3/21/15 1Franz Kafka's“The Metamorphosis” Biographical Details l Franz Kafka (1883-1924) l A famous novelist and short story writer born to a German speaking Jewish family in Prague (now capital of the Czech Republic, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire) Kafka led a relatively short and difficult life shaped by a variety of physical and mental ailments (migraines, tuberculosis, depression), unrewarding jobs as well as oppressive family influences. l He eventually moved to Berlin to get away from his family and to work full time as a writer. l He died of complications from tuberculosis a few years later in 1924. l Kafka's writing, which defies easy categorization, is sometimes classified as“modernism”or“magical realism.”It deals with oppressive bureaucracies, social alienation, and situations that appear hopeless and absurd. l Despite its grim subject matter, Kafka's writing also has a sense of humor—a dark sense of humor! l The Metamorphosiswas published in German in 1915 and has, in translation, become one of the most frequently anthologized short stories of all time.
