In The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, the straightforward style enhances the nightmarish quality of the work because it creates a creepily normal mood. For example, “Gregor tried to imagine whether something of the sort that had happened to him today would ever happen to the chief clerk too; you had to concede it was possible” (Kafka 11). Gregor basically just shrugs off the fact that he is a bug and admits that it could happen to anyone. By being so straightforward about this, the story takes on a chilling mood as one thinks about the actual possibilities. It raises questions of “Could this really happen?” “What if it did?” This frank style makes the reader anxious because if it could happen to anyone, why not the reader too? Moreover Kafka
