Family Duty

In the Metamorphosis, a fictional novella written by Franz Kafka and Chronicle of a Death
Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, familial duty embodies one of the main driving forces in the
character's actions. In Marquez's novella the Vicario brothers are duty bound to murder the man who
had been accused of stealing their sister's virginity outside of marriage. In a similar fashion Gregor was
forced to hold down a job he hated in order to provide a living for his aging parents, and to send his
sister through conservatory. In both novels, both characters had to commit an act, or do something they
hated in the name of familial duty. Upon fulfilling their obligations to their respective families, they each
get impacted adversely for doing so. Gregor successfully provides for his parents and sister for years, but
upon his metamorphosis they are all too eager to abandon him, and cause him to die. The same can be
said about the Vicario Brothers, who despite prevailing to uphold their family honor, and murder the
man who allegedly stole their sister's virginity, they are the ones who ultimately lose their freedom in
the name of familial duty.