Tomorrow night, 7 p.m., we are meeting at the Harnish branch largest study room. I hope you are planning on coming! Please come regardless of whether or not your enjoyed the novella, I think there promises to be lots of talk about.
Franz Kafka wrote The Metamorphosis in 1912, and it was published in 1915. He died of tuberculosis in 1924 at age 40.
Here are some questions to get our discussion started tomorrow.
1. What is the “metamorphosis” of the title? Is the metamorphosis sudden or gradual?
2. The last word of the first line is sometimes translated as bug, cockroach, or insect, but Kafka intended it to be “vermin.” Definition for vermin: “Vermin is a term given to animals which are considered by humans to be pests or nuisances, most associated with the carrying of disease. Disease-carrying rodents and insects are the usual case but the term can also apply to larger animals, on the basis that they exist out of ecological balance with their environment.” Why did Kafka leave the term abstract? What might the bug transformation symbolize?
3. Who is to blame for Gregor’s metamorphosis? Why does the metamorphosis take place?
4. What things are left unexplained? Why do you think Kafka left them unexplained?
5. Do you have sympathy for Gregor? Do you have sympathy for his family? Why or why not?
6. How does the Samsa family’s life change after Gregor is transformed into an insect? In what ways has it remained the same?
7. How did Gregor feel about his job?
8. Consider the reactions to Gregor’s transformation. What is unusual about their reactions? What was unsurprising? How would you react?
9. Consider Gregor’s relationships with his family members. Do they behave well or badly to the bug in their midst?
10. What is the significance of Gregor’s reaction to his sister’s violin performance?
11. How does Gregor’s metamorphosis goes hand in hand with a description of the world around him as he sees it in his new state?
12. What did Kafka try to express through the metamorphosis of Gregor Samsa? What is the point of the novella (if any)?
13. What parts of the novel did you find funny (if any)? How does Kafka share his humor?
14. Kafka said, “Great antipathy to Metamorphosis. Unreadable ending. Imperfect almost to its very marrow.” (quoted in Introduction to Everyman’s edition, page xv, written by Gabriel Josipovici) What do you think about the ending? What were your reactions to the entire novella?
15. People changed into animals or animals turned into people is a common fairy tale theme. What ways is The Metamorphosis like fairy tales we know and in what ways is it different?
16. Into what genre would you categorize The Metamorphosis?
17. I think we’ve all heard the term “Kafka-esque.” Having read some Kafka, what do you thinks distinguishes Kafka’s style from others?
18. Biblical approach to the story (a martyr that is example of human suffering, apple is guilt, etc.); feminist approach to the story (the women take on the main work); Marxist approach (Gregor’s work has dehumanized him); human rights approach; psychological approach; etc. From what perspective do you find yourself approaching the story?
Classics Reading Group 