Kafka's dry, ironic tone emphasizes that even as Grete takes care of him, Gregor is in pain, not because she is caring for him but because she doesn't sympathize or support him but rather does what she thinks is her duty. This is highlighted by the fact that it is she herself who convinces her parents to drive him out, when she tells them, "you just have to try to get rid of the idea that it's Gregor" (52). She has cared for Gregor all this time, duty-bound, as if he were her brother-ironically, she becomes the one to facilitate his removal. Without even his sister's semblance of support, however, Gregor wishes to die: "his conviction that he would have to disappear was, if possible, even firmer than his sister's" (54). Kafka adds humor and irony with the modifier "if possible," which only serves to exacerbate Gregor's pain at being totally abandoned. .
In contrast, meanwhile, Salinger paints Holden as unable to come to terms with his place in society or his personal relationships. The opening lines of his narrative portray his parents as "touchy as hell," indicating that he and his parents' relationship is less than perfect (1). His relationship with his parents is not the only one he has trouble with; Holden thinks there are "maybe two guys" at Pencey Prep that were "splendid and clear-thinking," but he only describes in detail two (2). One, his roommate, Stradlater, is described as "a secret slob" (27), and the other, Ackley, as "a sort of a nasty guy. [Holden] wasn't too crazy about him" (19). Holden's disparaging shell towards Ackley and Stradlater in the context of the two splendid and clear-thinking guys at Pencey reveal that although Holden relies on the two closest people he has to friends, he is perhaps unaware of it himself. Holden is also uncomfortable with girls; though he has childhood sweetheart Jane on his mind, he still goes out on a date with Sally.
