1. Adding Context to Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis
(Fig. 1. Vermin. tumblr.com)

2. Modernism: History Early 1900s – roughly 1965
World War I ( ): “The War to End All Wars”
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand, archduke of Austria- Hungary
Involved 32 nations; devastated Europe
Utilized new weapons of modern technology
Poison gas, submarines, armored tanks, airplanes, and machine guns
Nearly 10 million soldiers and almost as many civilians died
U.S. entered war in 1917
Changed nation’s youth

3. Modernism Continued
End of WWI = end of idealism and ushered in an era marked by economic growth, technological advancement, and new ways to have fun.
Roaring 20s = more money & more things to buy
Ex. Radios, cars, nightclubs, movies, bending prohibition rules…
Political corruption
Ex. Gangs, distrust of foreigners, and intolerant of political opposition

4. “Make it new!”
Modernism is a literary movement that served as a response to social and cultural changes brought on by the war and materialism.
(Fig. 2. Modernism. arwav)

5. Styles in Modernism
A rejection of traditional themes and subject matter
Instead of love, broken relationships and lives
Focus on alienated individuals rather than “heroes” who stood for the values of the society
Themes of impermanence and change
Understatement and irony reveal important emotions and ideas
Symbols and images suggest meanings
Stream-of-consciousness shows what is going on inside and outside the characters

6. Characteristics
Characters are almost always alienated: withdrawn, unresponsive, hurt by unnamed forces; they are isolated.
Experimentation
Stream of consciousness = trying to connect fragmented thinking
Dreams, feelings, dialogue, images, literary allusions
There is no narrative voice guiding the reader with explanations or details; the reader is left to figure everything out.

7. Franz Kafka Did not fight in WWI
(Fig. 3 Franz Kafka. yale.edu)
Did not fight in WWI
Job and tuberculosis held him back
Felt separate from his Jewish heritage, although he is associated with Jewish literature
Died before World War II, but all three of his sisters perished in the Holocaust

8. “Kafkaesque” = frustrations of modern existence
Born in Prague; spoke German
Studied law & got a job at an insurance company
Kafka's letters and journals reveal that he was tortured by a sense of his own inadequacy, though to others he came off as quiet and intelligent.
Several love affairs but never married
Burned at least 90% of everything he wrote; published The Metamorphosis at age 32
Diagnosed with tuberculosis; led to his death seven years later
He left a note for his friend, Max Brod, to destroy his remaining works.
Brod disregarded this request.

9. The Metamorphosis Novella by Franz Kafka Published 1915
Existentialism: existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining their own development through acts of the will
(Fig. 3. “The Unfortunate Mr. Samsa.” Johnson)

10. Psychology (how the brain and mind works) Basics
Sigmund Freud
“Father of Psychoanalysis”
Dream interpretation
Oedipus Complex
Personality development
Id= instincts
Ego = reality
Superego = morality
(Fig. 4. Sigmund Freud. Biography.com)

11. Iceberg Theory Ego: thoughts and perceptions
Superego: memories and stored knowledge
Id: fears, unacceptable desires, violent motives, immoral urges, irrational wishes, selfish needs, shameful experiences
(Fig. 5. Iceberg Metaphor. SimplyPsychology.org)