Ask The Puma Research Guides: The Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis

The short story “The Metamorphosis” or “Die Verwandlung,” by Franz Kafka, was first published in German in 1915, and translated into English in 1936.  The principal character, Gregor Samsa, a travelling salesman, finds himself transformed into a gigantic insect.  The story uses metaphors to focus on the illusion of freedom in a repressed human existence from which the only escape is death.  

Call Number for Browsing the Shelves

• PT2621 .A26

Circulating Books – A Selected List

• Bloom, Harold (Ed.). Franz Kafka.  2005.

                         Call Number: PT2621 .A26  Z7166  2005

• Bloom, Harold (Ed.).  Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.  1988.

                         Call Number: PT2621  .A26  V428  1988

• Corngold, Stanley (Ed.).   Franz Kafka: The Metamorphosis.  1996.

                      Call Number: PT2621  .A26  V42613  1996

• Haugen, Hayley (Ed.).  Readings on The Metamorphosis.  2002.

                       Call Number: PT2621  .A26  V458  2002

• Kafka, Franz.  The Complete Stories. 1983.

                        Call Number: PT2621  .A26  A284  1983

• Thiher, Allen.  Franz Kafka: A Study of the Short Fiction.  1990.

                         Call Number: PT2621  .A26  Z9316  1990

LINCCWeb Online Catalog – Search Terms

• Kafka, Franz  (Subject)
• Metamorphosis  (Title)

Reference Materials

• Critical Survey of Short Fiction. – Call Number:  REF  PN3321  .C7  2001

o      Vol. 7, pg. 2794

• Masterplots II: Short Story Series (Revised Ed.).  – Call Number:  REF  PN3326  .M27  2004

o      Vol. 5, pgs. 2651-2654

• Short Story Criticism. (View under Verwandlung.) – Call Number: REF  PN3321  .S5

o      Vol. 5, pgs. 210-252

o      Vol. 29, pgs. 340-370

o      Vol. 35, pgs. 215-296

o      Vol. 60, pgs. 226-257, 297-298

• Short Stories for Students. – Call Number:  REF  PN3330  .S386

o      Vol. 12, pgs. 188-212

• Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism.– Call Number:  REF  PN771  .G27

o      Vol. 112, pgs. 51, 63-68, 80, 105, 107, 118

Research Databases

To access Valencia’s research databases, open your Atlas account, select ‘Search the Library’, then select ‘Databases A-Z’.

• Academic Search Complete  (Search with  Metamorphosis  and  Kafka.)
• JSTOR
• Literature Resources from Gale

This Research Guide is designed to help users find information on a particular topic within the Valencia College East Campus Library.  This is by no means a comprehensive list of resources and other resources may be available on this topic.  Please check LINCCWeb, Valencia East’s online catalog, to verify the availability of circulating books within the library.  Feel free to ask a librarian for help if you need further assistance.

Valencia College East Campus Library

Last Revised on November 21, 2021