Chapter: 04. A Strange Transformation
Comprehension
A. Answer these questions.
Describe Gregor after the transformation. After the transformation, Gregor is a monstrous, verminous bug. He lies on his “armour-hard back,” has a “brown, arched abdomen divided up into rigid bow-like sections,” and numerous “pitifully thin” legs that flicker helplessly. His voice has changed into a “painful squeaking.” What was Gregor’s profession? Describe what he felt about his job. Gregor’s profession was a travelling salesman. He felt that his job was very “demanding,” involved “stresses of trade,” problems with travel, “irregular bad food,” and temporary, impersonal human relationships. He found it tiresome and thought it made a man “quite idiotic.” Why did Gregor continue with his job? What was his goal in life? Gregor continued with his job “for my parents’ sake.” His goal was to earn enough money to pay off his parents’ debt to his boss, which he estimated would take “another five or six years.” After that, he planned to “make the big break” and quit. What was Gregor thinking about when his mother called out to him? When his mother called out to him, Gregor was thinking about how late it was, that he had missed his train, and that he would inevitably face a “blowup with the manager” because of his tardiness and the unpacked sample collection. He was also struggling to make the decision to get out of bed. What did Gregor’s voice sound like? Gregor’s voice sounded like his earlier voice, but it was “intermingled, as if from below, a painful squeaking.” Why couldn’t Gregor get out of his bed? Gregor couldn’t get out of his bed because he had transformed into a bug and was “unusually wide.” He lacked arms and hands to push himself upright, and his many small limbs moved continuously with “very different motions” that he was “unable to control,” making any attempt to move excessively painful. B. Answer these questions with reference to the context.
“Why don’t I keep sleeping for a little while longer and forget all this foolishness?” a. Who says these words and to whom? These words are said by Gregor Samsa to himself (internal monologue). b. What is the ‘foolishness’ being referred to here? The ‘foolishness’ refers to his bizarre and terrifying transformation into a monstrous bug. c. Is the speaker able to sleep longer? Give a reason for your answer. No, the speaker is not able to sleep longer. The reason is that in his new bug form, he could not get himself into his usual sleeping position (on his right side) and kept rolling back onto his armour-hard back, making it impossible to sleep comfortably. “Something has fallen in there” a. Who says these words and to whom? These words are said by the manager to himself or generally to those present in the apartment’s outer room (likely Gregor’s parents or the servant girl), as he hears a noise from Gregor’s room. b. What is the ‘something’ being referred to here? The ‘something’ refers to Gregor Samsa, who has just swung himself out of bed and landed on the carpet with a “loud thud.” c. How has the ‘something’ fallen? The ‘something’ (Gregor) has fallen by swinging himself “with all his might out of the bed” due to his transformed, uncontrollable bug body. He landed with a “loud thud” that was somewhat absorbed by the carpet, and he also hit his head. 
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