The Metamorphosis

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Scaffolded/Short-Answer Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the below bulleted outlines. Cite details from the novella over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. Grete and Mrs. Samsa have a difference of opinion about how to treat Gregor based on Mrs. Samsa’s assertion that they should not cater to Gregor’s new state.

• How do these differing opinions demonstrate the conflict inherent in treating illness? (topic sentence)
• In what ways does each perspective demonstrate changing perspectives on Gregor’s role in the family? Discuss with the incorporation of supporting details from the text.
• Which perspective is the more compassionate approach to Gregor? In what way(s)?

2. Each of the family members transforms over the course of the novella as they adjust to their new situation.

• What do these transformations say about the themes of the novella? (topic sentence)
• Provide examples of each character’s changes, the root causes, and how these transformations relate to the overall idea of the novella.
• How and why is Gregor’s transformation fundamentally different from those of his family members?

3. Gregor Samsa, in true absurdist fashion, responds to his predicament by thinking rationally about getting to work that morning.

• How is his behavior thematically resonant with the overall idea of the novella? (topic sentence)
• How does his outlook change over the course of the story, and what does the change signify? Reference several points in the narrative to support your ideas.
• How is Gregor’s death the end result of this change?

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least 3 main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. The Metamorphosis presents Gregor Samsa as a character whose human dignity was threatened long before his transformation: distrust and disrespect from those with whom he works, coupled with his father’s debts, caused him to be dehumanized by his job. However, the novella also presents the positive effect that work has on the other members of the household, and the hopeful ending is partly due to the newfound economic independence the family has. What is the novella trying to say about the nature of work and its role in a person’s sense of self?

2. As Gregor Samsa spends more time in his transformed state, the stresses of caretaking shift from him to Grete, who undergoes a profound transformation of her own. What happens to Grete, and what does it suggest about the novella’s perspective on the obligations of family?

3. At the outset of the novella, Gregor Samsa is already alienated from his family, his coworkers, and his peers; his transformation heightens this alienation and makes him more aware of his missing humanity. How is his transformation a metaphor for different kinds of social alienation, and how does his new role as an outsider in his own home allow him to understand the value of being connected to others?