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
What is Metamorphosis?
• Definition:
– a transformation, as if by magic or sorcery
– Marked change in appearance
– (usually used in Biology describing the
transformation of insects)
Who is Franz Kafka?
• Born in Prague in 1883
• (in Modern)
• The oldest of 9 children.
• Jewish parents
• Father was a successful merchant but
overbearing.
Sad Kafka…
• Described as having been sensitive and
suffering from feelings of isolation.
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Jewish, but felt unconnected to his religion
Minority in his country
Unsuccessful in personal relationships
Physically weak, attempts to hide it
Kafkaesque
• Anything having to do with alienation,
absurdity, anxiety or isolation
• (Themes that came to characterize
Kafka’s life and works)
Being Jewish in Prague during
1880-1920
• Prague called “The City of Three Peoples”.
– Ethnic Czechs (spoke Czech)
– 6% German speakers
– 5% Jews, some spoke German or both
Kafka was a minority because he was a
German speaking Jew. He also didn’t readily
accept the teachings of Judaism.
Anti-Semitism
• Surrounded Prague
• When he was 16, a Christian girl was
found murdered in Prague. Many said that
her throat was cut by Jews, then they used
the blood to make food during Passover.
• Created riots!
• As a result, Jews were harassed, shops
were destroyed
Kafka’s father!
• Was hard on Kafka.
– Kafka developed lifelong guilt, anxiety and
lacked self confidence.
– Felt he could never live up to his father’s
standards.
– Lived with his parents after graduating from
college
– Turned anger and anxiety inward by isolating
himself from family
Difficulty writing
• Kafka found it difficult to write because:
– Family tensions (Father told him he was never
good enough)
– Parent’s getting older/ill
– Self doubts (felt ugly, stupid, etc)
– Would write, then destroy work, then write
again
Kafka’s writing
• Features bizarre situations
• Characters that embody the alienation,
search for meaning, and despair of
modern life.
Last Years
• The last years of Kafka’s life was marked
by periods of intense writing activity, family
tensions, unsuccessful love relationships,
and worsening health.
• Was a hypochondriac, but developed
Tuberculosis when he was 35.
• Died in a rest home at the age of 41.
Why are we reading The
Metamorphosis?
• Ms. Scarle said we have to!
• Draws readers into the nightmarish world
of Gregor Samsa, a young man who
undergoes a transformation (turned into a
bug-hence, metamorphosis). Many
readers connect to his feeling of
alienation.
The Metamorphosis
• This text is not easy! It’s puzzling and
many scholars have argued for almost a
century as to the true meaning.
• (This is why many people still read and
talk about his work-many ways to look at
it)
Existentialism: definition
• A philosophy of thought
• Emphasizes both the uniqueness of each
individual’s experience and his/her
isolation in an indifferent universe.
• Because the events in human existence
can not be explained, one has freedom of
choice and complete responsibility for
his/her actions.
Existentialism
• Back in time, a person’s purpose in life
was defined by God or history.
• For example, if your grandfather was a
shoemaker, and your father was a
shoemaker, odds are, it was your purpose
to be a shoemaker. Everyone had a
purpose and God was the driving force.
Existentialism Origins
• A reaction to of dehumanized many
aspects of society (industrialization, rise of
bureaucracy)
• Now, a machine makes shoes. You no
longer have a job. What is your purpose?
• (might feel lost or confused)
The existentialism question:
• How do you exist in an uncertain and often
cruel world, feeling compelled to make
some sense or purpose out of one’s
existence, only to have all its progress and
accomplishments taken away by the
equally senseless fact of death?
Existentialism Origins cont.
• Shifted ideals of right and wrong
• Focused on the individual (individual has
the power to create their own purpose, not
pre-existed)
• Saw the world as hostile/chaotic
Existentialism Cont.
• Question: What keeps people from
becoming murderers, thieves, and
criminals?
• Answer: Guilt, fear of law, fear of God’s
law
• But: What if God didn’t exist?
Existentialism
• Because there is no God to answer to or
to look to for advice, how would you create
your own destiny?
Surrealism
• Definition: is a philosophy that aims trying
to interpret the subconscious mind.
• What do your dreams mean? If you think
evil thoughts, are you evil? Do you react
to events because your subconscious is
trying to tell you something?
Kafka, after death
• Kafka died in a sanatorium, in extreme
pain from Tuberculosis.
• Kafka had given many of his manuscripts
to friends with directions to destroy them
upon his death.
• Luckily, his friends saved the majority of
his work.
Kafka-the Holocaust
• Kafka was continuously tormented by the
cruelness of the world.
• He died before Hitler came into power, but
his family and friends did not escape the
Holocaust.
Kafka-the Holocaust
• Since he was Jewish, much of his work
was burned by the Gestapo.
• Many of his friends died in concentration
camps.
• Three of his sisters died in concentration
camps.
Kafka today
• His work is read throughout the world.
• Best known for describing obscure
situations with simple, cold words.
• Never explained what he meant with ideas
and concepts, thus his work is
continuously discussed.
The Metamorphosis: summary
• Salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up one
morning to find himself an insect. Since
Gregor’s income supported the Samsa
family, his transformation has a huge
impact on his parents and sister. The
family falls apart as they begin to see
Gregor as a hindrance and want him to go
away.