"The Metamorphosis" Close Reading

A turning point in “The Metamorphosis” occurs when Grete announces that the family should get rid of Gregor.  Grete starts the conversation by “striking the table with her hand” (47). This contrasts from the first image of Grete, who appeared as a meek little girl crying in her bedroom. When referring to Gregor, Grete says they “have to try to get rid of it” (47). Instead of referring to Gregor as “him”, Grete chooses the pronoun “it”. Grete has now succeeded in further dehumanizing Gregor. However, this may be purposeful, because it is easier to hate Gregor when he is considered to be a bug rather than a person. Grete claims that they have “tried all that humanly possible to take care of it” (47). This word choice is very ironic, considering tried everything humanly possible to take care of Gregor, who is not human. This represents the fact that his family didn’t truly do everything they could to take care of Gregor, especially as more time continued to pass. Grete continues by saying “when people have to work as hard as all of us, they can’t stand this perpetual torment at home, as well”. Here is another instance of irony. Before his transformation, Gregor was the family member who worked endlessly and came home to an ungrateful family. Gregor was the only family member who worked, and the other members put off working for as long as possible after the transformation. Grete is complaining that they work too hard, yet she has no consideration for the fact that this used to be Gregor’s life. Even now, the family can’t appreciate how hard Gregor was working to support them.

            The father contemplates the idea that Gregor can understand them, yet Grete “shakes her hand violently to indicate that was out of the question” (47). The father happens to be correct, since Gregor can in fact understand what they are saying. Grete, on the other hand, is incorrect, even though she had designated herself to be the authority on Gregor. Grete is too self-confident to even consider that she is wrong in something concerning Gregor.  

            Overall, this passage contains irony in the family’s treatment of Gregor. The family struggles with the contradicting images as Gregor as a person and Gregor as a bug. In the end, the family decides to completely disregard Gregor’s human value, and treat him as a pest which must be removed.

Poetry Out Loud Poem Reflection

The poem I chose is “At the Vietnam Memorial” by George Bilgere. This poem conveys meaning and emotion without using challenging devices. One of the things that attracted me to the poem was its seemingly straight-forward nature, yet at the same time the poem encompasses a lot of emotion. The first two stanzas give no indication of being related to the title. The narrator describes a boy named Paul Castle, who in the students’ eyes is perfect. His name is printed in gold on the wall, which shows that he is revered and special. The narrator recalls watching Paul run, and even at his age, he would surpass all of the other runners.

            However, it is also implied that Paul is cocky, as he rarely talked to younger students or athletes who are not near his level. The narrator appears not to care, however, because he can tell that Paul is planning to do great things with his life. In the third stanza, the flashback ends and the narrator is reading his name once again. This time, he is reading Paul’s name on the Vietnam Memorial. He compares his shadow to the other students when in Paul’s presence, saying they drift obscurely without recognition. According to the narrator, once again he is left speechless while in Paul is memorialized.

            I like how this poem honors the soldiers that lost their lives in the Vietnam War, yet none of that is explicitly stated. The soldiers are described as being the ideal citizens, who all the other people look up to and strive to become. Even many years after school, the narrator can remember how Paul symbolized success.

            This poem reminded me of my grandma. He was in the Navy for many years, and he tells me stories of the friendship and respect between everyone. Whenever something went wrong, everyone was there for each other despite any possible feelings of hostility. Even though the narrator was not friends with Paul, he still mourns his death.