1. Metamorphosis A tale of Magical Realism

2. Take out your journals…  Brainstorm: I am going to give you the setting and conflict and you take it from there!  Setting/Conflict: Describe yourself waking up in the morning in your own room (develop a strange or dream-like quality), but as you get up, you realize you’ve morphed into a ___________  Bug, animal, something supernatural, non- human…  What happens; how do you cope with daily life; how do you tell your family and friends?  Keep it darker and more like magical realism than fantasy…it is not escapism.

3. Get into groups  Share your journals and talk about elements that add to the dream-like or strange quality.  Note symbolism in your different pieces and explain deeper meaning.  Choose one to share with the class.

4. Franz Kafka 1883-1924  German/Jewish writer  Oldest of 6 kids – father was a traveling salesman and extreme authoritarian.  Both parents were frequently gone – raised by nannies.  Suffered from schizoid personality disorder, insomnia, anorexia nervosa, had TB and died of starvation  All his sisters died during WWII in the ghetto or Auschwitz

5. Metamorphosis  Novella – one of the only things he published during his life  Themes:  Absurdity of life – existentialism  Disconnect between mind and body – conflict  Alienation and estrangement  Metamorphosis – emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually…  (becoming an adult)