1. The Metamorphosis (1915)
Franz Kafka

2. Biographical, Historical, and Conceptual Contexts

3. Franz Kafka
Born in 1883 into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague
Studied law
Worked at an insurance company in order to support his parents
Developed an inferiority complex partly due to his difficult, neurotic relationship with his tyrannical father
Had very little time to devote to his writing
Contracted tuberculosis in 1917 and was supported by his sister and parents
Feared being perceived as both physically and mentally repulsive
Suffered from clinical depression, social anxiety, and several other illnesses triggered by stress
Died in 1924 from starvation when his tuberculosis worsened and could not swallow

4. Kafka’s Alienation Felt he was an outsider Jewish in Catholic Prague
Sickly
Lonely
Perceived human beings as
being trapped by authority in
a hopeless world
Became frustrated at having
to support his family
Had to work in a meaningless
bureaucratic job where he was
just another pencil pusher
Took time away from his writing
Franz Kafka

5. Modern Alienation: Fragmentation
The city
Dehumanization
Modern means of production—division of labor
Sense of worthlessness
Acceleration of life and travel
Mechanization
Class stratification

6. Prague Part of the Germanic Austro-Hungarian Empire
Catholic city where Czech was spoken
Segregated its Jewish population into a German-speaking ghetto
Founded on seven hills and dominated by “The Castle,” looming high over the city as a symbol of authority
Highly dense city, with narrow, labyrinth-like streets
Associated with the traditions of magic and mysticism
The Jewish Ghetto

7. Expressionist Literature
Seeks to reproduce not objective reality but the subjective reality which people, objects, and events arouse in us
Depicts a psychological or spiritual reality through distortion and/or exaggeration
Presents the distorted, exaggerated situation as if it were completely real
Emphasizes visionary experience
Pierces the surface of things to reveal essences
Explores how to transcend the material world
Replaces concrete particulars with allegorical forms

8. Meaning of The Metamorphosis

9. Gregor Samsa represents a specific type of behavior—the fear of being alive with all of its risks/rewards and the embrace of an inauthentic code of behavior—which, in the end, is transformed into the acceptance of life with all of its vicissitudes.