One morning Gregor Samsa wakes up to find himself turned into a gigantic verminous bug. He lies on his hard back, examines his segmented abdomen and numerous thin legs, and struggles to turn onto his right side, but repeatedly rolls back. He hears the rain on the window and thinks about his job as a traveling salesman, his debts, and the impossibly early train he must catch. The alarm clock shows it is already past the time he intended to rise. His mother knocks at the door, calling his name. Gregor answers with a hoarse, squeaking voice, reassuring her that he will get up. His father and sister Grete also knock, demanding to know why he has not left. Gregor tries to climb out of bed, but his huge body and uncontrolled limbs make it impossible; he repeatedly injures his lower side and loses balance, eventually rolling onto the floor with a painful thud.

A manager from his firm arrives unexpectedly, demanding an explanation for Gregor’s absence. Gregor, desperate, attempts to speak, his voice an animal‑like squeak. The manager accuses him of negligence and threatens his employment. Gregor tries to open the door with his mouth, biting a key until a drop of blood appears, but he cannot free himself. The family, overwhelmed, locks the door and leaves him inside.

In the following days Gregor lies under the couch, unable to move freely. Grete brings him a bowl of milk and later a spread of stale food, cheese, vegetables, and bread, feeding him while the parents watch from a distance. The sister also tends to his wounds; an apple thrown by the father embeds in his back, leaving a lasting scar. The parents discuss the family’s finances, the debt to the father’s employer, and the possibility of using Gregor’s earnings to pay it off. Grete removes furniture from Gregor’s room, arguing that he needs space to crawl, while his mother protests, insisting the room should remain unchanged.

Over weeks the family’s attitude shifts from reluctant care to open hostility. The cleaning woman, a new housekeeper, occasionally opens Gregor’s door, calling him “old dung beetle.” The parents eventually abandon the apartment, taking lodgers who later leave in disgust after seeing Gregor. Grete becomes increasingly distressed, crying and pleading with her parents to get rid of the “monster.” The father, in a uniform, repeatedly blocks the lodgers and the cleaning woman, wielding a cane and a newspaper.

Gregor’s condition deteriorates. He attempts to crawl to the living‑room door to hear his sister’s violin playing, but the furniture and dust impede him. He is eventually locked into his room permanently when Grete turns the key and bolts the door. He lies immobile on the floor, his back wound still painful, and reflects on his past life as a salesman, his family’s reliance on his income, and his own wish to die.

At three o’clock in the morning Gregor’s breathing ceases; he dies alone in the dark. The cleaning woman discovers his corpse the next morning, shouting that he has “kicked the bucket.” His parents, mother and father, and Grete enter the room, stunned by his thin, desiccated body. They discuss their relief and plan to move to a smaller, cheaper apartment. The lodgers, who had stayed in the building, exit quietly. The Samsa family writes letters of apology and gratitude, and the cleaning woman leaves, chastised by Mr. Samsa. The chapter ends with the family looking forward to a new life, free from the burden Gregor represented.