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Franz Kafka Trivia

Franz Kafka Trivia Quizzes

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If you are familiar with the adjective Kafkaesque, you will know to expect a blend of realism and the fantastic in the work of one of the 20th centuries most influential writers. It's a good thin that his friend Max Brod didn't follow his instructions and destroy all his unpublished work after his death!
5 Franz Kafka quizzes and 50 Franz Kafka trivia questions.
1.
  Kafka's "Metamorphosis"    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
"Metamorphosis" was written by Franz Kafka and is about the changes a man goes through after he becomes a roach or dung beetle. If you have not read this novel, then the quiz will be hard.
Average, 10 Qns, brumo, Jul 05 15
Recommended for grades: 10,11,12
Average
brumo
987 plays
2.
  How well do you know the works of Franz Kafka?   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Franz Kafka was a remarkable author. Everyone at one time or another has heard the word "Kafkaesque" which draws its meaning directly from Kafka and his works. These are some examples of "Kafkaesque" events. How well do you know them?
Average, 10 Qns, 3206, Jan 18 09
Average
3206
633 plays
3.
  The World of Kafka    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
See what you know about the life and works of this master of.. hmm, existential suspense?
Average, 10 Qns, gunstone, Jun 29 04
Average
gunstone
777 plays
4.
  What's the Meta?    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
How well do you know Kafka's 1915 novella "The Metamorphosis"?
Average, 10 Qns, Rowena8482, May 14 12
Average
Rowena8482 gold member
202 plays
5.
  Kafka's Works    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
A quiz about Kafka's works.
Average, 10 Qns, patriots555, Jan 10 11
Average
patriots555
224 plays
trivia question Quick Question
What is Gregor Samsa's profession in 'The Metamorphosis'?

From Quiz "Kafka's Works"





Franz Kafka Trivia Questions
1. What is Gregor's surname, in "The Metamorphosis"?

From Quiz What's the Meta?

Answer: Samsa

The story begins with Gregor waking from sleep to realise he has been transformed into a giant insect. The type of insect is not explicitly stated in the original German language book, and different English translations have used different terms over the years.

2. In 'The Metamorphosis' Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to find himself transformed into what type of insect?

From Quiz Kafka's Works

Answer: Is not specified

It is never specified, although numerous authors have theories of what type of insect it was.

3. When did the first version of this novel come out?

From Quiz Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

Answer: 1915

(The Metamorphosis) "Die Verwandlung" first appeared in 1915 in the journal "Dieweissen Blatter". This information is given in the note section in the novel.

4. Franz Kafka spent most of his life in the city where he was also born. Which city?

From Quiz The World of Kafka

Answer: Prague

He was born in Prague in 1883. He lived for one year in Berlin and died in a sanatorium outside Vienna in 1924.

5. When "The Metamorphosis" was originally published, what was its German title?

From Quiz What's the Meta?

Answer: Die Verwandlung

"Die Verwandlung" was first published in 1915, in Leipzig. In the original, Gregor is described as becoming "Ungeziefer" which literally means "unclean" or "may not be sacrificed". This is the word that different translators have taken to be various kinds of insect in their own languages over the years.

6. What is Georg Bendemann's father's punishment for his son at the end of the short story: 'The Judgement'?

From Quiz Kafka's Works

Answer: Death by drowning

His father sentences him to 'death by drowning'. In the end he throws himself off of a bridge apparently into the river.

7. In the Kafka novel "The Trial" Joseph K is offered help with his 'case' from an unusual extralegal source. What was the occupation of this person who offered to help Joseph K out with his case?

From Quiz How well do you know the works of Franz Kafka?

Answer: The Court Painter

Titorelli the Court painter offered his services to Joseph K. He stated he could help him get an "ostensible acquittal" or "indefinite postponement" of his case but not a "not guilty" or "innocent' verdict because to his knowledge they did not exist.

8. How many people were in Gregor's family besides him?

From Quiz Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

Answer: 3

Gregor lived with his mother, father, and sister.

9. "The Trial" is Kafka's most famous work. What is the protagonist's name?

From Quiz The World of Kafka

Answer: Josef K.

K. is the protagonist's name in another Kafka novel, "The Castle". Hans Castorp belongs in Thomas Mann's novel "The Magic Mountain".

10. In Kafka's "The Metamorphosis", when Gregor's father forces him back into his room, what does he use?

From Quiz What's the Meta?

Answer: Rolled up newspaper

At first, the family think Gregor has been taken ill in the night, and they can no longer understand what he says. When Gregor eventually manages to open his bedroom door, his parents, sister, and boss, are shocked at the sight of him and panic. His father grabs his cane, and a rolled up newspaper, and shoos Gregor back into his room.

11. What is the name of the main character in 'The Trial'?

From Quiz Kafka's Works

Answer: Jozef K.

It is Jozef K. In my opinion, one of the best novels ever written.

12. In the short story "The Penal Colony", an inmate was being sentenced to death. What was his crime that earned this sentence?

From Quiz How well do you know the works of Franz Kafka?

Answer: Not waking up every hour on the hour and saluting the door of the officer's home he was supposed to be guarding.

Yes, he was sentenced to death for not waking up and saluting the officer's door on the hour. How else can you keep discipline and order?

13. What was Gregor's job?

From Quiz Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

Answer: traveling salesman

Gregor caught the 5 o'clock train to work as a salesman to pay off his father's debt.

14. In "The Metamorphosis", what is Gregor's sister called?

From Quiz What's the Meta?

Answer: Grete

Gregor's sister is still only in her mid-teens when the story takes place. She is a gifted violinist, and Gregor had saved up, and planned to pay for her to study at the Conservatory. Sadly, he never gets chance to tell her this as his transformation overtakes events.

15. In the short story 'A Report to an Academy' an ape is trapped in a cage and slowly becomes more like a human. With what do apes think, according to the narrator?

From Quiz Kafka's Works

Answer: Bellies

Apes think with their bellies. The ape watches the humans and becomes more like them, not out of desire for being a human, but as a way to escape from his imprisonment.

16. Who was sent from the office to check on Gregor?

From Quiz Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

Answer: the office manager

Gregor is astonished when the office manager is sent to his home to see why he was not at work.

17. A novel first called "Der Verschollene" ("Missing"), published in 1927, was later retitled. What was the new title?

From Quiz The World of Kafka

Answer: Amerika

"The Judgment" and "In the Penal Colony" are other, shorter works by Kafka, whereas "Jakob von Gunten" is a novel (and a great one) by Swiss writer Robert Walser, whom Kafka was allegedly first thought to be imitating.

18. When Gregor's sister first brings him food, after his transformation in "The Metamorphosis", what does she bring?

From Quiz What's the Meta?

Answer: Bread and milk

Gregor has always loved milk, but once he is transformed, it makes him feel sick. Later on, Grete brings him some scraps and rotting food, and he eats those with gusto.

19. Where does Georg Bendemann's friend live, in the short story: 'The Judgement'?

From Quiz Kafka's Works

Answer: Saint Petersburg

His father does not believe that this friend exists.

20. In the novel "The Trial" Joseph K opened an old lumber room at the bank where he worked, and to his surprise saw the two deputies who arrested him along with another man, also a court officer. What were they doing?

From Quiz How well do you know the works of Franz Kafka?

Answer: The two deputies were being whipped by the third man, a court officer, for stealing Joseph K's breakfast and some of his clothes when they arrested him.

Only in a Kafka story would you run into this bizarre turn of events. The deputies begged Joseph K to help them and stop the whipping, and he in fact offered a bribe to the officer, who turned it down because he felt if he accepted it he would be the next one being whipped.

21. Where did Gregor's father work?

From Quiz Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

Answer: bank

After Gregor's change, he is no longer able to work. So, his father, Mr. Samsa, goes to work as a messenger for the bank.

22. Starring Anthony Perkins and Jeanne Moreau, this 1963 adaptation of "The Trial" is ranked among the best works of a famous American film director. What is his name?

From Quiz The World of Kafka

Answer: Orson Welles & orson welles & orson Welles & Orson welles & Welles & welles

Another and less illustrious adaptation was made in 1993, starring Kyle MacLachlan.

23. In "The Metamorphosis", Gregor has one prize possession in his room, that he tries to prevent his mother taking away. What is it?

From Quiz What's the Meta?

Answer: A painting

The painting on the wall is of a woman dressed in fur mittens and a cap, and Gregor tries desperately to stop his mother removing it. When he runs up the wall, she faints from shock.

24. In the short story 'In the Penal Colony', who comes running after the traveller, in the end of the story?

From Quiz Kafka's Works

Answer: The soldier and the condemned

The soldier and the condemned run after him, apparently wanting the traveller to take them with him.

25. In the short story "The Metamorphosis " we all know that Gregor Samsa awoke and found that he had turned into a giant insect. What however was his occupation before this happened?

From Quiz How well do you know the works of Franz Kafka?

Answer: He was a commercial traveller (salesman)

Yes, Gregor was a salesman until that morning, supporting his mother, father, and sister, who eventually abandoned him. That's some gratitude.

26. How old was Grete?

From Quiz Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

Answer: 17

Gregor felt sorry for his sister because she was too young to have so much responsibility thrown on her lap.

27. In Kafka's best known short story, "The Metamorphosis", Gregor Samsa wakes up one day to...

From Quiz The World of Kafka

Answer: find himself transformed into a giant insect

Indeed the bugger was.

28. The character of Gregor, from "The Metamorphosis", is injured when his father throws something at him, hitting him on his back. What does he throw?

From Quiz What's the Meta?

Answer: An apple

During the incident when Gregor's mother was trying to remove his painting, Gregor's father came home and thought Gregor had attacked his mother. He throws the apple, which actually lodges in Gregor's carapace or shell, on his back, and causes him great pain.

29. Where is The Penal Colony in the short story 'In the Penal Colony'?

From Quiz Kafka's Works

Answer: An island

It is an island; the soldier and the condemned chase the traveller who sails away on his boat.

30. What instrument did Grete play?

From Quiz Kafka's "Metamorphosis"

Answer: violin

Grete wanted to study at The Conservatory. Gregor was going to make that dream come true for her Christmas present before he turned into a bug.

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