Q: Apart from being musicians, what do They Might be Giants, The Rolling Stones, and Widespread Panic have in common?
A: They all allude to Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis in their music.
Countless others, including even The Simpsons (in a book entitled Metamorphosimpsons) re-tell or refer to this extremely popular work. Go ahead and practice using the adjective "Kafkaesque" when you want to describe something nightmarish or bleak. This will help you sound 'in the know' in college, at least if you use it judiciously.
Assignment:
This week you are to read an online version of the entire text, due on Wednesday, the 27th. Before you begin, read up a little on existentialism. This will help you contextualize the story in the history of philosophy and help you understand why this short work holds such an esteemed position among those who focus on the absurd and the alienated.
You-tube offers countless renderings and interpretations of the story. Here's one a class created for an English project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaFtScRtex0
Or, here's a link to a little "Metamorphosis" interpretive dance, if you like that sort of thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9aHIVmqFYY&feature=related
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