Kafka's The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis: Chapter Summary

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Although The Metamorphosis is a relatively easy read, sometimes a brief summary is helpful in recollecting the more obscure parts of this philosophical novella...

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Chapter One

A hardworking man goes to bed one night and wakes up, late for work, as a cockroach. That is how Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, begins. 

Summary

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Chapter Two

Chapter 2 starts the day after Gregor undergoes his metamorphosis. First hints of loneliness overtake him when neither his sister nor either one of his parents comes in to visit him.

Summary

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Chapter Three

Gregor's family is faced once more with hardship when they begin to rent out a room in their apartment to three very serious, extremely critical gentlemen.  The novella comes to a climax as Gregor's "disgusting" presence is discovered by the three austere men, sparking off his father's temper and his sister's revulsion.

Summary

When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin...