On the Characterization of Gregor Samsa

What Gregor might have looked like, but much, much larger.

Gregor Samsa the protagonist of this story, he lives a relatively solitary lifestyle, as he is not home most of the time because of his job. He works as a “commercial traveller” which is practically the same thing as what we know as a traveling salesman. Because of his current job situation he is a lonely person, pursuing no relationships. This observation is further strengthened by the fact that he keeps what appears to be a pin-up poster on the wall of his room, and after turning into a beetle it is one of the things he guards, clinging to it desperately. He strongly dislikes his job, but he is dedicated to it, because he feels he has an obligation to his family to keep his family financially stable and cared for, and most importantly to pay off his father’s debt to his boss.

A major factor of Gregor’s character is that he accepts many of the things around him, and happening to him, positive and negative, as fact and without complaint. Whatever body he is in this factor does not change, as even when he becomes a beetle he accepts the things going on around him. When he is has to work to pay off his father’s debt, without questioning why his father or even the rest of his family is not working as well, he does his job. When he turns in to a beetle, he accepts it without question. These are two fine examples of another, similar characteristic of Gregor; he does not ask “why?” Gregor never inquires about the larger picture of the things going on around him. It could be said that Gregor is narrow sighted on his outlook on life because he never bothers to look off the path in front of him.

A redeeming characteristic of Gregor is his dedication. Even after he has become a beetle, he believes he must still go in to work, to support his family. He ignores (or at least doesn’t question) the fact that he is a giant, man-sized, beetle, and giant beetles aren’t exactly common. He doesn’t even consider that someone may try and kill him because he is a “monster”, he only thinks of his dedication to support his family.