"One morning, as Gregor Samsa was waking up from anxious dreams, he discovered that in bed he had been changed into a monstrous vermin."

The first sentence of the novella introduces not only the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, but the conditions in which he lives and the novella's central conflict. Gregor Samsa, a middle-class young man with anxiety about money, has been mysteriously transformed into “vermin” of some kind, presumably an insect. 

"Apart from a really excessive drowsiness after the long sleep, Gregor in fact felt quite well and even had a really strong appetite."

Gregor struggles to reconcile his insect-like body with his still-human mind. Although he feels hunger, as a human or animal would, Gregor finds himself unable to eat food suited for human consumption, instead preferring to eat rotting food. Later, Gregor will lose his appetite and starve to death.

"And for a little while longer he lay quietly with weak breathing, as if perhaps waiting for normal and natural conditions to re-emerge out of the complete stillness."

Gregor never reacts to his situation with complete panic or terror. Instead, he remains calm and rational, acting as though things will go back to normal just as quickly and mysteriously as they went awry.