Question #4, page 1018

I think that Kuper is the most sympathetic toward Gregor because he not only characterizes Gregor as a helpless and scared creature, but he also emphasizes the father's cruel attitude, Grete's concern, and his mother's worries very vividly. Although Kafka's words and descriptions are very beautifully constructed, his ideas are much easier to understand through Kuper's visuals. On page 1003, Kuper illustrates Gregor's struggle to talk to his parents through his bedroom door. Kuper's illustrations depict Gregor in a great struggle and really convince the reader of his hardships in attempting to get up or even speak to his family. Kuper's depiction of Gregor's wiggling legs and frustrated facial expressions show how desperate he truly is, and ultimately proves that Kuper is, indeed, the most sympathetic toward Gregor.

Question #1, page 1014

I think that Kuper's illustrations are both humorous and frightening. They are so overly exaggerated that they completely aid in understanding the humor and almost unreal aspect of the situation, yet they also manage to capture each person's reaction very accurately. This definitely confirms my interpretation of The Metamorphosis and I think that anyone who is reading it should also take a glance at the illustrations for visual help. I think that Kuper chose to illustrate this all in black and white rather than in color to capture the nitty-gritty feel of the whole story as well as set the reader in an older time frame.

In Class Discussion

I personally loved our in class discussions on Monday. Although it is usually very helpful and informative when the teacher is solely addressing and lecturing the class, I really enjoyed this type of discussion. I think that it allowed many people to explore what they truly thought about the novel and also allowed me to consider new ideas about Metamorphosis. I think that these kind of active discussions are extremely helpful in understanding the material in an in depth analysis, but I feel as though they can only succeed if the class knows a good portion of the material as well. If this type of discussion were to be introduced when we first started the novel, I don't think that the level of involvement and understanding would even compare to that on Monday. Overall, I can't wait to continue our discussions on Metamorphosis and hope that this type of learning can be used later in the novel as well.