· Gregor Samsa- He is a A traveling salesman who hates his job but is forced to keep it in order to support his family and pay off his father's debts. He provides for his mother father and sister and secretly dreams of sending Grete (his sister) to the conservatory to study violin. One morning he wakes up and finds himself transformed into a giant insect. He never truly comes to terms with his metamorphosis, and feels extremely guilty for not being able to support his family, although it’s not even his own fault. Gregor now becomes a burden to his family and is kept locked in his room. Isolated and neglected, Gregor is a metaphor for the human being oppressed by capitalism and alienated from work, family, and himself. Eventually he dies. He is all around a kindhearted soul who does everything he possibly can to make his family happy.
· Grete- This is Gregor’s younger sister. Before Gregor transformed, the two of them were very close with one another. She is very sweet and adoring. After his transformation she takes it upon herself to clean his room everyday and feed him. With time, however, she loses interest in this and leaves him alone. Grete, who first cared so much for Gregor, is also the first to assert that the family must get rid of him. Her feelings toward him fully changed towards the end of the novel. We also learn about her that she plays the violin and that Gregor had planned to use all his money to send Grete to the Conservatory to study violin. Her playing awakens his humanity. Grete is quick to blame someone when things go wrong. She is also shallow in the sense that she’s not able to look past Gregor’s current condition although she was once extremely close with him.
· Mr. Samsa- This is Gregor’s father. He is a lazy man who does nothing all day. He lives off the money his son makes for him. After Gregor’s transformation he is forced to go back to work. . He is suspicious of the transformed Gregor from the beginning, and always assumes the worst if his son emerges from his room. He first wounds Gregor while trying to shove him into his room and then cripples him by throwing an apple into his back. Gregor’s father is cruel and selfish only caring about himself and what will benefit him. He doesn’t even care about his son.
· Mrs. Samsa- This is Gregor’s mother who is also forced to go to work to make money for the family after Gregor’s transformation. Her relation to Gregor is one of dutiful and loving mother, but her tendency to faint upon seeing him is not conducive to helping him. After begging to see Gregor, she is finally allowed in his room, but faints as soon as he appears. She then proceeds to save Gregor from his father's apple-throwing wrath. Yet, since Mrs. Samsa is extremely quiet and always does what she is told, her opinions on family affairs remain unknown and her personality is subsumed in her husband's authority. She is a very weak woman meaning she has no power in the house. However, she seems to love Gregor most out of everyone in the house.
· Chief- This is Gregor’s harsh and cruel boss at work. All he does is sit behind his desk, talking down to his employees. When Gregor calls in sick for the first time in five years, his chief calls him lazy. The chief thinks he is better than everybody else and treats people disrespectfully.
· Chief Clerk- He is the Chief’s mouthpiece. He himself arrives at Gregor's house when the former is late to work and thus throws the entire family into disorder. When Gregor does not unlock his room, the Chief Clerk tells Gregor, in front of the family, that he is under suspicion of having stolen money and that his work is very unsatisfactory, though this isn't true.
· Charwoman- This is the last servant left in the family. She is surprisingly not repulsed by Gregor but instead enjoys playing with him. She annoys Gregor a lot.
· Lodger’s- They are taken into the Samsa home because they need to make money. The lodgers carefully inspect their food and rudely show displeasure at Grete's violin playing. At the first sign of Gregor they give notice and refuse to pay for the room. Mr. Samsa finally asserts himself, revealing the lodgers' cowardice in the face of authority. They are all around very rude about everything.
· Anna- This is the servant girl the Samsas originally had but begs to be fired after learning about Gregor’s metamorphosis.
