Top Ten List

 

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka adapted by Peter Kuper New York: Crown Publishers

ISBN 4000-5299-8

Kafka had a genius for showing the world at an intersection between reality and dreams. Peter Krupers’ adaptation of this in graphic novel format is a perfect introduction to the author’s world.

Media: Pen and ink  

4Q/4P

D. Guhl Summer 2009

 

 

 

 

Kafka, F, and Kuper, P. (2003). The Metamorphosis, New York: Random House.

 

ISBN: 1400052998

Kafka's original text is paired with stark illustrations, enhancing the imagery around Gregor's transformation from human to beetle. Kafka's commentary on human alienation is palpable in this graphic adaptation.

Rating: 5Q/4P

 

Ages: Grades 8-12

 

Subjects: Franz Kafka, Literary Adaptations, Human Alienation

 

Curricular Connections: English, Philosophy, Social Studies

 

Literary Device: Metaphor (Gregor to dung beetle: complete alienation of the modern person).

km 7/19/09

 

Metamorphosis, The. by Franz Kafka and Peter Kuper, ill. New York: Crown, 2003. ISBN 1-4000-4795-1

 

Franz Kafka’s surreal masterpiece is brought to life in vivid detail by Peter Kuper’s bold, stark, and grotesque black and white block-cut style.  Turning into a cockroach never looked so good. 

 

Freaky “trailer” at http://www.randomhouse.com/crown/metamorphosis/

 

(DM 4.23.08)

 

 

APA Citation	Kafka, F, and Kuper, P. (2003). The Metamorphosis. New York: Random House.
ISBN	1-4000-4795-1	Rating	5Q/4P	Top 10	no
Media	Ink, scratchboard		Grades/Subject	9+; English, art, philosophy
Annotation	Traveling salesman Gregor Samsa has woken up as a very large beetle. Today is not going to be a very good day.

 

 

 

 

 

Art: Panels are created using a scratchboard technique that is reminiscent of woodcuts, which adds to the generally spookiness of the story.

Genre and Themes: Fiction, Classic, Philosophy, Ethics, Family

Age Range: Grades 10-12

What the book is about: The story of Gregor Samsa who is a traveling salesman trying to work off the debt owed by his parents. Classical story of metaphor and alienation, which tells what happens when Gregor wakes up one day to find that he has turned into an insect.

Rating: P5/Q5

 

Lesson Plan One- Metamorphosis.doc

 

JMB 04/29/08

 

Metamorphosis, the by Franz Kafka and Peter Kuper, ill. New York: Crown, 2003.

ISBN: 1400047951

Illustrator: Kruper, P.

Media: Pen and Ink

4Q/4P

Annotation:   Peter Kruper’s illustrated adaptation of the Franz Kafka’s classic novella The Metamorphosis details the horrific change of Greg Samsa into a beetle.  Kruper’s imagination conceptualizes this bureaucratic nightmare.

 KRF 6/14/09

 

The Metamorphosis, by Peter Kuper and Franz Kafka. Three Rivers Press, 2004.

Summary: A graphic-novel adaptation of Kafka's "The Metamorphosis".

Analysis: I haven't read the original, but other reviews rate it as quite close to Kafka's mood and words, and it neither requires the original text to make sense nor feels dumbed-down. It's Kafka, so you already know it's going to be absurd and depressing. The sketchy, woodcut images help tell Gregor's story with very few words, evoking his feeling of being hemmed-in and starved.

Illustrations: Very detailed, angular, woodcut-style black-and-white panel comics.

Rating: 5Q/4P

Curricular connections: Good for a high-school class reading the original, or for a discussion on translation of works between media.

 

--SLH