1. Kaili Miller, Debra Mendoza, Abraham Cruz, Ellery Quinn, & Kate Freund
Die Verwandlung
Kaili Miller, Debra Mendoza, Abraham Cruz, Ellery Quinn, & Kate Freund

2. http://search. proquest

3. Historical Context
Franz Kafka was the first child born in 1883 in Austria-Hungary
Five siblings, two died early, other three died in the Holocaust
Studied chem then to law to german literature then back to law
Had brief relationships/engagements with Felice Bauer, but never married
Wrote the Metamorphosis in Autumn of 1912 in three weeks
Took three years to convince him to publish it.
Won the Theodor Fontane Prize, a significant German-language literary award
Kafka is deeply rooted within the existentialist movement
“existence precedes essence”
Went against the conventional way of thinking

4. Historical Context Cont.
Wenn hat Kafka Die Verwandlung geschrieben?
a period in which he was having difficulty making progress on his first novel
November 17, 1912
“came to me in my misery lying in bed” -Letter to Felice
December 7, 1912
Finished the novella
felt it would turn out best if he could write it in just one or two long sittings
“Great antipathy to “Metamorphosis.” Unreadable ending. Imperfect almost to its very marrow. It would have turned out much better if I had not been interrupted at the time by the business trip.” - Diary entry January 19, 1914

5. Cultural Context
“Man hörte gar nicht die Türe zuschlagen; sie hatten sie wohl offen gelassen, wie es in Wohnungen zu sein pflegt, in denen ein großes Unglück geschehen ist.” (Kafka)
Be cool, Speak Deutsch
Die Verwandlung
does not suggest a natural change of state associated with the animal kingdom such as the change from caterpillar to butterfly
Real Definition= word from fairy tales used to describe the transformation. Ex= a girl’s seven brothers into swans

6. Philosophical Context
Existentialism embedded into the story of The Metamorphosis
Existentialism: a person’s free will is responsible for determining his or her existence
Decisions have consequences
A person is at their best when struggling for their life
Works of existentialism are often identified as a feeling of confusion and misery in response to a ludicrous and unjust world
Gregor caused himself to become a bug!
“If they got frightened, then Gregor would have no further responsibility and could be calm. But if they accepted everything calmly, then he, too, would have no c cause to be upset…” (Kafka 84)

7. Print of the Lady in the Muff🖼
Print of the Lady in the Muff
“It depicted a lady who, decked out in a fur hat and a fur boa, sat upright, raising toward the viewer a heavy fur muff in which her whole forearm was encased” (Kafka 11).
“...and then he saw hanging conspicuously on the now otherwise
bare wall the picture of the lady dressed in nothing but furs”
(Kafka 35).
Leopold von Sacher-Masoch- Venus in Furs

8. 👵👵
Mother
“Gregor… it’s six forty five. Didn’t you intend to make a trip?”(Kafka 13)
“ … How otherwise would Gregor miss a train!. The boy has no head for anything but the business.” (Kafka 16)
“Let me in to Gregor; after all, he’s my poor son!” (Kafka 32)
“...but the mother wasn’t used to the sight of Gregor” (Kafka 35)
“She then fell across the couch with outspread arms, as if giving up everything, and lay there perfectly still” (Kafka 36)
“...she [mother] rushed upon the father and, embracing him, in absolute union with him… with her hands behind the father’s head, she begged him to spare Gregor’s life.” (Kafka 38)

9. motherly → confused→ worried→ distraught→ repulsed→ torn📖📖
Literary Conventions
Kafka uses tone and mood to characterize the mother
Tone: of text; conveyed by word choice, setting, etc
Mood: emotion felt by the reader
motherly → confused→ worried→ distraught→ repulsed→ torn
Distant
Fragile
Quiet
Overshadowed

10. Teil II

13. Family “Gregor is sick, fetch the doctor fast” (Kafka 19)
“Besides I have my parents and sister to worry about” (Kafka 21)
“ ‘Dear Parents… we can't go on like this. If perhaps you don't realize it, I do. In front of this monstrous creature I refuse to pronounce my brother's name…’ ‘She´s perfectly right.’ said the father¨ (Kafka 47)
“Mr Samsa appeared in his uniform with his wife on one arm and his daughter on the other” (Kafka 50)
“...despite his present sad and disgusting shape, Gregor was a member of the family who shouldn’t be treated as an enemy, but in whose case family obligations demanded that one swallow one’s repulsion and be patient, only patient” (Kafka 39)
¨Mr and Mrs Samsa, looking at their daughter, who was becoming more lively all the time… Had blossomed out into a beautiful well-built girl¨ (Kafka 52)

14. Literary Conventions
Kafka uses characters’ stream of consciousness to develop the theme of family
a person’s continuous thoughts and reactions to a particular event
how they react!
Grete: patient and accepting of the situation; later becomes repulsed
Mother: faints at the sight of Gregor but does not want him dead; later neglects her own son
Father: wants nothing to do with Gregor after the transformation

15. Pathos & Artistry △
Kafka appeals to the readers’ emotions by presenting the issues that Gregor
faces within his family.
Not being accepted after his transformation
Daddy issues
Providing for the family
Kafka’s artistic abilities strengthen the importance of the role of family throughout the work.
“... since no one dared to remove the apple, it remained in his flesh as a visible reminder” (Kafka 38)

16. Fences