At some point in every Metamorphosis unit, a student writes that the book is about the absurd. Another writes that it is existentialist. Neither is a crazy thing to say, since Kafka is often linked to those ideas.

The problem is that labels are easy to apply and hard to justify. A student may know the words but not the concepts behind them. The result is an essay that sounds sophisticated and proves very little.

Grading these papers takes a specific kind of attention. You are looking for whether the philosophy does any work. Does it change how the student reads a scene, or is it decoration?

Camus himself wrote about Kafka in an essay attached to The Myth of Sisyphus. That makes an easy bridge if your class reads excerpts. It shows students how a philosopher actually uses a writer's work.

Ask what the label lets the student see

A strong paper uses a concept to illuminate a moment, such as how Gregor's first concern on waking is being late for work and not the transformation itself. A weak paper announces the concept and moves on. Ask the student to show you the scene where the idea becomes visible.

• Defines the philosophical term in the student's own words
• Applies it to a specific scene, not the whole novella at once
• Considers where the story resists the label
• Avoids treating Kafka as an illustration of a theory
• Connects the idea back to the thesis in the conclusion

Handle overreach with curiosity

Some students will claim that Kafka is the definitive existentialist author. Ask them what evidence would challenge the claim. It teaches humility about interpretive arguments without shutting down enthusiasm.

Point out that scholars disagree about how to classify Kafka. A paper that acknowledges this is usually stronger for it. Students learn that a confident claim can still leave room for other readings.

Scoring papers that use outside sources

If students use secondary reading, check whether they integrate it or just drop it in. A quotation from a critic should serve the student's argument, not replace it. Look for the student's own voice around the source.

Your rubric can include a line on source use even in a mostly text-based unit. It sets the expectation early and makes later research papers easier. Students who practice here arrive more prepared.

Feedback that keeps the philosophy grounded

The most useful comment for these papers is often "show me where." Where in the text does this idea appear? Where does the story push against it? Students who answer those questions produce sharper essays.

GraideMind can flag paragraphs that use abstract terms without a supporting quotation and draft a prompt asking for one. You then decide which flags matter for each paper. The pattern gets caught early, and your comments can go further.