The Metamorphosis — Why does Gregor worry about work on the morning he changes?

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The MetamorphosisFranz Kafka
The Metamorphosis cover
A figure in a dark room pulls a thread attached to a clock

Gregor wakes to find himself transformed into an insect. Almost at once, he worries about missing the train to work.

A blue thread descends from above and reaches a clock on the floor

He wants to quit his job, but stays to pay off his parents' debt. He thinks it will take years.

A crouching figure and a plate sit outside a closed door

His sister brings him different foods, trying to learn what he can still eat.

One chair stands empty at a family dining table

Each member of the family starts working. The sister who once chose his food eventually pushes whatever is at hand into his room.

A bag hangs on a dark door as a long shadow stretches away

Gregor hears his family through the door. They can no longer understand his voice.

A hand reaches toward a phone beside a bed

Imagine calling in sick: you type and delete the message. Before saying you need rest, you explain how you'll make up the work.

The figure and clock from the first scene appear again

Gregor's body has changed. The way his family cares for him changes too. What else in that house has undergone a metamorphosis?

Questions the book leaves

If I could no longer prove my usefulness, would I still treat myself as the same person?

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