The parents are hard working people, and they show respect for those who contribute something. Finances tend to bring a level of stress on anybody, but this was much more for the family not only because of the amount of loss they had endured, but also the new burden Gregor posed.

Instead of the peace that he had envisioned for himself and his wife, they are stuck working and taking care of what used to be their desired son. So this is the peace of my old age” (Kafka 322), the father’s disgruntledness is justifiable, since this would be his point of retirement. Gregor’s father was set off by their predicament, and continued to maintain a job in spite of his age and physical injuries. They never had to work or worry financially, achieving a level of leisure and comfort that they had adjusted to. The parents loved the way of life they had achieved pre-metamorphosis. They rented out a room and each acquired their own job, grudgingly. The family shut him out and began to realize they were forced to depend on themselves. Without his work, Gregor lost his own status in life. The metamorphosis was not only a physical transformation, but also the transformation of Gregor as he finally began to realize what he was in the eyes of society and his parasitic family, and with the metamorphosis came not only clarity, but his demise. He was to do nothing more but provide the service that he was responsible for. Gregor was seen by his family and the community around him as a worker. 'Gregor Samsa's transformation into vermin presents self-alienation in a literal way, not merely a customary metaphor become fictional fact No manner more drastic could illustrate the alienation of a consciousness from its own being than Gregor Samsa's startled and startling awakening' (Sokel 216). Critic Walter Sokel noted that Gregor only served those around him. He would never serve the purpose that he, himself, would’ve wanted. Gregor realized that he was simply a slave to the society around him and his family. Then I’ll cut myself completely free” (Kafka 303).

“Well, there’s hope yet as soon as I’ve saved enough money to pay back what my parents owe him- that should take another five or six years- I’ll go do it for sure.

It was clear that Gregor did not want to work but did so out of obligation Gregor was too dependent on his family to do this, he relied on his family emotionally as they used to depend on him financially. Throughout the story it was displayed that Gregor wanted to benefit his family while they deprived Gregor of what he wanted. Pre-metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa was the financial backbone, providing more than enough to pay off his family's debt to his superior, and allowing them to live comfortably. A parasite is an organism that lives in or on another organism (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the host's expense.

Kafka the cockroach