Today’s entire lesson is on the blog. You must read the blog in it’s entirety and follow the instructions in order.

Today you will…

1.Reread Section I of The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka.

2.Identify elements of magical realism in the story.

First, look at Section 1 of The Metamorphosis and ask yourself the following questions:

What happens to Gregor Samsa?

What happened to Arachne?

Are both transformations accepted as real?

What reasons are offered for both transformations?

Gregor Samsa is transformed into a vermin much like Arachne was transformed into a spider. Both Arachne and Gregor attempt to go about their work and accept the reality of their situation. The difference between these transformations is that a reason for the change is identified in the myth but not in the story.

Does The Metamorphosis seem to deliberately refer to the myth of Arachne?

Are any aspects changed?

You should understand that drawing on or using history or myths is another criteria of magical realism.

Throughout this unit we have been using this dialectical journal handout to identify elements of magical realism as we read the texts in this unit. Now you should add at least four more examples for Section I of The Metamorphosis to your dialectical journal.

Your finished dialectical journal entries might include part of the text that indicate that there are elements that defy natural law, like Gregor being transformed into a vermin. This transformation is treated as a realistic by the characters who are believable and relatable to the real world. The story draws on the myth of Arachne.

Finally, you need to answer the following questions in your Reading Log:

1. What is the relationship between realism and fantasy in this story?
2. What details make this fantastic story credible?

Your written responses should demonstrate that you understand that the fantastical elements of this story are accepted by all characters as real. The detailed descriptions of Gregor’s thoughts and feelings as he maneuvers his new body add to the credibility of the story. “But it became difficult after that, especially as he was so exceptionally broad. He would have used his arms and his hands to push himself up; but instead of them he only had all those little legs continuously moving in different directions, and which he was moreover unable to control.

Don’t forget that your WSQ for Week 4 – Semicolons must be turned into Canvas before the start of your class period tomorrow, and that you have a quiz over semicolons also tomorrow.