59 pages • 1 hour read
Franz KafkaThe Metamorphosis
Fiction | Novella | Adult | Published in 1915A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Thought & Response Prompts
These prompts can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before or after reading the novella.
Post-Reading Analysis
Perhaps the most devastating part of Gregor’s transformation is his loss of human speech. How does this shape him as a character, and how does this change his role in the family? What does it mean to become voiceless?
Teaching Suggestion: What Samsa loses, more than anything, is his agency, though it may be argued that he never had any to begin with. Thinking this through with students may help them better understand the central metaphor of the story.
Personal Response Prompt
How did Gregor Samsa’s treatment by his employer resonate with you? How does his predicament represent some of the problems with contemporary relationships between employees and employers?
Teaching Suggestion: This question will be especially useful for high school or college students who have worked in lower wage jobs and will likely have strong opinions on any Kafkaesque experiences they have had.
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By Franz Kafka
