On Grete and Why I Don't Like Her // Emmett Bryant

 This story had me feeling several different ways. First I was entirely mind blown by how Gregor was responding to his predicament. I can only imagine how I would react if I woke up and realized I had become some kind of eight-legged bug over night. I would be terrified, to say the least. But no, Gregor instead takes this new development in stride and worries about other things: his job, his social life, his sister, his parents' debt. Because he is late for work he has nothing on his mind except trying to get out of bed and on the next train so that he doesn't end up losing his job. But, Gregor/s strangeness aside, my real beef is with Grete. 

After realizing her brother has turned into an insect, Grete almost seems to be his caretaker and worries about his wellbeing (bringing him food and whatnot). But sooner than later she begins to neglect even doing that and begins to see Gregor as entirely an insect with no humanity left. While reading this section of the story my heart almost hurt for Gregor because if only he could let his family know he was still in there, some relief would come to him. After tensions rise in the family over Gregor's situation and trying to make ends meet, Grete convinces the family that none of Gregor is left in the insect and that they would all be better off if he just left. Do what?! At this point Grete really started to infuriate me. I understand the family's situation, they had no way of knowing there was any part of Gregor left, but come on! That was their son and brother. Of course Gregor understood this entire conversation and no doubt it broke his heart in two. And then after Gregor dies the story ends by signaling Grete's own metamorphosis into a woman and how the circumstances with Gregor shaped her. Sure, the idea of her becoming a woman and reaching adulthood is beautiful in and of itself but why does Gregor's "curse" and death have to be what motivates it? I don't know, maybe I was just holding onto the hope that somehow, someway, Gregor could still be apart of the family, but for the entire story to end with images of Grete maturing and Gregor dead really left a bad taste in my mouth and a dislike for Grete. 

I commented on Joshua Naqvi and Hailey Walsh's posts. 

Comments

  1. Abigale BellJanuary 24, 2022 at 9:47 AM

    I had the same impression of Grete. Although, I can sympathize with her to a certain extent. I wonder if my brother turned into a giant insect and I couldn't understand him I would have eventually acted the same way. There was no trace of humanity left in Gregor from Grete's perspective. It probably became very hard to hold on to her view of him as her brother as the months dragged on.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Joshua NaqviJanuary 24, 2022 at 12:29 PM

    Yes I could not agree more. Grete is despicable. I do realize that Gregor's insect form is terrifying, however it is not his fault. He never asked to be that way, and I am sure he would gladly have changed it if possible. Grete was taking care of his basic needs. She fed him literal trash twice a day, and would sweep up the room. I hardly consider that to be strenuous labor. Even if however, her labor was toilsome, Gregor is family. Emmett, good job with that simple yet profound acknowledgment. Grete is family. One would think that family sticks together no matter what, but that was sadly not the case. In fact, that is not the case in the real world either, there are many who treat their siblings as Grete did.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A House Divided//Emily Otts

The words Jesus spoke in Matthew 12 remind me so much of this play: "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand." (Matthew 12:25) King Lear, at the end of the day, is about a family being divided multiple ways. These divisions arise over greed and hatred for one another and cause the whole family to be ruined because of it. King Lear first divides the kingdom after his daughter Cordelia does not proclaim her love to him, so he banishes her. Later, his daughters go against him for not doing as they asked, believing he is unfit and unworthy to be king, secretly plotting against him. But all of this comes to a head in Act 5. After capturing King Lear and Cordelia, Edmund plans to have them killed. You would believe the sisters would be able to work together because their plan is working, but an even greater division has risen between them. Both of them wish to have Edmund for themselves, and they plot against each o...
Read more

The Plague in Everyone// Emily Otts

     In part 4 of the Plague , Tarrou tells Rieux about how he has had the plague forever. Except, this is not the same plague as the one ravaging the town. Tarrou speaks of how his father was a lawyer who believed in the death penalty, how he saw so many people support it and be comfortable about it, and how he had to witness the executions of prisoners. He explains how this sort of mindset is a plague itself, one Tarrou had been fighting for a long time. " That's why everybody in the world looks so tired; everyone is more or less sick of plague. But that is also why some of us, those who want to get the plague out of their systems, feel such desperate weariness, a weariness from which nothing remains to set us free except death" (Camus, part 4, chapter 6). Tarrou wants to desperately not submit to such awful ways of thinking.      Tarrou does not realize it, but the plague he is talking about is sin. Everyone has it, some people give in to it and let...
Read more

The Thirst for Knowledge

     With Book Seven of Milton's Paradise Lost, Raphael is continuing his exposition on Satan's apostasy. The plan is to expose Adam and Eve to the wretched fate of those who cross God's will. The more he shed's light on the subject, however, the more Adam is inclined to ask for more information. He wants to know everything about the subject, as well as God and His creation.      However, while the taste of such knowledge leaves Adam yearning for more, there are boundaries. It is like a toddler eating a cookie... and eventually begging her mother for the rest of the jar. Is it a coincidence that the one thing Adam and Eve are not to touch is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil? Most readers know how the story ends: these toddlers are never going to be content with a few cookies. They're going in for the jar.   There is a statement in the Bible that is constantly being repeated throughout the Old Testament: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of ...
Read more