Sympathy

In Franz Kafka’s story “The Metamorphosis” the reader is meant to sympathize with Gregor, the protagonist. In section three we can see the obvious neglect of Gregor, “His sister no longer took thought to bring him what might especially please him, but in the morning and at noon before she went to business hurriedly pushed into his room with her foot any food that was available, and in the evening cleared it out again wit one sweep of the broom, heedless of whether it had been merely tasted, or - as most frequently happened- left untouched."(125) Gregor used to be the provider for the whole family. Like leaches they took advantage of Gregor and his hard work so they could live a lazy life style. Now that Gregor is unable to provide for them they feel no connection to him anymore. They neglect and abuse him when he needs love and support the most. This quote shows how Gregor is trying to get attention but his actions are misinterpreted and he fails to be noticed by the non-caring household. His sister thinks of him as being a chore and doesn't give him any attention. Instead of being a person Gregor has been dehumanized to pest or merely an unwanted chore. Gregor is being treated as a prisoner in his own house by his own family. It is easy to sympathize with Gregor. He is miss treated, miss understood, and dehumanized.