Gregor's Sight
...s sight but growing weaker and weaker with the passing of each day. Gregor's loss of sight is a metaphor for this loss of freedom, even more acute than the loss he had suffered before when he spent his life working. He can no longer see what is around him and thus can no longer dream of being free as he used to when staring out the window. This loss of sight also has another meaning. In the Greek play Oedipus Rex, Oedipus puts out his own eyes after he discovers that he inadvertently killed his own father. Gregor also feels that, by not working, he is committing a crime against his father. And he feels that his resentment, although he does his best to repress it, is also an offense against his father. His loss of sight is a punishment for this crime. [classic notes] Kafka also strongly emphasizes the sight of Gregor when others see him rather than just focusing on what Gregor sees. After Gregor’s metamorphosis, he had a sheet or something else to cover him with, whenever came to look at him. Gregor avoided the sight of others because he was ashamed of what he looked like and what he had become. The first sight of Gregor after his metamorphosis was terrifying- “The chief clerk for the moment, had quite slipped from his mind…That made his mother scream again, she fl...