History Literature / TheMetamorphosis

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: The characters have a fairly dull reaction to Gregor's inexplicable transformation into a giant bug. It's treated as a burden rather than a horrific and traumatizing sight that forces them to question reality. The family's relative lack of reaction has led some people to interpret the story as [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness Gregor only]] ''[[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness thinking]]'' he has become an insect.

* ButtMonkey: Gregor. Poor Gregor. And he was this even ''before'' the aforementioned transformation.

* WasOnceAMan: Poor Gregor.

* LackOfEmpathy: Gregor's father never shows concern or compassion to his son and sees taking care of him as a horrible burden, even after all he's done for the family. At the end, [[spoiler:when Gregor finally dies and they're no longer burdened by him, his father is annoyed with his wife and daughter grieving over him.]]

* NiceGuy: Gregor is nice to a fault. He cares deeply for his family and never shows even a hint of justified resentment at how they treat him. Even after his transformation, he is more concerned with being a burden to them and is wracked with guilt about it, [[spoiler: even letting himself die so they can be happy without worrying about him]].
* NoSympathy: From his father and manager. Only Grete and Gregor's mother give him any sympathy as a bug, but never in his presence. Gradually, they, too, grow tired of him.

* BigCreepyCrawlies: What poor Gregor turns into, if you take his transformation literally.

* CreepyCockroach: Well, Gregor's never ''explicitly'' said to be a cockroach, but the descriptions seem pretty close.
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Aging / disability, and regretting not taking a chance in your life as well as the horrifically callous way people with mental illness are treated.

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:Gregor dies so that his family can move on.]]
* ElegantClassicalMusician: Grete, though she's not a professional violinist.
* ExtremeDoormat: Gregor to his bosses at work and family at home. No wonder he turned into a bug.

* InformedDeformity: In its Theater adaptation, for obvious reasons.
* {{Jerkass}}: The [[TerribleTrio three boarders]] Gregor's family take in by the latter portion of the story, going by the implication that they mucked up everyone's usual schedules out of sheer stubbornness. Scowling while they watch Grete play the violin for them because she apparently doesn't fit their standards (when ''they'' asked her to play the first place) doesn't get them any NiceGuy points either.

* LackOfEmpathy: Gregor's parents never show even the slightest concern or compassion to their son and make clear they see taking care of him as a horrible burden, even after all he's done for them. They actively celebrate when [[spoiler: he finally dies and they no longer feel burdened by him.]]
* LazyBum: Gregor's parents, who putter around the house all day, every day, while he works himself to the bone all day, every day, to pay off their debts and provide for them. Rather than seeing his transformation as an opportunity to pay him back for years of taking care of them, they're annoyed by what a ''burden'' it is to take care of him.

* LowSpeedChase: The chase at the end of part II didn't look like an actual chase, with Gregor scurring away when the father just takes a few steps. It ends when the father decides to throw apples, one of which gets lodged in the back (eventually becoming a fatal injury).
* MadwomanInTheAttic: Gregor, after being turned into a bug, is kept locked in his room for the remainder of the novel, and every time he tries to exit his room, he's chased back in.
* MenAreTheExpendableGender: This is arguably the main theme of the story. Just look at the tropes on this page and it’s pretty clear why.
* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: Gregor is technically able to talk to his family at first, but begins to acquire more insect-like behaviors over time.

* MindScrew

* NiceGuy: Gregor, almost to a fault. He cares deeply for his family and never shows even a hint of justified resentment at how they treat him. Even after his transformation, he is more concerned with being a burden to them and is wracked with guilt about it, [[spoiler: even letting himself die so they can be happy without worrying about him]].

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler: Gregor dies while both of his parents are still alive.]] They don't seem too broken up about it either.
* PopCultureOsmosis: How many people know more about this play than it simply being the one where the guy turns into a cockroach? It doesn't help is the only consistently known work of the author due to being one of the very few which is actually complete.
* RiddleForTheAges: Why did Gregor turn into an insect? The story gives no explanation, and the characters, including Gregor himself don't even try to find one. This raises the question as to if he actually transformed at all or only believes he did.

* TransformationFiction: Possibly the most famous example in history.
* UngratefulBastard: Gregor's family. They live off the fruits of his hard work, do little else to help him, and the very second he turns into a bug, they're quick to discard him, though Grete does care of him for a while.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: The characters have a fairly dull reaction to Gregor's inexplicable transformation into a giant bug, all things considered. It's treated as a burden rather than a horrific and traumatizing sight that forces them to question reality. The family's relative lack of reaction has led some people to interpret the story as [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness Gregor only]] ''[[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness thinking]]'' he has become an insect. His family is reacting to his bizarre behavior and insect-like sounds, not his appearance.

* WellDoneSonGuy: Gregor's feelings towards his father, who violently disowns him after his transformation.
* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Gregor is on the receiving end of this the second he turns into an insect.

* YoungestChildWins: Grete, the little sister who works as a salesgirl, moves on to a better life in the end. Although the final lines indicate that the parents are seeing how they can use her in the same way they did Gregor.

* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler: Gregor dies while his parents are still alive.]] They don't seem too broken up about it either.

* RiddleForTheAges: Why did Gregor turn into an insect? The story gives no explanation, and the characters, including Gregor himself don't even try to find one.

* WorldOfSymbolism: One theory (among many, many, many) is that turning into a bug represents mental disease -- Gregor can't care for his family anymore because of his illness, no one understands him, and his family must look after him because he is rejected by society.

* BalefulPolymorph: Being involuntarily transformed into an insect causes problems for Gregor and his family.

* BalefulPolymorph: being involuntarily transformed into an insect causes problems for Gregor and his family.

** Furthermore, did Gregor actually turn into an insect or only imagine that he did due to is extremely damaged mental state? This is also never answered either way.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: The book heavily implies that Gregor only believes he's transformed into a bug and his condition is simply severe depression and a nervous breakdown brought on by his brutal work schedule and family struggles, an interpretation mostly supported by how none of them react to his transformation as anything unusual, but never definitively states the nature of the situation one way or the other.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Aging / disability, and regretting not taking a chance in your life.

* LackOfEmpathy: Gregor's parents never show even the slightest concern or compassion to their son and make clear they see taking care of him as a horrible burden. They actively celebrate when [[spoiler: he finally dies and they no longer feel burdened by him.]]

** One of countless interpretations of the story is that Gregor turned into a bug because he'd been treated like a lowly, verminous insect by his family and employers for so long that his body eventually reflected his self-image ([[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness if he transformed at all]]).

* {{LackOfEmpathy}}: Gregor's parents never show even the slightest concern or compassion to their son and make clear they see taking care of him as a horrible burden. They actively celebrate when [[spoiler: he finally dies and they no longer feel burdened by him.]]

* TransformationFiction

* YoungestChildWins: Grete, the little sister who works as a salesgirl, moves on to a better life in the end.

* PopCultureOsmosis: How many people know more about this play than it simply being [[TheOneWith the one where the guy turns into a cockroach]]? It doesn't help is the only consistently known work of the author due to being one of the very few which is actually complete.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Aging, and regretting not taking a chance in your life.

* {{Animorphism}}: as noted in the description, the story begins with a character transformed into an insect.

** The father especially given how he beats up Gregor twice, bellows at his son for not going to work without looking to see if he is ill claiming everyone is tired despite sleeping in everyday and keeps money from his collapsed company (Gregor is working to pay off the debts) as well as some of Gregor's income. When called out on the last point claims that he did the right thing despite one of the main reasons for Gregor's state was the extreme pressure and working conditions.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Gregor dies, Greta will not become a musician, and their parents don't really care.]]

* HeroicSuicide: [[spoiler:In his opinion. His family is grateful, but not to him.]]

* BodyHorror

* {{Animorphism}}

* PopCultureOsmosis: How many people know more about this play than it simply being [[TheOneWith the one where the guy turns into a cockroach]]? It doesn't help is the only consistent known work of the author due to being one of the very few who is actually complete.

-->'''Vladimir Nabokov:''' This is a very nice observation on my part to be treasured all your lives. Some Gregors, some Joes and Janes, [[TearJerker do not know that they have wings]].

* ThatThingIsNotMyChild: Gregor Samsa's family [[TearJerker slowly stops believing the bug was ever their son to begin with]], [[spoiler:and eventually just leave him to die alone in his room.]]

* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: The characters have a fairly dull reaction to Gregor's inexplicable transformation into a giant bug, all things considered. It's treated as a burden rather than a horrific and traumatizing sight that forces them to question reality. The family's relative lack of reaction has led some people [[AlternateCharacterInterpretation to interpret the story]] as [[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness Gregor only]] ''[[ThroughTheEyesOfMadness thinking]]'' he has become an insect. His family is reacting to his bizarre behavior and insect-like sounds, not his appearance.

* DrivenToSuicide:[[spoiler: Gregor dies so that his family can move on.]]

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** [[spoiler:HeroicSuicide: In his opinion. His family is grateful, but not to him.]]

* InformedDeformity: In its {{Theater}} adaptation, for obvious reasons.
* JerkAss: The [[TerribleTrio three boarders]] Gregor's family take in by the latter portion of the story, going by the implication that they mucked up everyone's usual schedules out of sheer stubbornness. Scowling while they watch Grete play the violin for them because she apparently doesn't fit their standards (when ''they'' asked her to play the first place) doesn't get them any NiceGuy points either.

''The Metamorphosis'' (German: ''Die Verwandlung'') is a 1915 novella by Creator/FranzKafka, about the salesman Gregor Samsa who wakes up one day to find he has been [[InvoluntaryTransformation inexplicably transformed]] into a gigantic cockroach-insect... thing, focusing primarily on his attempts to cope with this situation and his family's attempts to continue their life, of which Gregor was the breadwinner.