I.
Summarise
the book in no more than two paragraphs, but be detailed in character names,
plot events, and main conflict/resolution.
Kafka’s book opens up
with one of the most famous lines in literature, the protagonist, Gregor Samsa,
has mysteriously transformed into a human-sized bug throughout the night. For a
couple hours Gregor tries to move, get out of bed, and go to work; but his
actual condition prevents any sort of agile movement. His family starts to
worry, and along comes a supervisor from Gregor’s job to check on him. Both the
family, made up of his mother, his father, and his sister, Grete, along with
the supervisor ask Gregor to open up. After trying for a while Gregor finally
manages to open the door, and the supervisor and the family don’t like what
they see. The supervisor leaves immediately, Gregor tries to catch him, but his
father pushes him back into his room with a broom.
Gregor’s struggle as a
bug continues for a good chunk of the novel, with only his sister, Grete,
taking care of him while he is locked in his room. In this part of the novel
Gregor has an interesting mental and conceptual development. Since Gregor was
the family’s only source of income, which was used to pay off some debts; they
all now start to work and rent a room in their apartment to make some money.
They are very kind to their three guests, until one night Gregor escapes his
room and the guests see them. They are scared and disgusted by Gregor, and tell
the family that they will leave in the morning without paying. This event
causes the family to finally reconsider their position about Gregor, who
they’ve been taking care of without any human response (Gregor can’t talk).
Grete leads the way saying they should finally get rid of Gregor. Gregor, who
listens to this from behind the door, goes to sleep and doesn’t wake up the
next morning. Contrary to the rest of the book, the novel ends in a hopeful
tone. After Gregor’s death, the family now realizes that, due to their new
jobs, they now have promising careers along with some money, and decide to buy
a new place, and look for better opportunities.
II.
What
is the main theme of the book?
Remember, a theme is a full sentence that can be argued. Give at least three examples from the book
that illustrate / prove the theme you indicate.
· The
main theme of the book is alienation, a disconnection from the rest of the
world, which shows us that ultimately, we are alone and unimportant.
· Examples:
o Gregor’s
growing distancing from his family.
o Gregor’s
one-way fraternal love for his sister after he suffers the transformation
o The
novel’s hopeful ending despite Gregor’s death
III.
How does the
book connect with any of our major texts that we’ve read as a class this year
or literary books that you’ve previously read?
(Note: Harry Potter, the Twilight series, etc. do NOT count as
"literary.”) Give at least three
pairs of examples of how and why your book connects to other literary texts.
· Kafka’s
descriptive language to depict every detail in the setting of “Metamorphosis”
reminded me of Joseph Conrad’s also very descriptive language to describe the Congolese
land when Marlow arrives there.
· The character of
the office messenger/supervisor reminded me a bit of Big Brother’s role in “1984”.
His persecution of Gregor and ‘being on him’ about every little mistake or
misdemeanor he makes is similar to Big Brother’s ‘Telescreen’ system and how he
prosecuted everyone who didn’t follow his ideals.
· The ending of
the novel, and especially the depiction of how the afternoon sun hitting the
family, reminded me a lot of Meursault’s scene at the beach in “The Stranger”.
Though the context is completely different, the detailed way both Albert Camus
and Franz Kafka describe the sun hitting Meursault and the family was very
similar and it popped in my mind right away.
