'The Metamorphosis', by Franz Kafka: Guide Questions

1.     What is the defining characteristic of Gregor’s life prior to his metamorphosis?  What is the defining characteristic of his life after the metamorphosis?  At what point does Gregor lose his identity?  Is it before he changes?  Is it when he dies?

            Prior to his metamorphosis the defining characteristic of Gregor’s life is his job, post his metamorphosis though his defining characteristic was his beetle appearance. Gregor looses his identity when he consents to spend all of his time working tirelessly for a job in order to pay of his family’s debt. By focusing his entire life around supporting his family he is simply his family’s meal ticket and he lacks his own identity, arguably it isn’t until he changes that he is able to reflect on himself and begin to reform a personal identity.

2.     Is Gregor Samsa's transformation into an insect merely an extension of his life before?  If so, how?

            I wouldn’t call Gregor Samsa's transformation into an insect merely an extension of his life before due to the fact that prior to his transformation he was his job, which supported his entire family, post his transformation he was a bug, but he was able to explorer his independence. I would even go to far to say his life after his transformation, although short, was better than his life leading up to his metamorphosis, because at least he is relieved from bearing the weight of his entries family’s debt on his shoulders alone.

3.     What is the structure of Kafka’s story?  What is the climax?  What is the significance of structuring the story in this way?

4.     Discuss the central events in each of the three sections of the story. In what ways do these events suggest that the weakening of Gregor results in the strengthening of the family as a whole? Finally, what makes this prospect so unsettling for the reader?

5.     How does the apparent disjunction between tone and event create humor in The Metamorphosis?  To answer this, consider the tone- the author’s attitude toward Gregor’s metamorphosis- first. Then look at the dark humor of the situations described. What makes the scenes uncomfortably funny?

            Comedy can be found in Gregor’s reaction to his metamorphosis, initially he is in disbelief of his transformation and he believes that he is just imagining it. Gregor tries to rationalize his predicament countless times to himself so that he doesn’t have to come to terms with his situation. Simply the fact that he turns into a big bug is enough to make the story comic. The dark humor of the situations described in his family’s reactions to his transformation is uncomfortable funny due to his families’ misguided assumptions and actions to combat Gregor’s condition.

6.     What is the importance of the final scene in the story, the family's trip to the country? Why is it written so lyrically in comparison to the rest of the text?  What is so disturbing about the implications of the ending?

            This ending shows Gregor’s family lack of compassion and love for their son as a person, rather than simply a meal ticket and a zombie to work and pay off their debts, is bluntly displayed though their quickness to go on a “family” trip to the country right after Gregor’s death. Disturbingly, this ending implies that they will now turn to Grete to find a husband and marry in order to create another source of monetary input in order to allow them to resume to their sloth like lifestyle.

7.     What is the significance of Gregor's reaction to his sister's violin performance?

            The significance of Gregor’s reaction to his sister’s violin performance was that it was a very animalistic reaction, as if he was a moth drawn to a flame, unable to escape gravitating toward it. His plan to have his sister “voluntarily” live with him in his room and only play violin for him, because no one else appreciated her talent, was creepy and disturbing desire. His view on their close relationship exemplified at this time by his wish to send her to the conservatory and his plan for them spending all their time together, becomes significant and ironic when later on it is discovered that she doesn’t believe that this creature is Gregor and she proposes to the family to get rid of him.

8.     How is starvation developed as a theme in the story?  What is the “unknown nourishment” that is alluded to on page 49?  Consider also the role of food and starvation in the story as a whole.

9.     Briefly discuss your own personal response to the essential question, why does Gregor turn into a bug?  What causes his transformation?

10. **Briefly consider the following theories regarding Gregor’s transformation.  Which of the following makes the most sense in your view?  Write a short essay of around one page (double-spaced) in response to one of the following. Be sure your essay has quotations from the book.

a.      Gregor’s metamorphosis reflects the repression and guilt of the author.    Gregor’s alienation is an extension of the rage Kafka felt toward his own father.  Kafka felt alienated from family and from his own life because of his father.

b.     Gregor’s metamorphosis is a metaphor symbolizing the loss of his identity through his family.  Thus, it is both about the alienation of modern man, and a critical commentary of modern social, familial structures.

Up until Gregor metamorphoses into a beetle he is an identity less zombie who’s sole purpose in life is to work in order to support his entire family and pay off their debts. His transformation allows Gregor to see the true colors of his family members and realize the dependence on him they had adopted and coasted on for most of his life. Gregor’s change forces the other members of his family to pick up some of the weight in order to financially support the family as a whole, his father and sister both get jobs, which brings up the question of why they couldn’t have been working while Gregor was working and helped pay off the debt sooner which could have freed Gregor up to pursue a personal goal. As a bug, Gregor is able to, for the first time in forever, begin to dictate what he does and when he does it, allowing him to gain more independence and a greater sense of personal, rather than familial, identity. His metamorphosis into a beetle alienates him from his family, due to their disgust in his appearance, their poor communication abilities due to his garbled voice, and their general unwillingness to adapt or change. In modern social, familial structures there is often a hierarchy and an overall reputation that the members want to uphold, in Gregor’s family his father acts as the head and all of the family members care a great deal about their outward appearance to the public resulting in a great effort to keep Gregor’s condition under wraps. When their maid begs to be released of her duties she is aware of their desire to hide their deformed son so she, “made a solemn vow, without anyone asking her for it, not to give anything away to anyone.” (Page 26) Gregor’s family even goes so far as to try to suppress their knowledge of his transformation, having only Grete interact with him, and then only to feed him trash, whilst the rest of the family occupies themselves with sloth-like activities such as napping. Ultimately, Gregor’s family is the model of a dysfunctional family in which power and work are not distributed equally and differences and uniqueness is shammed and hidden away.