Gregor Samsa is a bug. He is detested because he is useless and pitied because he is weak. Kafka uses third person narration to create mixed feelings for Gregor by allowing the reader to feel close to him and distance from him. The distance between Gregor and the narrator can be seen at the beginning of the novel when Gregor is first transformed into a bug. Gregor wakes up, accepts the fact that he has quite a few more appendages, and attempts to head off to work. It’s hard for the reader to relate to Gregor because while most would pose the question “why?”, Gregor merely accepts and continues on. Although there is distance between Gregor and the narrator, closeness is also attained at the same time. Later on in the novel, Gregor is cast aside by his family and the reader feels a sense of pity towards Gregor because he is so feeble and pathetic. Grete is the only one who seems to still love Gregor. But that love changes just as Gregor changes and becomes more and more insect-like. Kafka uses third person narration very effectively and is able to describe Gregor as a bug, both literally and figuratively.
Gregor is detested by the narrator because he is viewed as unimportant and puny. Gregor’s main purpose in life is to work and provide for his family, even if that means lacking a social life. Gregor describes his personal acquaintances as “temporary and constantly changing human relationships which never come from the heart” (2). Since Gregor feels he must provide for the family, he denies himself friends and he denies himself love. He tries to make up for this with “a picture of a woman with a fur hat and a fur boa” (1), which truly shows how pathetic Gregor has become. Gregor is not able to make his own decisions about what he wants to do because his work schedule for Mr. Manager, his boss, is so tight that work becomes his life. “For instance, when I come back to the inn during the course of the morning to write up the necessary orders, these gentlemen are...