Metamorphosis Part II

After living as a cockroach for months, Gregor begins to lose his human personality. He yearns to hold on to his connection to human life, yet he more frequently finds himself thinking like a bug. On page 34, he describes that he has been living without "direct human communication" and the "monotonous life" in his family, but these conditions are similar to his past life. Although he is a salesman, people do not usually want to talk with him and his family life has always been dreary because he must work to support them. Thus, his life living conditions have not changed drastically since he became a cockroach, which makes it easier for him to slip into the thoughts of a bug. He does not want his room to become a cave, but he is excited about being able to freely crawl everywhere. The furniture, especially his picture of the woman in the fur coat, serve as his remaining ties to humanity, which he must keep in order to prevent his full transformation mentally into a cockroach. If his sister takes the picture, he will forget his sexual desire, which is a human emotion. Also, at first he has the urge to crawl around. Then, he chides himself for subconsciously wishing to remove all of the furniture from his room when he is reminded of being human by his mother's voice. He depends on the furniture to prevent him from succumbing to his new desires as a cockroach. He has conflicting opinions because he cannot live without the "beneficent effect of the furniture," but also he cannot help thinking of crawling as "no disadvantage, but a great asset." He quickly changes his opinion about crawling within the same sentence as he develops the perspective of a bug. He is beginning to lose control of his human mind, which is gradually transforming into that of a cockroach.

Poetry Out Loud: Mediation on a Grapefruit

I chose "Mediation on a Grapefruit" by Craig Arnold because I like his vivid description of peeling a grapefruit and the message behind it. He finds the beauty in such a seemingly trivial task, and appeals to all of the senses. Grapefruits are special to me because I usually do not have them as often as other fruits, since they take more time and work to eat. They are sweet as well as have a subtle bitterness. I appreciate the beginning of the poem, where Arnold states a universal truth that mornings are always a fresh start to the day. They are not yet marred by agitations or worries. He compares the grapefruit to a basketball, so the act of peeling it seems like a game. When I have eaten a grapefruit for breakfast, I do not realize I think about it, but his poem reminds me that I share many of his same considerations. I like the initial slight mist followed by the sweet scent when I peel open the grapefruit. It is also fun to carefully try to not pierce the delicate pulp when I break apart one of the fruit's sections. He describes the juice pooling into the bowl, which I did not used like. My mom would drink it for me, until I realized it is the same as the fruit. Arnold makes me view a grapefruit differently by using unlikely comparisons. When I think of a grapefruit, I am not reminded of pepper, but this description portrays the refreshing taste well. The simplicity of enjoying a grapefruit mimics the simplicity of the poem. It shows that one should take pleasure in the even the simplest acts in life. However, Arnold also gives the grapefruit deeper meaning about life, and I especially like his final lines. He acknowledges the fact that each year becomes more difficult to live and work, but it is worth it. The poem is pensive and creates a sense of calmness.