Similar themes related to gender and race are discussed in the article "Care." The author explains how caregiving is often delegated to women and people of color. In The Metamorphosis, the duty of caring for Gregor falls to his sister, reflecting the view that women are more empathetic and nurturing. Gregor's family, from a conservative lower-middle-class background, needed greater cultural awareness about the harmful effects of neglecting mental health. At the article's conclusion, the author suggests that the demographics of caregiving can change by not only educating people and implementing policies but also by shifting cultural perspectives on how caregivers are valued.

In “The Metamorphosis” we can see that Gregor was extremely isolated and he often expresses his worries about being a burden for his family. “He must show patience and the greatest consideration so that his family could bear the unpleasantness that he, in his present state, was forced to impose on them” (page 22) 

One of the main events in the novel that proved the shame his family felt towards him, is when Gregor comes out to listen to his sister play the violin, and the guests are disgusted by the idea of living with an insect, while the family is deeply ashamed and upset with Gregor for allowing others to see his condition. From the quote “The main thing holding the family back from their decision of moving was much more to do with their total despair and the thought that they had been struck with a misfortune unlike anything experienced by anyone else”(page 33) We can understand that rather than caring for Gregor and being empathetic, they were more concerned about the repercussions that his condition had on their family.

"As a result of disease- related stigmas, people and populations have found themselves subject to prejudice and demoralization, abuse and discrimination, isolation and segregation, as well as harassment and violence." All of this can be reflected to the book, because Gregor was harassed by his dad, when he threw apples at him, he was constantly being pushed back to his room by probing him. He was also seen less of a person because he could not take care of himself and the rest of the family members like he used to. Most of the time, he was isolated and locked in his room because nobody wanted to deal with him so he was kept out of sight.

Though the family might have done this in an unknowingly manner, it still affected Gregor in an harsher way. This shows us that our actions whether done knowingly or not really affects the other person, to whom we are expressing to.

"In this context, fear and anxiety are manipulated to enhance ideas of difference. Xenophobia is utilized to emphasize "us vs. them" a central aspect of the "tribal" stigmas that Goffman pointed to in his early treatise. In metamorphosis Kafka clearly illustrated on how the family members saw Gregor as less of a human.

It is well established in the story that Samsa is a travelling salesman and is only able to spend time at home for brief periods. Moreover, he is also the breadwinner of the Samsa household since the family has fallen into debt. When Gregor metamorphoses into a bug one fine morning, not only is he unrecognizable to his family but he is also defenseless and vulnerable. Now a stranger, he is also unable to speak for himself. Thus begins the case of xenophobia within the novella---his family members refer to him as "it" and promptly lock him in his bedroom.

The linguistic barrier between them, Frau Samsa's inability to look at her son without suffering from a mental relapse, Herr Samsa's violent throwing of objects at Gregor in repulsion etc. create a breeding ground of misunderstanding and dissent in their apartment. It is almost as if Gregor is now a foreigner in the Samsa household and his inability to speak his mother tongue, or speak at all, coupled with his insect-like appearance contribute to his alienation at the hands of his parents and sisters. He is "othered" and this stigmatization gradually increases the buildup of shame, guilt and resentment within him.

One could argue that since he's defenseless and considered repulsive, he easily becomes a punching bag for the family's emotions now that their financial worries grow. The paragraph where Herr Samsa lodges an apple into Gregor's back as well as his sister Grete's staunch decision to kill him near the end of the novella, clarify how the family came to view him as a burden as the story progressed; a stark irony to the flashbacks elucidating Gregor saving money to eventually send Grete to music school plus how he stays in an unhappy job just to pay off his family debt and provide for the Samsas.

In conclusion, the Samsa's xenophobia towards Gregor, a culmination of their frustrations and fears, perpetuate the cycle of stigma internally and externally. Perhaps his metamorphosis into a bug serves as a metaphor for mental illness or physical disability or an umbrella term for feeling misunderstood. Nevertheless, his "othering" by his own family depicts how stigma isn't just a collective societal action, but can be seen even in the vicinity of one's home.

In the novela, Gregor, the main character is locked away in his room, isolated from the rest of the world because of what has happened to him. Although not specified, we know that it has caused his family to treat him differently.

In the "Stigma" article, I found it almost coincidental that Brandt referenced a quote from Erving Hoffman that writes " By definition... we believe that the person with a stigma is not quite human." " As a result we "normals" knowingly or unknowingly reduce the life chances of those who are stigmatized.( Hoffman 1963, 6)

This is a direct correlation to the novela, "The Metamorphosis" not only because Gregor was physically changed into a insect, but because he was dehumanized by his own parents, treating him like he was not one of them.

In The Metamorphosis, Gregor, the protagonist, goes through physical changes turning him into an insect. He is ostracized by society and the rest of his family, forcing him into his room. In Stigma, Brandt highlights the stigmas around disease and illness created by society.

In the article, Brandt explains, "Stigma materializes the impact of biases, which often ascribe disease to personal responsibility, the result of an essential moral failing" (194). Similarly, Gregor feels a moral obligation to uphold his family as the main provider in his household. He essentially feels "moral failing" when he cannot come to work in the early parts of the novella. In another example, Brandt says, "There can be no stigma without two parties, the stigmatized and the stigmatizer" (194). This quote exemplifies the dynamic existing between Gregor and his family. He is the other of these "two parties," while his family can remain normal and he is no longer one of them.