Campbell University Kafka The Metamorphosis Discussion Questions

I’m working on a literature multi-part question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Discussion Question #1 for Kafka’s The Metamorphosis

Kafka’s The Metamorphosis can be read as a parable, “a story that describes concrete and everyday events in order to illustrate an abstract concept or condition” (751). Kafka does not explain what caused Gregor Samsa’s transformation into a beetle (a giant bug). In other words, The Metamorphosis requires the reader’s active interpretation of Gregor’s bodily change to a subhuman being. Why do you think Kafka changed Gregor to a beetle (rather than to an employee who became paralyzed or permanently ill and can no longer work)? What does Gregor, a traveling salesman, dislike about his job? Why do you think Kafka chose Gregor’s job as a traveling salesman (rather than (i.e.) an office clerk)? How does Gregor describe his working conditions? What caused Gregor to be alienated from his normal life and social bonds with people?  

Discussion Question #2

Why has Gregor stayed in that job if he disliked the working conditions? Why is he saying that he “was only condemned to work for a firm” (756)? Was Gregor obligated to work for the firm?  What is the role of the messenger, who waits at the train station at five o’clock in the morning? After his metamorphosis, Gregor’s boss visits his house. What do you make of the manager’s reaction to Gregor for not showing up for work on that day? Did Gregor miss a day for work during the past five years?  Does the manager care about Gregor’s well-being? What does Gregor think of the roles of the messenger boy and the company’s health-insurance doctor? Are they serving for employees, like Gregor? Gregor can still hear what the manager says about Gregor, but the manager cannot understand the words Gregor speaks (after his transformation). Similarly, Gregor can still hear what his parents and sister speak, but they cannot hear what he says: “No pleas of Gregor’s helped, no plea was even understood; however humbly he might turn his head his father merely stamped his feet more forcefully” (761). What do you think Kafka is trying to convey through this situation?  

Discussion Question #3 for Kafka’s The Metamorphosis 

What is Gregor’s understanding of being treated as a human being? When does Gregor feel “integrated into human society” (759)? When does Gregor stop being treated as a human being? What worries Gregor most after his transformation, and what effect does his metamorphosis bring on his family? Why is he saying to himself, “just don’t stay in bed being useless” (755)? Why does Gregor worry about the loss of his job, rather than his well-being and his changed body? What does it say about Gregor? How does Gregor’s father react to Gregor’s transformation? Does his father have the same view of being treated as a human being as Gregor’s? Is he upset at Gregor, or is he worried about Gregor’s well-being? How would you characterize Gregor’s father? What does Gregor think of his father? 

Discussion Question #4 for Kafka’s The Metamorphosis 

How did his family treat Gregor before his bodily change? What worries Gregor the most after his bodily change, and what is his family’s concern after that? Gregor has been supporting his parents and sister for the past several years, but he “had kept only a few dollars for himself” (766). Where did his product of labor (wage) go, and why did he keep only a few dollars for himself? What does Gregor overhear about his father’s financial situation after his father’s business bankruptcy? Was Gregor obligated to work for the firm? (If his job is “grueling,” why didn’t he look for a different job?) Why do you think Gregor’s father never told Gregor about the money he was able to save after his business bankruptcy? How would you describe Gregor’s father? Does Gregor’s father become harsh on Gregor after his metamorphosis? If so, why? 

Discussion Question #5 for Kafka’s The Metamorphosis 

Why does Gregor now feel “shame and grief,” especially when his parents talk about the “necessity of earning money” (766)? How would you characterize Gregor? What do Gregor’s parents worry about after his metamorphosis? What do Gregor’s father, mother, and his sister do in order to support the family? Why does his father refuse to take off his uniform even in the house? What time does he get to work, and what worries him? Why does his father throw apples at Gregor, and how does his father’s action affect Gregor? When does Gregor stop being treated as a human being by his family, and why?

Discussion Question #6 for Kafka’s The Metamorphosis 

Why does Grete call Gregor “this monster” and “it”? Why does she insist that “it has to go” (778)? What does it mean to function as a human being in a modern industrial society? Why does Gregor feel that “His conviction that he would have to disappear was, if possible, even firmer than his sister’s”(780)? Why does he decide to “disappear” (780)? What caused Gregor to feel this way? Is Gregor’s death self-imposed and/or pressured by Grete and his father? How would you interpret Gregor’s death? What does his death symbolize?