In any piece of literature there could be many interpretations of what the author is illustrating. In this case, The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka, a strange story about a young man, Gregor Samsa, loyal to his family suddenly changes over night to a beetle-like creature, and ultimately depicting to the reader that he has lost human features and cognitive ability, doesn't directly give the reader any one overall meaning leaving them to wonder what it is all about. .
Though it is difficult to see a meaning that does not revolve around the aspects of old age, "Transforming Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis" by Nina Pelikan Straus, shows the reader that there might be another meaning besides John B. Shea's "Kafka Saw The Future," talking about a specific topic relating to old age. Though both have valid statements there is only one that is more correct than the other. Nina Pelikan Straus talks about transformation, and how it relates specifically to feminism, while John B. Shea discusses a different topic of the denial to realize the fact of human dignity. While one can be seen as a topic solely for woman and their roles, the other is discussing old age while pointing out the specifics of human dignity, and the loss of abilities which has no gender discrimination. .
The recognition and specific attitude towards human dignity and old age, relate and directly tie into historical contexts in which the information from the American Nurses Association from 2009 to today, is relevant in that they have issued that nurses are prohibited in assisted suicide. Woman discrimination and feminism though it was very different in the past it has improved, unlike the situation that nurses and families deal with at the end of life with their loved ones. The essay by John Shea is very significant and relevant to years past, and in today's society. The two topics though different share similarities in respect to recognizing a change in physical and biological appearance.