prioritized his life around work and providing for his family.

Throughout the story, it is revealed that Gregor provided for his family. Although he despised his job, he continued to work to meet his family’s financial needs. Despite this concern for his family’s well-being, Gregor failed to demonstrate a closeness with his family. For example, he did not realize some of the more intimate knowledge about his loved ones, such as their true financial situation and their ability for self-independence. As Gregor’s thoughts reveal, he believed that his father was too old, his mother was too frail, and his sister was too young to work. However, when Gregor was no longer able to work, they all started working and expressed their own independence. As the text reveals:

"Gregor found out clearly enough (for his father tended to repeat himself often in his explanations, partly because he had not personally concerned himself with these matters for a long time now, and partly also because his mother did not understand everything right away the first time) that, in spite all bad luck, a fortune, although a very small one, was available from the old times, which the interest (which had not been touched) had in the intervening time gradually allowed to increase a little. Furthermore, in addition to this, the money which Gregor had brought home every month (he had kept only a few florins for himself) had not been completely spent and had grown into a small capital amount."

Lastly, readers have argued about Gregor’s death for many years. Although his death seems rather abrupt, there are other factors to consider. Foremost, Gregor did not seem to value his own life. At the story’s beginning, Gregor was not concerned about his own transformation or its impact on him, but rather he focused on supporting his family and his job. Thus, when he realized that he was a burden to his family, he no longer had a desire to live. As the text explains:

“But Gregor did not have any notion of wishing to create problems for anyone and certainly not for his sister.”

Thus, after he realized this, Gregor passed away. His injuries and lack of nourishment, which had been ignored, finally stopped aching and he slipped into a state of peace. As the text illustrates:

“The rotten apple in his back and the inflamed surrounding area, entirely covered with white dust, he hardly noticed. He remembered his family with deep feeling and love. In this business, his own thought that he had to disappear was, if possible, even more decisive than his sister’s. He remained in this state of empty and peaceful reflection until the tower clock struck three o’clock in the morning. From the window he witnessed the beginning of the general dawning outside. Then without willing it, his head sank all the way down, and from his nostrils flowed out weakly out his last breath."

Therefore, Gregor’s life and death incite numerous questions into the readers’ minds. However, when considering the book’s entirety, the ending provides a fairly satisfactory death for Gregor. Throughout his life, he supported his family to the point of neglecting himself and (after realizing his burden on the family) he offered the same sacrifice in his death.