Franz Kafka's most famous novella is given the Critical Insights treatment in this volume. Essays include a new lengthy biography about the author which warns that, although The Metamorphosis is considered to be highly autobiographical, it is ultimately a work of the imagination. Other essays include a discussion of the cultural and historical context of the work, the structure and function of self-alienation, Kafka's metaphor for extreme alienation, and a selective survey of the critical reception of The Metamorphosis.