Selection Test (Online): The Metamorphosis

In “The Metamorphosis,” how does Gregor first react when he discovers that he has become an insect?

He determines to continue with his normal work and family relationships.

Which of the following people would be most likely to act listlessly? Base your answer on the meaning of listlessly.

people who are overworked and exhausted

Question 9 Part A: In “The Metamorphosis,” as his life as an insect continues, Gregor begins to lose interest in living. Which of these events most significantly leads to Gregor’s deterioration?

Grete no longer shows compassion for him and treats him with indifference.

Question 9 Part B: Which quotation from “The Metamorphosis" best supports the answer to Part A?

He was filled with sheer anger over the wretched care he was getting.… Without thinking any more about how one might be able to give Gregor special pleasure, the sister now kicked some food or other very quickly into his room.

Connotation definition

an idea or feeling that a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

Denotation definition

the literal or primary meaning of a word

Which group of underlined words in the following sentences is a verb phrase without any interrupting words?

"The Metamorphosis" was originally written in German.

Question 10 Part B: Which quotation from the text best supports the answer to Part A?

But now he [the father] was standing up really straight, dressed in a tight fitting blue uniform with gold buttons, … like the one servants wear in a banking company … Bent far over, the mother sewed fine undergarments for a fashion shop. The sister, who had taken on a job as a salesgirl, in the evening studied stenography and French, so as perhaps later to obtain a better position.

He [Gregor] remembered his family with deep feeling and love. In this business, his own thought that he had to disappear was, if possible, even more decisive than his sister’s.

What does this quotation suggest about Gregor’s state of mind just before his death? Choose two options.

C. He wishes to sacrifice himself for his family's sake.

D. He regains his emotional attachment to his family.