Gregor Samsa awakens one morning to find he has transformed into a giant insect. The novella Metamorphosis, written in 1912 by Franz Kafka, focuses on limited characters and events, most notably Gregor Samsa's transformation. Kafka's opening line uses defamiliarization to disrupt the reader's expectations by describing a normal morning that takes an improbable turn. The protagonist's metamorphosis can signify issues beyond the literal plot, forcing reflection on themes of alienation, isolation, and the dehumanizing effects of social structures that shaped Kafka's own life experiences.

2. What is Metamorphosis?
• Metamorphosis is a novella written in
1912 by Franz Kafka.
• Novella:
– Longer, more complex than short stories
– Focuses on a limited number of
characters and events
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3. Meaning
• When you think of the term
“metamorphosis”, what comes to
mind? How can this be applied to
literature? In what ways have you
seen this in other works of literature?
• Discuss – 2 minutes
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4. The meaning behind it…
• Definition:
– a transformation, as if by magic or
sorcery
– Marked change in appearance
– (usually used in Biology describing the
transformation of insects)
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5. Questions to Consider
1. Mental Health vs. Physical Health – Which is more
important and why?
2. What human conditions or situations could lead to
isolation in contemporary society? What about in this
school?
3. Many people proclaim “Live with no regrets.” Is this
possible? Why does regret exist, and what kind of
influence can it have on a person?
4. Why do gender roles exist? Are gender roles sexist?
5. What is the importance of family?
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6. 6
Setting the Scene
• The protagonist of the story, Gregor Samsa, is the
son of middle-class parents in Prague.
• Gregor’s father lost most of his money about five
years earlier, causing Gregor to take a job with
one of his father's creditors as a travelling
salesman, which causes him to feel isolated and
alone.
• Gregor provides the sole support for his family
(father, mother, and sister), and also found them
their current lodgings in Prague.
• When the story begins, Gregor is spending a night
at home with his family before embarking upon
another business trip. And then. . .
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H57OfsihAw

7. 7
Part I: A Famous Opening Line
• “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from
uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in
his bed into a giant insect” (958).
• Compare with another famous opening line . . .
• “It was a bright cold day in April and the clocks
were striking thirteen” (Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-
Four 1).
• What do these two lines have in common?

8. 8
Compare the beginnings to the
endings:
• “As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from
uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed
in his bed into a giant insect” (958).
• “It was a bright cold day in April and the
clocks were striking thirteen” (Orwell,
Nineteen Eighty-Four 1).

9. 9
Both sentences make their points
through defamiliarization:
• They initially describe normal, everyday,
almost boring events, only to disrupt this
sense of normalcy at the very end.
• The disruption of the reader’s expectation
is sometimes called a defamiliarization
effect – in German, Verfremdungseffekt,
which translates as “alienation effect.”

10. 10
Lost in Translation?
• English translators have often sought to
render the word Ungeziefer as “insect,” but
this is not entirely accurate, as, in German,
Ungeziefer literally means “vermin” and is
sometimes used colloquially to mean
"bug,“ which is a much more vague term
than “insect.”
• Why might “vermin” actually be more
appropriate?

11. 11
Lost in Translation?
• “Vermin” can either be defined as a
parasite feeding off the living (as is
Gregor's family feeding off him), or a
vulnerable entity that scurries away
upon another’s approach, as Gregor
does for most of the narrative after
his transformation.

12. 12
Significance
• Improbable or even impossible
events in fiction often ask us to
consider what the larger meaning of
these events may be.
• By disrupting our normal perspective
on reality, these unusual plotlines
force us to ask profound questions.

13. 13
Significance
• Writers often use fantastic events to
signify additional levels of meaning
beyond the literal.
• Thus, we need to ask ourselves what
Gregor’s metamorphosis signifies in
terms of larger issues.

14. 14
How does this relate to
Kafka’s life?
• 1883-1924
• Born in Prague (in what is now the
Czech Republic) to a middle-class
German-speaking Jewish family
• Eldest of six children, two of whom died in infancy
• Parents were hard workers and often labored 12 hours
a day.
• First studied chemistry but left shortly after. Had a
doctorate in law, but worked in the insurance industry.
• Lost his sisters during the Holocaust where they died
in a concentration camp after being sent to the
ghettos.

15. Kafka’s challenges
• Suffered from tuberculosis and was financially supported by
his family during his frequent convalescence.
• Feared being perceived as repulsive both physically and
mentally by others yet tried to impress others with his
boyish, neat and austere good looks. He maintained a quiet
and cool demeanor with a dry sense of humor.
• Distanced himself from his family when he relocated to
Berlin to concentrate on his writing.
• Suffered from clinical depression and social anxiety his
entire life.
• Also suffered from migraines, insomnia, constipation, boils
and other ailments brought on by excessive stresses.
• Died from tuberculosis on June 3, 1924 in a Vienna
sanatorium.
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16. 16
Themes and structure
• Kafka’s writings often deal with loneliness,
isolation, and alienation, all of which are
aggravated by the social and economic
systems that structure human relations.
• His style is stark – in spite of the strange
subject matter in many of his works, there
is no poetic or metaphoric language.
• The Metamorphosis (written in 1912,
published in 1915) is probably his most
famous work.
• “Kafkaesque” is a term meaning Anything
having to do with alienation, absurdity,
anxiety or isolation.