The stories of this turn-of-the-century writer concern the disillusionment of modern man. To Kafka and to the people in his stories, life is often absurd and meaningless, with only a faint ray of fleeting hope.

This concise supplement to Kafka's The Metamorphosis and other stories helps students understand the overall structure of the works, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author.

This volume also covers The Judgment, A Hunger Artist, A Country Doctor, In the Penal Colony, The Hunter Gracchus, The Burrow, Investigations of a Dog, A Report to an Academy, The Great Wall of China, and Josephine the Singer or the Mouse Folk.