Metamorphosis - Central Dauphin School District
Metamorphosis
Frank Kafka
Presentation Notes
Date Written:
Define Novella:
[pic]
Define Metamorphosis:
Franz Kafka
Born in Prague (Czech Republic) in _____________________________
Oldest of ___________ children
Father was a successful ________________________.
Sad Kafka
[pic]
List 4 reasons why Kafka may have been sensitive and suffering from feelings of isolation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Kafkaesque
What themes dominated Kafka’s life and works:
What aspects of Kafka’s heritage made him a minority in his country/city?
How was being Jewish a hindrance to Kafka? [pic]
Kafka’s Father
Kafka developed what 3 characteristics because his father was so hard on him?
1. ______________________________
2. ______________________________
3. ______________________________
How did Kafka deal with his anger and anxiety? [pic]
Kafka’s Writing
[pic]
Featured: ______________________________________________________
Last Years
The last years of Kafka’s life was marked by periods of intense writing, family tensions and ___________________________________
What illness did Kafka eventually die from?
Existentialism
Define:
[pic]
Existentialism cont..
Back in time, a person’s purpose in life was defined by:
Origins
A reaction to/of:
How might someone feel if their purpose in life was taken away?
Question?
How do you exist in an ________________ and often ______________ world, feeling compelled to make some _____________________ or ________________ out of one’s existence, only to have all its _____________________ and ________________________ taken away by the equally fact of ____________________????
Shifted:
Focused on:
Saw the world as _____________________/_______________________
Surrealism
Definition:
Kafka after Death
[pic]
What did Kafka want to his friend’s to do with his writing after he died?
How did the Holocaust affect Kafka and his family?
[pic]
Kafka today
What is his writing best known for?
Summarize Metamorphosis:
[pic]
Metamorphosis
Study Questions
Part I
1. Why would a reader have sympathy for Gregor?
2. Metaphorically, what does it mean to be a bug?
3. How does Gregor feel about his job? What evidence in the story reveals this?
4. What is Gregor’s role in his family?
5. Why does he have so much responsibility?
6. How is his role about to change?
7. What happens to Gregor when he leaves his room to meet the office manager?
8. What does this episode reveal about Gregor’s father?
9. What was Gregor’s life like before his metamorphosis, at home and on the job?
10. In what ways do you think Gregor was like a “bug” even before his metamophosis?
11. From Gregor’s point of view, what might be some positive aspects of his metamorphosis into an insect?
Part II
1. Describe how and what Gregor eats.
2. What is his family situation like?
3. How does Gregor react when he learns the truth about his family’s finances?
4. How does Gregor’s sister treat him differently from the way he is treated by his parents?
5. How does Gregor entertain himself?
6. Why doesn’t Gregor want his furniture moved out?
7. How is Gregor wounded?
8. What symbolic significance might the object that wounds him have?
9. What kind of change does Gregor notice in his father?
Part III
1. How does Gregor’s family try to make life seem “normal” for them?
2. What prevents the family from moving to a smaller apartment?
3. How does the family try to manage financially?
4. How has Gregor’s attitude toward his family changed?
5. How has Grete’s attitude toward Gregor changed?
6. How does Gregor respond to his sister’s violin playing? What might Kafka (the author) be implying about Gregor by describing this reaction?
7. What forces lead to Gregor’s death?
8. How does his family react to his death?
9. How does the family celebrate Gregor’s death?
10. What effect does Gregor’s metamorphosis ultimately have on his family?
11. What does this suggest aobut his relationship with his family?
12. Who do you think is responsible for Gregor’s fate? To what extent do you think he is responsible?
Metamorphosis Key Concepts
1. What tone is conveyed by the first line of the story, one of the most famous in all of literature?
2. Describe Grete. What is significant about her relationship with Gregor?
3. Describe Gregor’s mother. Why does she have such trepidation when it comes to approaching Gregor?
4. Kafka viewed his own father as a domineering man who he could never satisfy. In what ways could this illuminate the relationship between Gregor and his father?
5. For what might Gregor’s transformation serve as a metaphor?
6. In what ways can we view Gregor gradually losing his humanity and his desire to be human?
7. Do you view this work as sad, darkly comic, or would you describe it in some other way? Explain.
8. Does Gregor have to die to complete the story? Explain.
Group Analysis
Evaluating Symbols:
Below is a list of SYMBOLS used in Metamorphosis. To review, a symbol is a person or thing in a story that represents a larger idea. For example, a symbol in Macbeth is blood, which represents that passion that consumes so many of the characters, to their downfall. Look at this sample table to see how to breakdown symbols.
Story: Macbeth
Symbol Elements of Symbol Purpose in Story
Blood Red, Life force, result of violence connects to character’s passions – Macbeth and
Lady Macbeth’s
desire for power; Macduff’s desire to protect his country;
Passion is downfall for all them (Lady kills self trying to get blood off of her, Macbeth gets killed for all the blood he spills, Macduff’s family gets killed – their blood is spilled – because of his passion for his country and need to protect it)
YOUR JOB: For FIVE of the symbols listed below, make a chart like the one above explaining what the purpose of the symbol is in the story.
The number three Light/Darkness Changing Seasons The Bug
The picture in Gregor’s room Uniform Apples
|Symbol |Element of Symbol |Purpose in Story |
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Discussion Questions. Answer each question in paragraph, using complete sentences. Start with a TOPIC SENTENCE that states what you will prove in the paragraph, then explain and prove it.
1. Mr. Samsa sometimes remarks, “This is a life. This is the peace and quiet of my old age.” Why is he so happy?
2. “Gregor was now eating hardly anything.” Is Gregor’s absolute refusal to eat his way of passively withdrawing from life and the world? Or is this a form of self-imposed punishment for all the terrible hardships he has placed on his family? Use OTHER quotes from the story and/or events from the story to support your choice.
3. What do you think is the THEME of this story? Support your choice with evidence from the story.
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Metamorphosis- Franz Kafka
12th English
Hack
Name: ________________________________
Period: _______
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