The Metamorphosis Themes

If human beings are traditionally distinguished from animals by their capacity for thought, language, and social feeling, how do we categorize Gregor, who seems to exhibit all of these human capaci...

Much of The Metamorphosis is spent in Gregor's head as he struggles to come to terms with his new form. At times he seems to be able to think abstractly about his condition (as an insect) in ways t...

Forgive the short dip into Philosophy 101 here, but we promise – it'll pay off in the end. A major German Enlightenment philosopher by the name of Immanuel Kant came up with the ethical princ...

By starting out with Gregor's metamorphosis into a bug, The Metamorphosis plays around with some interesting questions as to the significance of transformation. We're never told exactly how or why...

Gregor's transformation into a giant bug touches on larger issues of identity for himself and his family. One way of approaching the identity issue is to consider whether Gregor is still Gregor if...

Early in The Metamorphosis, we learn that Gregor dearly wishes to quit his job and be free of his family obligations. Being turned into a bug handily takes care of this problem for Gregor – y...

Kafka's Metamorphosis toys with the traditional family structure where the father is at the head. Instead, the story begins with Gregor, the son, as the sole provider and the father as a weak, phys...

Kafka's stories are known for their exploration of the nightmare of bureaucracy and the dehumanizing effects of modern life – all of those things we think of when we use the term "kafka-esque...