The Metamorphosis Society and Class Quotes Page 1
Citations follow this format: (Part.Chapter.Paragraph). We used Stanley Corngold's translation.
| Quote #1 Over the table, on which an unpacked line of fabric samples was all spread out – Samsa was a traveling salesman (1.2) |
We don't get many details about Gregor's room, but the few details that we do get suggest that Gregor has very few extracurricular activities. He's a man devoted to his work and not much else.
| Quote #2 "Oh God," he thought, "what a grueling job I've picked! […] I've got the torture of traveling, worrying about changing trains, eating miserable food at all hours, constantly seeing new faces, no relationships that last or get more intimate." (1.4) |
The life of a traveling salesman should look awfully good to someone who just got turned into a vermin, but that's not the case for Gregor. Gregor views the transient life of a traveling salesman as, well, dehumanizing. It's an asocial and physically grueling lifestyle.
| Quote #3 He was a tool of the boss, without brains or backbone. (1.6) |
The inhuman aspect of Gregor's job is emphasized here. You could say it's worse than being a vermin: Gregor is reduced to a mere, inanimate "tool."
