Summary: In The Metamorphosis, Gregor wakes up as a big giant bug. He is unable to communicate with his family. Instead of his family trying to help and be there for Gregor, he becomes shunned and thought of as a burden. The only person that tries to help him is his sister, Greta. As time passes, Greta begins to grow tired of Gregor as well and thinks of him as a burden. Through much more difficulties and hardship among the Samsa family, Gregor begins to feel alienated and isolated from the rest of his family. He is locked up in his room and his family forbids that any guests see his transformation. With the alienation from society and his family, Gregor grows depressed and eventually dies.
Gregor's alienation: Before his transformation, little information is given about Gregor's typical life. He works a stable job that he hates merely for the income to support his family. He loves his family and he is the sole source of income. It is implied in the novel that he is socially detached from society as he does not socially interact with others so much. However, after his transformation, Gregor's alienation is much more enforced. With his family except his sister, unable to look at him, Gregor is shunned. He is not allowed to leave his room nor let the guests see him. This contributes to Gregor's self-esteem and eventually this leads to his death at the end of the novel.
Elements of existentialism/alienation in The Metamorphosis: The main character Gregor realizes his own individualism in the beginning of the novel when he wakes up to discover that he has become a bug. This transformation causes distance to be formed between the people around him as they alienate him because he is a bug. Because of all of these changes Gregor feels different and separate from the rest of society as well as humanity. Although much of it is out of his control, Gregor is forced to be alienated from society in his bedroom. He is not allowed to see guests -- even his own parents refuse to look at him.
