Question

One theme in The Metamorphosis is the struggle between Gregor's mind and the transformation of his body. Which of the following passages from the story best develops this theme?

A. All of them were usually very quiet nowadays. Soon after dinner, his father would go to sleep in his chair; his mother and sister would urge each other to be quiet; his mother, bent deeply under the lamp, would sew fancy underwear for a fashion shop; his sister, who had taken a sales job, learned shorthand and French in the evenings so that she might be able to get a better position later on.
B. Because of his injuries, Gregor had lost much of his mobility — probably permanently. He had been reduced to the condition of an ancient invalid and it took him long, long minutes to crawl across his room — crawling over the ceiling was out of the question — but this deterioration in his condition was fully (in his opinion) made up for by the door to the living room being left open every evening.
C. His fall was softened a little by the carpet, and Gregor's back was also more elastic than he had thought, which made the sound muffled and not too noticeable.
D. Gregor's sister was exhausted from going out to work, and looking after Gregor as she had done before was even more work for her, but even so his mother ought certainly not to have taken her place. Gregor, on the other hand, ought not to be neglected.

Answer 1

Because of his injuries, Gregor had lost much of his mobility — probably permanently. He had been reduced to the condition of an ancient invalid and it took him long, long minutes to crawl across his room — crawling over the ceiling was out of the question — but this deterioration in his condition was fully (in his opinion) made up for by the door to the living room being left open every evening.

Answer 2

The passage which best develops the theme of the struggle between Gregor's mind and the transformation of his body is the following one:

B. Because of his injuries, Gregor had lost much of his mobility, probably permanently. He had been reduced to the condition of an ancient invalid and it took him long, long minutes to crawl across his room, crawling over the ceiling was out of the question, but this deterioration in his condition was fully (in his opinion) made up for by the door to the living room being left open every evening.

In the passage above, there is a description of Gregor's physical condition and how difficult it became for him to move around. Plus, the passage also presents some of Gregor's impressions on his situation: he is fully aware of it and even reflects on the possible causes for its constant deterioration.