Q 01/05

Who wrote The Metamorphosis?

A) Thomas Mann

B) Hermann Hesse

C) Franz Kafka

D) Robert Musil

Answer · why

C) Franz Kafka

The Prague-born writer published it in 1915; it is the longest of the stories he considered finished and released in his lifetime.

Q 02/05

What is the name of the salesman who wakes up transformed?

A) Karl Rossmann

B) Josef K.

C) Georg Bendemann

D) Gregor Samsa

Answer · why

D) Gregor Samsa

His sister is Grete; the similarity of their names has been read as a clue that they form two halves of one personality.

Q 03/05

What is the novella's original German title?

A) Das Ungeziefer

B) Die Verwandlung

C) Die Metamorphose

D) Der Käfer

Answer · why

B) Die Verwandlung

Kafka had read and even translated Ovid as a schoolboy, yet chose the everyday word for transformation rather than 'Metamorphose'.

Q 04/05

In which year was The Metamorphosis first published?

A) 1905

B) 1924

C) 1915

D) 1933

Answer · why

C) 1915

It appeared in the October issue of the journal Die weißen Blätter, then as a book that December.

Q 05/05

What was Gregor's job before his transformation?

A) Insurance assessor

B) Schoolteacher

C) Bank clerk

D) Travelling salesman

Answer · why

D) Travelling salesman

He sold cloth, hated the constant travel and stayed only to pay off his bankrupt father's debts.

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