1. Franz Kafka (1883- 1924) Influenced existentialism
Explored the themes and archetypes of alienation, physical and psychological brutality, parent–child conflict, characters on a terrifying quest, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mystical transformations

2. born into a middle-class, German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire
a lawyer
employed by an insurance company
had a complicated and troubled relationship with his father that had a major effect on his writing
suffered conflict over being Jewish
shy avid reader

3. The family name: Kafka (kavka = jackdaw (Czech)
Herman Kafka, the father, was a travelling sales representative and then a fancy clothing retailer
He used the image of a jackdaw as his business logo
a "huge, selfish, overbearing businessman“ (Stanley Corngold, biographer)

4. The Metamorphosis – autobiographical undertones
Difficulties living in a modern society
Struggle for acceptance of others
Painful father-son relationship (overbearing father, physical and emotional abuse, neglect, condescending attitude)
Disapproval of Franz’s writing
Progressive deterioration of Gregor (losing sight, pain)
Images of death, disguised and elaborated through literature

5. Excerpt 1 analysis (p. 11)
The mysterious transformation (reduced from a human to a bug)
Gregor’s room/lifestyle
Setting
Social conditioning and a sudden feeling of being out of whack due to the transformation
Autobiographical undertones
Preoccupation with health (pain, chills, itching)

6. Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943)
Applied to Gregor
“People must have their sleep” (12)
“First he wanted to get up in peace and unmolested, get dressed and, especially, have breakfast, and only then give the matter further thought” (13)

7. Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)
Sigmund Freud’s model of personality structure

8. Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)

9. Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 12-13)
Freud’s tripartite structure of personality
How it applies to Gregor? Id
Super-ego
Ego

10. Excerpt 1 analysis (pp. 16-17): the mother figure (mother, sister)
Protective
Worried over Gregor’s life of seclusion
Sure of her son’s decency (16)

11. Excerpt 1 analysis (pp ): the father figure = authority (father, chief clerk): manifestation of authority – threats - blackmailing
“we business people […] very often simply have to overcome a slight indisposition out of regard for the business” (17)
“what’s going on? You’re barricading yourself in your room […] neglecting your business duties in a truly unheard-of fashion” (17)

12. Displacement is an unconscious defense mechanism whereby the mind substitutes either a new aim or a new object for goals felt in their original form to be dangerous or unacceptable.
Gregor’s subconscious destructive impulses directed at his father translate into his dreaming about his own deterioration.

13. THEMES seclusion, alienation personal and job insecurity
struggle for acceptance
futility of life
parent-child relationship
refusal to live an imposed lifestyle
awareness
gender differences

14. What kind of hero is Gregor?
Is he an anti-hero? He does not possess any heroic virtues and qualities.
In what way is he different from Achilles?
What does such a shift in the perception of the hero mean?