Matt Connors’s Reviews > The Metamorphosis and The Trial > Status Update

K also shows genuine sympathy for the policemen, seeing them as low level in the org and victim to economic/oppressive systemic pressures, influencing their behavior. Seems K sees the policemen’s situation as a symptom of the higher up’s orchestrations, that him and the policemen are tormented by the same higher ups. It seems this situation causes k the most concern for others we read of

Again, it seems the environment and character’s behaviors/circumstances are dependent on K in some way, such as when the policemen are being whipped, K panics, shuts the door, and the screams are cut off; no more noise comes from the junk room. Not until the next day after k opens the door to find the objects and people just where he left them the day prior, do the screams resume, as if the scene paused for k

Returning to dreaminess, the policemen are being punished for bribery in the bank’s junk room that K works at; an odd space for a gov sentence to be carried out. Interesting the authorities are referred to not as the gov but an org of higher ups.

This last chapter was full of brazen assumptions of people’s intentions/characteristic by K, a bit of victim blaming from K and the husband of a woman routinely assaulted by husband’s superiors, and still maintains an odd dreaminess (odd office location/interior design, procedures of the court, other characters nonchalantly pointing out oddities occurring; acting not in surprise, acknowledging then carrying on)

Especially dreamy is K’s attempt to find the hearing, but isn’t told specific time or room/floor. He determines a time, that then the judge later holds him to, as if the time he made for himself, the world canonized. K comes to 4 stairways & thinks that the choice of stairs matter not for getting to the hearing based on previous words of a policeman, suggesting the room would find him, not visa versa (p92)

The Trial is interesting so far, very dreamy in the sense of normalized strangeness. Differ from common portrayals in media of government proceedings, investigations & hearings being at odd locations, agents calmingly indifferent, the lax attitude between hearings, the sameness of the tenant blocks & lives of inhabitants, other characters being indifferent or cryptic when hearing of the investigation of K (ch1&2)

Interesting social dynamics in the family with their emotional states swinging from moment to moment, influenced by the house and outside house environments. Anger/ignorance/blame of people for out of control situations give way to sorrow/grief and vice verse. Wishing to be understood, which if they took time to try to themselves understand and listen to Gregor behavior, may have noticed they were understood.

Seems like an allegory for the different circumstances people find themselves in, dealing with how others react to those circumstances, and managing oneself moment to moment, finding pleasures and pains. Exploring, enduring, adjusting to what is thrown at one/where one is placed.

@Ch3: pretty interesting concept. Writing is fine, a bit funny when in the perspective of Gregor and his lesser concern for his new form than those around him, worrying more about his human responsibilities and commitments. He deals with present moments, quickly wondering how to adjust and occupy himself, taking consideration for his family. He grieves not being able to serve his family, not his new state of life