Q 01/05

In which city was Franz Kafka born?

A) Vienna

B) Prague

C) Berlin

D) Budapest

Answer · why

B) Prague

Prague was then the capital of Bohemia within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Q 02/05

In which language did Kafka write?

A) Czech

B) German

C) Yiddish

D) Hebrew

Answer · why

B) German

He also spoke Czech, with good grades at school, but never considered himself fluent.

Q 03/05

In The Metamorphosis, what does the travelling salesman wake up to find he has become?

A) A stray dog

B) A stone statue

C) A monstrous vermin

D) A giant bird

Answer · why

C) A monstrous vermin

The German word Ungeziefer is deliberately vague; Kafka never named a specific creature.

Q 04/05

What is the name of the transformed protagonist of The Metamorphosis?

A) Josef K.

B) Georg Bendemann

C) Karl Rossmann

D) Gregor Samsa

Answer · why

D) Gregor Samsa

Haruki Murakami's story Samsa in Love reverses the premise.

Q 05/05

Which adjective derived from Kafka's name describes nightmarish bureaucratic situations?

A) Kafkan

B) Kafkaesque

C) Kafkaish

D) Kafkalike

Answer · why

B) Kafkaesque

Scholars say the term is now so ubiquitous it is often misused.