ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

1. Why is the text called The Metamorphosis?
2. How does this text explore the tension between an individual and their society, as well as within a community?
3. How does the text explore the cruciality of community and socialization? How can the lack of these impact one’s identity?
4. How do Kafka’s narrative choices, structures, and literary techniques develop theme(s)?
5. Through the lens of this transformation story, how does Kafka capture the complexities and pressures of being a human in a society?

READING GUIDE

RESOURCES
Information about Franz Kafka
Full Text of The Metamorphosis (PDF) NB: The translation is slightly different than our in-class text.
Audiobook of The Metamorphosis NB: The translation is slightly different than our in-class text. The story is the same, but if you listen and read our edition simultaneously, you might become distracted.
Second Audiobook version
So… What is “Kafkaesque” Anyway? (TedEd Video)
The Impossibility of Translating Kafka
Full Text of Axolotl by Julio Cortazar (including a photo – he’s smiling at you)

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