The Metamorphosis Study Guide

Gregor Samsa, a hardworking traveling salesman, awoke one morning and found himself transformed into a gigantic beetle. Looking down at his body, Gregor saw a brown plated abdomen and several thin legs waving helplessly. There was no explanation, and he remembered having slept badly. His small room remained familiar to him. There was the same suitcase full of cloth samples laying in wait, and the same photo of a young girl hung on the wall. The dismal rain made Gregor long to roll over and forget "all this nonsense." Yet, he couldn't return onto the side he favored sleeping on, due to his new beetle-shaped form. He tried rocking back and forth for a while, and during these desperate exertions, he abruptly thought, "what an exhausting job I've chosen." (read more)