German writer Franz Kafka's and American J.D. Salinger's respective masterpieces, The Metamorphosis (1915) and The Catcher in the Rye (1951), examine the universal themes of personal relationships within the context of painful change. Each did that in his own way: Kafka portrayed familial support and sympathy as necessary to the alleviation of pain, while ... relationship with Gregor's physical change imparts the necessity of familial support and sympathy in dealing with the inevitable pain associated with change. When Gregor's manager visits, the morning of Gregor's metamorphosis, Gregor sa...

• Word Count: 1076
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... dated and monotonous. Ellen Hopkins is a contemporary novelist who has found a way to intrigue the minds of young adults using poetry in her numerous verse novels. Hopkins often uses intense themes such as drug addiction, mental illness, abuse, and prostitution to hold the attention of her readers. She is notorious for drawing inspiration from her own life and has perfected the ... alter ego. Throughout the piece Hopkins uses first person narrative to switch the point of view back and forth between Kristina and Bree. This allows the reader to join the metamorphosis occurring in Kristina...

• Word Count: 875
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate