Writing Assignment on "Metamorphosis"

The Metamorphosis Assignment

To conclude your reading of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, you are going to create your own transformation by thinking about the power of metaphor to express complicated human experiences.

Here’s the assignment:

You awake one morning to discover you have been transformed into a “monster.” Describe yourself and tell about your day.

In this writing, you may use first person or third person. Your tone may be serious or comic. The physical description and details of the day should allow the reader to understand what the metaphor is.

Your narrative must contain the following elements

•a physical description of the “monster” you have become,

•a realization of the transformation;

•the setting for the revelation,

•the reactions of family and those around you;

•your experience during the day,

•an epiphany of the meaning of the experience;

•the resolution (if any) to the conflict.

All these elements help the reader to understand and to appreciate the meaning of your transformation. The transformation should help us understand the experience in a way that only metaphor can. (Since these pieces are to be shared with the class, do not write about a topic which is private.)

My suggestion is that you begin with the reality you wish to describe and then work back.

What “monster” would best describe such an experience to an audience?

How could you create details to make such a monster come alive?

The essay should be at least 750 words but the richer the detail, the better (1000-1250 words). Be sure to paragraph!

Have some fun!