The Metamorphosis

by Franz Kafka

Published in 1915, The Metamorphosis is considered modernist fiction, a widely read novella from Franz Kafka. Some things don't change-- it remains on most high school reading lists for its enduring qualities.


The story follows Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman who works to provide for his parents and sister. One morning he awakens to find that he has been transformed into a monstrous insect. He is unable to work and becomes a claustrophile, attached to closed-in spaces. Since he can no longer support the family, they begin working again

Mr. Samsa, Gregor's father, returns to work after the metamorphosis. He is unkind and harsh to Gregor. Mrs. Samsa, his mother struggles alternatively between her maternal instincts and her fear and revulsion of her son's new form

Here is chapter  wise summary:

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3