Gregor wakes up and notices that someone had put food out for him. He goes to eat the food as he is extremely hungry, but stops eating immediately as he was physically having trouble eating and discomfort. He was also completely repulsed by the food (even though milk used to be his favorite drink). Gregor starts to make himself more comfortable by lying by the couch and spends time just thinking and lying down. In the morning Grete comes in the room and at first has trouble looking at Gregor without feeling frightened. She notices that Gregor hasn’t touched the bowl she had brought for him and comes back with an assortment of old foods to hopefully please him.
Gregor and his sister begin a routine, with him getting fed twice each day (although he doesn’t really touch the food most days). He begins to listen in on his family’s conversations outside from his room. He learns that his parents and sister did not seem to be eating or drinking much. He also learns that his father had saved some money left from his business’ collapse and saved some of the money Gregor had earned. Knowing that this money wouldn’t be sufficient for very long and that his family would have to somehow begin working made Gregor upset. He also felt guilty as he had always wanted to send Grete to study music at a conservatory, but now it seems she will not be able to. As the routine with his sister continues, she begins immediately running over and opening the window each time she enters. He also notices that she seems disgusted by his appearance and so one day he covers himself with a blanket. Clearly this makes her feel better as she doesn’t move it.
Gregor finds a new hobby: crawling all over the walls and ceiling. One day Grete calls her mother in to see Gregor for really the first time since he turned into an insect (his father had not allowed the mother in before). Their father is out and the two women begin to take out furniture from the room to give more room and freedom for Gregor to run around. Gregor’s mother doesn’t want to hurt Gregor by removing the furniture and disconnecting him from the family, and Gregor does seem upset when they end up doing so. After his sister and mother leave the room for a moment, Gregor takes the photo of a woman hanging on his wall and tears it down so they won’t take it away. When his mother and sister realize what he has done and his mother sees him for the first time, she becomes hysterical. To help her, Grete runs out of the room with their mother and Gregor follows. He feels so worried and powerless that he starts to crawl all over everything.
When Gregor’s father comes home and sees what has happened he is furious. Gregor notices that his father has now been going to work as he is wearing a blue uniform with gold buttons and a matching hat. His father begins chasing Gregor around the room, trying to hurt him, before beginning to throw apples at him as well. Gregor, weak from the running, was hit in the back and fell to the ground.