Franz Kafka The Metamorphosis

Franz Kafka
• A German writer.
• Kafka was born July 3, 1883 in Prague.
• The family had little daily concern for the faith
and rarely attended synagogue.
• He is aware of his role in the family for the rest
of his life.
• He wrote The Metamorphosis
 Franz Kafka
• Kafka won the Theodor Fontane Prize.
• Today, people use the word Kafkaesqueto.
 Plot Overview
• Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, wakes up in
his bed to find himself transformed into a large
insect.
• Gregor finds that his voice has changed.
• Through the door, the office manager warns
Gregor of the consequences of missing work
and hints that Gregor’s recent work has not
been satisfactory.
 Plot Overview
• Gregor wakes and sees that someone has put
milk and bread in his room.
• Gregor grows more comfortable with his
changed body.
• Gregor’s family begins leaving the bedroom
door open for a few hours each evening so he
can watch them
 Plot Overview
• Grete tells her parents that they must get rid of
Gregor or they will all be ruined.
• Upon discovering that Gregor is dead, the
family feels a great sense of relief.
 Character List

 Gregor Samsa - A traveling salesman and the

protagonist of the story.
 Grete Samsa - Gregor’s sister.
 Mr. Samsa - Gregor’s father.
 Mrs. Samsa – Gregor’s mother.
 The charwoman - An elderly widow and the
Samsa family’s cleaning lady.
 Character List
 The office manager - Gregor’s boss
 The boarders - Three temporary boarders in
the Samsas’ house.
 The maid - The Samsas’ original maid.
 Chief clerk - The Chief Clerk is the Chief's
mouthpiece.
 The Lodgers - Caricatures of gentlemen, the
lodgers dominate the overly servile Samsa
family.
 Analysis of the Major Characters

Gregor Samsa
- Despite his complete physical
transformation into an insect at the beginning of
the story, Gregor changes very little as a
character over the course of The
Metamorphosis.
 Analysis of the Major Characters

 Grete Samsa
- Apart from her brother Gregor, Grete is
the only other character addressed by name in the
story, a distinction that reflects her relative
importance
 Analysis of the Major Characters

 The father
- The reader predominantly sees Gregor’s
father from Gregor’s point of view in the story,
and for the most part, he appears as a hopeless
and unkind man, concerned primarily with money,
who isn’t particularly close to his son.
 Themes
• The Absurdity of Life
• The Disconnect Between Mind and Body
• The Limits of Sympathy
• Alienation
• Economic effects on human relationships
• Family duty
• Freedom and escapism
• Guilt
• Personal identity
 Motifs

• Metamorphosis
• Sleep and Rest
• Money
 Symbols

The Picture of the Woman in Furs

 Symbols
The Father’s Uniform
 Symbols
Food
 Summary and Analysis

Part 1 Summary
Gregor Samsa wakes in his bed and
discovers he has transformed into a giant bug.
Wondering what has happened, he looks around
his small room, where everything appears normal.
He sees the fabric samples that he uses in his job
as a traveling salesman, a picture of a woman in
furs that he tore out of a magazine and framed,
and the rain dripping down outside his window.
 Summary and Analysis

Analysis
In this section, we also begin to learn the
details of Gregor’s human life, and we get the first
glimpses into his feeling of alienation from those
around him.
 Summary and Analysis

Part 2 Summary
Gregor wakes in the evening. He sees that
someone has put a bowl of milk and bread in the
room. Though milk had been his favorite drink, he
finds he cannot stand the taste now. Then he
listens for his family, but the apartment is
completely quiet
 Summary and Analysis

Analysis
The question of how much of Gregor’s
humanity remains dominates the second section
of the story. As the members of the Samsa family
adapt to the new situation with Gregor, each one
appears to develop a different perception of how
much humanity remains in him.
 Summary and Analysis

Part 3 Summary
In the wake of Gregor’s injury, which limits
his mobility, the family takes pity on him and
leaves the bedroom door open at night so Gregor
can watch them. The father dozes in his chair
while the mother sews lingerie for a boutique and
Grete studies French and shorthand in hopes of
moving up from her job as a sales clerk.
 Summary and Analysis

Analysis
The members of the Samsa family continue
to struggle with their uncertainty regarding
Gregor’s humanity, all the way up to his death. In a
show of kindness, they begin leaving the door to
Gregor’s room open in the evenings, providing
Gregor with at least a little contact with them.
 Franz Kafka’s personal life reflected in
the Metamorphosis
• The Metamorphosis is said to be one of Franz Kafka’s
best works of literature.
• Kafka directly reflects upon many of the negative
aspects of his personal life, both mentally and
physically.
 QUIZ
1. Who wrote the Metamorphosis?
2. What does Gregor Samsa do for a living?
3. Where does all of the action of the story take
place?
4. What does the picture on Gregor’s wall depict?
5. Who is Gregor’s primary caretaker?
 QUIZ
6. What serious injury does Gregor sustain?

7. What kind of creature has Gregor become?

8. Why does Grete want to remove Gregor’s furniture

from his room?

9 - 10. Give at least 2 themes of the story.