Three Questions

1.   It shows that the Kafka household was very father-dominate, but dependant on Kafka himself. This also depicts that Kafka was not very close with his family, with the exception of his sister Ottla. I assume that the family reacted negatively to the story because it portrayed them in a negative light, especially the lack of family unity. Kafka also portrays the characters of his parents as lazy and dependant upon Kafka. They probably did not realize that this was how the family was run until they read this. 

3. 1.  Appetite – Gregor starts to dislike his favorite foods (milk and bread) and starts liking things he didn’t like before.

2.      His sister - Used to be very close with Gregor, fears him, but steps up to help take care of him because no one else will, which is a change from normal, because her parents used to complain about how she did not do anything.

3.      Gregor’s Father – behaves violently to Gregor, even though he knows that the bug is his son.

4.      Lazy – Gregor used to get up at 4am to catch the early train to work, but now he just sits around and does nothing. He does not try to remain active even while he is in his room. He just sits around and stares out the window.

4.  Yes this is a common malady of modern life because as people grow up, they become more independent from their families and more dependant on themselves. As we go off to college, we have to learn to become more independent in our studies and in our daily lives by making better choices for ourselves.