“When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.” (Kafka 3) Thus begins Chapter One of  Kafka’s The Metamorphosis. Gregor is described as remaining calm while wondering what has happened to him. He realizes that he is not dreaming, and that he is lying in his own bed, in his own room, and that he is the only one that has transformed. At first, he is unable to rock over to his other side as to get to a more comfortable position, and the sight of his skinny, numerous, squirming legs repulses him. He then switches his focus and thinks about his job as a traveling salesman and how it is demanding and unrewarding. He complains about his suspicious boss and how he would have quit his job a long time ago if it weren’t for his parents’ need to pay back their large debt. Gregor then realizes that he has overslept and missed his usual early train, and worries about how the boss will react to this occurrence. Even if Gregor makes up an excuse, such as being sick, he realizes that his distrustful boss will send someone to check up on him.

Gregor’s parents and sister begin to knock on his door asking him why he hasn’t left the house yet and what’s the matter with him—clearly an aberration from his typical routine. He reassures them that he is moving and is all ready, but he struggles for fifteen minutes to get out of bed because he has a hard time rolling over and is unsure of the durability of his new body. The manager from Gregor’s firm comes to the apartment and wants to know why Gregor did not catch the early train. Gregor’s family tries to detain the manager, but the manager demands to speak to Gregor himself. The manager believes that something suspicious is going on and makes a speech on how Gregor is not acting in a manner that is in line with his past behavior as a quiet, reasonable person. The manager becomes impatient and threatens not to stand up for Gregor, which would hurt him because Gregor’s job is not secure. Gregor calls back to his family and the manager, saying that he will be right there and that he was sick last night, but feels fine now. He struggles to open the door, but has not yet gained control over his body, so fails in his attempts. Neither the manager nor Gregor’s family understood a word that Gregor had said. The manager believes that Gregor is trying to make fools of them, but Gregor’s mother believes that Gregor is seriously ill. “That was the voice of an animal,” the manager whispers.

The family calls for a doctor and a locksmith to help Gregor out of his predicament, but Gregor calmly, but arduously manages to open the door for himself. He surprises his family and the manager with his appearance—his mother cries and faints, his father looks angry, and the manager manages to say “Oh!” Gregor proceeds to assure them all that he will get dressed, pack up his supplies, and go to work—that in fact he is willing to work, but just wants the manager to give an honest report of everything. Gregor’s speech causes the manager to slowly back toward the door and then slip out of the room in fright. Gregor tried to stop the manager to calm him down, but fell down on his legs and turned back around. He realizes that he has frightened his mother, but does not have a lot of time to make amends for the situation because Gregor’s father comes at him with a cane and newspaper to forcefully drive Gregor back into his room. His father hisses at Gregor and shoves him through the door to his room, which causes him to bleed profusely and seriously injure himself.