2. Austria-Hungary
middle-class, German-speaking, Jewish family in Prague
→ question of national identity
oldest of six children
employed at insurance company, making money for his family
began writing short stories as a hobby, later became more serious
diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1917 – no cure
never married
requested his manuscripts be destroyed after his death:
“Everything I leave behind me ... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own and others'),
sketches, and so on, [is] to be burned unread.”
LIFE: 1883 – 1924
4. of or relating to the writings of Franz Kafka;
resembling the state of affairs or a state of
mind described by Kafka (O.E.D.) –
nightmarish
foreign
surreal
disorienting
helpless
futile
?
“Kafkaesque”
5. Who is Gregor Samsa?
What facts can we gather about his life?
What is his occupation?
What is his relationship to his family?
How is his metamorphosis described?
physical features, movements, strengths & weaknesses...
What is the biggest conflict in the story?
How does the plot deal with the revealed climax?
What is happening?
6. Group Discussion Questions
1. How does Kafka complicate the story after revealing the climax in the first line?
2. What similarities can be drawn between Gregor Samsa and Kafka?
3. What do we understand through the framed image of the woman with fur?
4. How does Samsa initially react to his transformation? What is his biggest
concern?
5. What is it that finally wills Samsa out of his bed?
6. What do we know about Grete? What is her relationship to her brother?
7. What does Gregor’s father say his son does in his spare time? Does this support
or disturb our understanding of Samsa?
8. Why does the Chief Clerk come to the Samsa house? What do we gather from his
speech?
9. Samsa’s response is incomprehensible to everyone except the reader – why?
10. Why do you think Samsa’s father wept when he reveals himself as a bug?
11. What does the tone of the narration lend to the story?
12. Do you think Samsa’s transformation is literal or symbolic? Both?
![Austria-Hungary
middle-class, German-speaking, Jewish family in Prague
→ question of national identity
oldest of six children
employed at insurance company, making money for his family
began writing short stories as a hobby, later became more serious
diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1917 – no cure
never married
requested his manuscripts be destroyed after his death:
“Everything I leave behind me ... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own and others'),
sketches, and so on, [is] to be burned unread.”
LIFE: 1883 – 1924](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)