Has Gregor Samsa really transformed into a bug or is his entire experience a delusion/dream? Everyone, including Gregor himself, has unlikely reactions to the transformation. Gregor is rather calm about the change and is merely concerned with work, and his parents, after their initial shock and fear, ignore him and fail to address the situation. The odd reactions lead me to believe that the experience is not reality or perhaps that “the metamorphosis” is symbolic of a more realistic event.

Douglass says, “It was considered as being bad enough to be a slave;but to be a poor man’s slave was deemed a disgrace indeed!” The idea of slaves feeling inferior/superior to other slaves based on their master’s status is quite thought provoking. Is it simply human nature to compare one’s self to others and desire a sense of superiority?

I often hear religious family members and friends attributing their good fortune to God. As an atheist, I always wonder why they thank God for good fortune, but do not blame him for misfortune. Perhaps this idea is relevant in Blake’s “The Lamb” and “The Tyger.”  Is he trying to demonstrate how believers tend to praise God for good (the lamb) and yet have difficulty blaming him for bad (the tyger)?

Wordsworth discusses the pure joy that children are able to experience because of their youth and innocence and he wonders why a child would want to rush into his adult years. It seems to be a commonly held belief that children are happier and more carefree than adults, but is it there actually any truth to this? Although adults are more aware than children, perhaps this awareness allows greater, purer experiences of happiness.

Does Monkey truly seek enlightenment or merely immortality? I would assume he is merely seeking immortality because his actions seem to be characterized by greed and selfishness. It is also possible, however, that Monkey feels guilty about the gluttonous lifestyle he had been leading and therefore truly seeks enlightenment as a sort of repentance.

Descartes believes that there must be a being more perfect than he that has endowed him with his perfections. He notes that these perfections must come from a being other than himself, but why must they come from a being at all?