"These had been fine times"

Gregor is always giving his parents, and sister, everything he possibly can. He's always striving to provide everything for them, and always pretending to be content by this. In actuality, Gregor craves attention and appreciation from his parents. By using neutral language, Kafka portrays Gregor as nonchalant, yet in this neutral diction we can see Gregor's need for recognition: 

"...hard cash which he could lay  on the table before his amazed and happy family. These had been fine times, and they had never recurred, at least not with the same sense of glory, although later on Gregor had earned so much money that he was able to meet the expenses of the whole household and did so. They had simply gotten used to it, both the family and Gregor; the money was gratefully accepted and gladly given, but there was no special outpouring of warm feeling." (Kafka 78)

When Gregor's family was "amazed and happy", Gregor feels that this was a "fine time", however, now the family has "simply gotten used to it", no longer amazed, no longer considering it to be a great achievement of Gregor's. Even though Gregor "gladly" gives money to his family, its clear that he is disappointed because "there was no special outpouring of warm feeling", but never does he emphasize on this point. Yet we can also see that in the beginning of the passage, when the narrator is speaking about the problems that Gregor's father, and family have faced, Kafka uses very dramatic diction. Words like "imprisonment", "sole desire", "utmost", "catastrophe", "overwhelmed", and "despair" are all put together, in sentence after sentence. This shows us how much the fall of Gregor's father's business has effected Gregor, and how important it is to him. Even though Gregor doesn't get the attention he deserves for helping, he still feels as though it his his "sole desire" to help, regardless of the recognition. We can also see the relationship between Gregor and his father, when Gregor says "... and of course he had not asked him directly." (77). This shows that Gregor doesn't feel close enough to his father to discuss things about the old business. This however contrasts to how Gregor feels with his sister, a relationship which is directly characterized as "intimate", which is also shown through Gregor's high hopes and dreams for his sister. By wanting to send her to study at the Conservatory, Gregor is going against his father's wishes, yet he disregards this despite his obvious fear of his father, showing his obvious care for his sister. This is where the readers can see that because his affection for his sister is above his consideration for his father, Gregor doesn't always want to be submissive, a mask he wears for the sake of his family. 

"Gregor really felt quite well"...and was a bug.

     Something I thought was really strange in Part I of Metamorphosis (by Franz Kafka), was that Gregor, the protagonist, didn't seem very bothered by fact that he had turned into an insect overnight. Gregor wakes up with an "armor-plated back", a "domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments", and "numerous legs", and he even acknowledges that this change is not part of a dream. Yet strangely, he seems unconcerned.
     "What has happened to me? he thought. It was no dream" (Kafka 53) and yes, thats all that is said, never again in Part I does he wonder what is wrong with him. "Gregor really felt quite well, apart from a drowsiness that was quite inexcusable after such a long sleep, and he was even unusually hungry"(55)...uh, Gregor? FYI, You're a bug. So why does he feel "quite well"? I seriously cannot say.
     He describes his transformation as a "predicament", a "circumstance", or "morning delusions", but even when he realizes it isn't a delusion, he doesn't seem to be very disturbed by it. Frankly, Gregor is more worried about the fact that he's late for work than the fact that he's transformed into an insect. "Heavenly Father! he thought. It was half-past six and the hands were quietly moving on" (55). This honestly makes no sense to me whatsoever. Someone needs to go back and change this to: Heavenly Father! he thought. I AM NOT HUMAN ANYMORE, WHAAAAAAAT?!!!!
     "The next train went at seven o'clock; to catch that he would need to hurry like mad and his samples weren't even packed, and he himself wasn't feeling particularly fresh and energetic" (55). Yeah, Greg, I can't think of any reasons why you might not be fresh and energetic at the moment... Why is he even thinking about catching a train, doesn't he realize that he's not really a human being anymore? This is also whats strange, because he does realize, yet all he cares about is catching this seven o'clock train and going to work. "Before it strikes a quarter past seven I absolutely must be quite out of this bed, without fail" (58). It's sad that getting to work is so important to him. It shows how he's almost been "trained" to think this way, to go to work a job he doesn't even like. Gregor, is chained to his job by the debt of his parents, and because of that he must be obedient, almost like a dog, or any other pet. Gregor doesn't care that he's a bug, because he's become so docile and submissive, that his only goal is to work, to pay of his parents debt, everything else isn't considered.
     It's almost like as long he's alive, bug or no bug, he is expected to work. These expectations are not only made my others, but they're also made by himself.