Comprehension
Gregor's first reaction when he discovers that he has become an insect is...
He refuses to leave his room or to talk to anyone about his problem.
What type of person would be most likely to act listlessly? Choose from these:
person reporting a shocking event
person committing a serious crime
person unsure of their sense of balance
person who is overworked and exhausted.
person who is overworked and exhausted
In the opening scene, what do Gregor's thoughts and long speeches reveal most clearly about his personality?
He is self-reliant and resents others telling him what to do.
Which is the most likely reason that Kafka in “The Metamorphosis” has Gregor turn into an insect rather than some other animal?
to make Gregor repulsive to those around him
What is the most important reason in Gregor's mind for holding onto his job as a traveling salesman?
He feels responsible for the financial support of his family.
Which situation could be used to illustrate the meaning of amelioration?
a blow to the head of a falling person
a look in the mirror to an angry person
a cold drink of water to a thirsty person
a change of scenery to a confused person
a cold drink of water to a thirsty person
As his life as an insect continues, Gregor begins to lose interest in living. Which of these events most significantly leads to Gregor’s deterioration?
Gregor discovers that other people cannot understand his speech.
His angry father treats him like a menace and throws apples at him.
His parents treat the lodgers with more concern than they have for Gregor.
Grete no longer shows compassion for him and treats him with indifference.
His angry father treats him like a menace and throws apples at him.
How does Kafka create the atmosphere of a nightmare in “The Metamorphosis”? Choose three options.
a.The author makes Gregor unable to communicate with people.
b.The author shows Gregor’s panic at realizing that he is now an insect.
c.The author makes Gregor’s efforts to go to work as an insect seem funny.
d.The author shows Gregor thinking that he deserves to be changed into an insect.
e.The author makes Gregor seem stupid for not understanding that he is no longer a person.
f.The author puts the insect Gregor in dangers that he does not know how to handle.
g.The author makes the story more frightening by providing a reason for Gregor’s transformation.
h. The author has Gregor remain human in his feelings even though his body is now that of an insect.
a. f. and h.
Describe Grete's attitude toward her brother, Gregor.
She is sympathetic and caring at first, but as her life gets more difficult, she blames him for the family's problems.
What is the most likely meaning of asphyxiation in the following sentence?
When Donald choked on a piece of apple, he almost died of asphyxiation.
an inability to breathe
Gregor’s parents and sister eventually are able to make their own living without Gregor’s earnings. What do their efforts reveal about them?
They become determined and self-reliant instead of allowing a difficult situation to defeat them.
Which of the following statements shows most clearly that “The Metamorphosis” is an example of absurdist literature?
Gregor mostly seems to enjoy his transformation.
The other characters do not act like ordinary human beings.
The transformation of Gregor into a giant insect is fully explained.
Gregor’s transformation leads to his complete alienation from other people.
Gregor’s transformation leads to his complete alienation from other people.
How do the family members justify their decision to get rid of the insect?
They convince themselves that the insect is not Gregor.
"He [Gregor] immediately dipped his head almost up to and over his eyes down into the milk. But he soon drew it back again in disappointment, not just because it was difficult for him to eat … but also because the milk, which otherwise was his favorite drink and which his sister had certainly placed there for that reason, did not appeal to him at all. He turned away from the bowl almost with aversion and crept back into the middle of the room."
Which synonym most closely matches both the denotation and connotation of aversion in the quotation?
suspense
loathing
hostility
indifference
loathing
"He [Gregor] remembered his family with deep feeling and love. In this business, his own thought that he had to disappear was, if possible, even more decisive than his sister’s."
What does this quotation suggest about Gregor’s state of mind just before his death?
He wishes to sacrifice himself for his family’s sake.
He regains his emotional attachment to his family.
Which of these events is the clearest example of absurdist humor in “The
Metamorphosis”?
Gregor, now an insect, struggles to leave his room and thinks he can do his traveling salesman job.
The lodgers in the apartment threaten not to pay rent when they discover the insect Gregor.
The sister pretends to mourn Gregor even though she has convinced her parents to kill him.
The cleaning woman discovers Gregor’s body and does not believe that he is dead.
Gregor, now an insect, struggles to leave his room and thinks he can do his traveling salesman job.
In “The Metamorphosis,” Kafka orders events in an unusual way. The most dramatic, surprising event of the story—Gregor being transformed into a giant bug—is revealed first. What is the most likely the reason Kafka reveals this information first?
to establish that the story takes place in an absurd, irrational world where things do not make sense
"He [the father] would settle himself even more deeply in his armchair. Only when the two women grabbed him under the armpits would he throw his eyes open, look back and forth at the mother and sister, and habitually say, “This is a life. This is the peace and quiet of my old age.” And propped up by both women, he would heave himself up, elaborately, as if for him it was the greatest travail."
Which sentence best explains the connotation of travail?
Travail suggests work that takes great effort or is burdensome.
Travail suggests an action that inspires great disgust or loathing.
Travail suggests a loss of dignity or honor in the eyes of others.
Travail suggests labor that will ultimately reap a great reward.
Travail suggests work that takes great effort or is burdensome.
Read the following excerpt from “The Metamorphosis.”
"But when he finally was successful in getting his head in front of the door opening, it became clear that his body was too wide to go through any further. Naturally his father, in his present mental state, had no idea of opening the other wing of the door a bit to create a suitable passage for Gregor to get through. His single fixed thought was that Gregor must get into his room as quickly as possible. He would never have allowed the elaborate preparations that Gregor required to orient himself and thus perhaps get through the door. On the contrary, as if there were no obstacle and with a peculiar noise, he now drove Gregor forward. Behind Gregor the sound was at this point no longer like the voice of only a single father. Now it was really no longer a joke, and Gregor forced himself, come what might, into the door."
Based on the passage, what can you infer about Gregor’s father?
He is impatient and demanding.
Modernism is a movement in the arts that developed during the twentieth century. Modernist ideas developed in response to dramatic changes around the world, including the rapid rise of industrial development and resulting changes in the environment and daily life, the movement of the population from farms to cities, and the horrors of World War I. Modernist works can be quite disturbing, because although events and characters seem realistic at first, the reader soon realizes the world of the story is slightly twisted from the one we expect.
Which setting would be more likely for a Modernist story, a dark cave where dragons live or a factory? Explain
A Factory- because it seems like a normal place but something is out of the ordinary within the normal setting.