The Metamorphosis

One morning, Gregor Samsa wakes from uneasy dreams to find himself transformed into a monstrous vermin with thin legs and a swollen belly. Nothing else in the room or in him has changed except his outward appearance. He tries to rise, but his belly prevents him, and his many thin legs cannot hold him. He must get up as soon as possible to catch the next train to work, through which he supports the whole family. This transformation overturns all relationships in the Samsa family, whose son is now a non-human being, at least outwardly.

Franz Kafka is regarded as a symbol of modern literature. The principle on which Kafka's entire work is built has an existential character. His work indirectly expresses the human aspiration to live in a safer, more humane world, where everyone can find a higher meaning in life.