I just now realize how apples are a common theme in this entire chapter. From the thugs talking about it, to Gregor’s augmentation training requiring him to slice an apple, to snow white’s apple’s aberration…
@@NIHIL_EGO It's even worse, actually. Spoilers for Metamorphosis, by the way. The Samsa family were having a rough time keeping the now monstrous Gregor, as he was the family's main source of sustenance, the family is forced to adapt with new tasks and responsabilities, They determine keep him in what once was his room. Gregor, growing more accustomed to his body, had begun crawling over the walls. Given the grotesque form he has, any time one of the family members enters the room, he hides beneath the bedframe, rather fruitlessly, given his size, but the attempt at concealing his horrific body is enough for the family to tolerate entering the room and allowing these flights of fancy. Gregor's sister, Grete, had a large part in the family being relatively understanding of Gregor's condition, she was, by all accounts, the one who took care of him the most, (hesitantly, mind you, she mostly did this out of a sense of pride with her family) As they realized that he'd only show interest in eating things that were rotten, his main sustenance became, of course, rotten apples. So, Grete and Gregor's Mother, realizing Gregor's new passtime of crawling on the walls, responded by removing furniture from his room, to ease his new movements. As Gregor's belongings are taken away from his room one by one, he fears that, with remnants of his past life gone, he'll forget who he once was, and so, in a panic, he clambers onto the wall and sets his body atop the most prized possesion he could think of, that being a portrait of a woman clad in an elegant fur coat. Gregor's mother is so horrified at the sight, she faints on the spot (dangerous given she suffers from asthma) and Grete shouts at him quite harshly, dragging the mother out of the room and hastily plucking a vial of medicine from a cupboard, accidentally shattering it and slashing Gregor. This incident, among others, is one in many grievances that accumulate as the book progresses, Their father returns home, and after hearing of the incident (plus a couple other things), angrily hurls apples at Gregor, one of which becomes lodged in a sensitive spot in his back and severely wounds him. By the end of the book, the apple wound (which no one had cared to treat or even otherwise tend to) had begun to fester, the rotten, mushy apple body practically mellting over the open wound on his carapace. Yeah, fun.
