By Franz Kafka

 Kafka was born and raised about 60 miles south of Prague. Though he spoke mainly Czech as a youth, his family’s increasing financial stature led him to learn and master German, the language of the upper class.  He was the oldest child of a dry goods shop owner.  He attended Charles Ferdinand University where he majored in Chemistry for two weeks, then law, then German literature, and finally switched back to and graduated with a doctorate in law.

 At the university, he became close friends with Max Brod, a young and talented writer.  Brod convinced Kafka to publish some of his work, and in January 1913 Meditation, a collection of some early short stories and sketches, appeared. In the meantime he was gathering information for his "American novel," which he began writing in  Although his father thought him to be quiet and eccentric, in reality, he was living the life of many American writers at the time, over-indulging in drink, women, and every other bad habit.  He was engaged a number of times, which he broke off each time because he hated the idea of marriage.

 He eventually became enamored with Felice Bauer, whom he was engaged to when he wrote Metamorphosis. However, he began writing to her friend, Grete Bloch, complaining about the things he didn’t like about Felice.  Scandal would eventually surround Kafka when a local paper published the details of his affair with Grete, including the fact he had fathered a child by her, 25 years after the relationship.  The only evidence of this is a letter written by Grete that was published after his death. The child was said to have died at age 7. Grete was beaten to death by Nazi forces in 1944.

 Although he broke off the engagement to Felice in 1914, he proposed to her again in 1917 as the two remained in contact via letter. She would decide better and break off the engagement this time.  He was diagnosed with tuberculosis in  He would be engaged to four other women before his death in 1924.

 He wrote in his diary, as can be seen in Metamorphosis, “A first sign of the beginning of understanding is the wish to die.”  Obviously, his unhappiness in life is evident in this statement and in the novella.  What specific examples show this?

 Metamorphosis is one of the most critically analyzed and argued over works in American literature.  What critics do agree on often comes in the area of theme.  The major theme appears to be an alienation from humanity, whether desired or not.

 Irony  Gregor seems to resent his family being utterly dependent upon him. Upon his transformation, he literally becomes a parasite to them.  Although it is Gregor who undergoes a physical transformation, the story begins with him as an insect. It is his family who transforms from completely dependent upon him to self-sufficient by the end of the story. So, many believe the “metamorphosis” is actually theirs.

 Extended metaphor  It is clear that Gregor feels trapped in a meaningless job, isolated from life and others. Perhaps, he feels like an insect that observes life without really being a part of it. Rather than exploring this mental concern, Kafka makes the scenario literal as Gregor becomes the metaphorical “fly in the room” that observes life without interacting with it and is, more often that not, a nuissance.

 Be sure to know major characters (there aren’t many).  Be able to answer basic plot questions.  Be familiar with author and literary information presented in this PowerPoint.  The test on Friday will be 40 multiple choice questions.