Short Fiction: A Study of Genre

Readings and Materials

Key Questions

Questions about the text that will help guide the students understanding

Add a note

Lesson Notes

Download Notes

There was an error generating your document. Please refresh the page and try again.

Generating your document. This may take a few seconds.

Download Page with Annotations

Share with my team(s)

Post as a note "From the Fishtank Team"

Are You Sure?

Are you sure you want to delete this note? This action cannot be undone.

Cancel Delete

• How has the author developed a sense of chaos in the story thus far? Track further evidence of this in today’s reading.

• How has the setting changed? How has it remained the same?

• What does paragraph 2 reveal about Gregor? His sister?

• What does the narrator’s description of the change in lock and key on p. 20 reveal about the shift in mood in the apartment?

• Track how the narrator reveals that Gregor’s preferences and habits are shifting now that he is an insect.

• Why does Gregor feel he must stay “calm” according to the narrator on p. 20? What does this reveal about his character and his relationship to his family?

• Why do his sister’s actions on p. 21 surprise Gregor? What do they reveal about her? About their relationship?

• What do we learn about the family’s financial situation on pp. 22–24? What had been Gregor’s role in the family according to these pages?

• Track how the author continues to develop Gregor’s relationship with his sister, Grete. What is the significance of his sister’s decision to leave the sheet on the couch on p. 25?

• According to p. 26, how is Gregor adapting to his new body?

• Why does Gregor’s mother wait weeks before coming to see him? When she does come, what impact does her voice have on him? (p. 27)

• How do the debate and events surrounding the furnishing of Gregor’s room (pp. 26–30) reflect Gregor’s internal conflict? The family’s conflict?

• How does Gregor become “shut out” from his family on p. 29? How does he react?

• How has the loss of language and inability to communicate impacted Gregor? How does it impact the plot on p. 30?

• How has the father’s appearance changed according to p. 30? What do we learn about the relationship between Gregor and his father?

• How is Gregor dealing with both the human and insect sides of his personality? Is he becoming more of one than the other? What evidence shows you this?

• How are the other characters responding to Gregor as time goes on? How is his transformation impacting them?

• How is Kafka using the theme/idea of isolation to further develop the theme of what it means to be human?