In the novels The Metamorphosis and The Stranger by Franz Kafka and Albert Camus, Kubler-Ross's five stages of death are incorporated to emphasize the themes of the individualism and isolation. While denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance are common emotions when facing death, denial, anger, and acceptance are key to connecting to Kafka and Camus' ideas regarding individualism . Through their experiences linked to these three stages of death, the protagonists, Gregor Samsa and Meursault, are isolated from society and forced to recognize their individuality. Both Gregor and Meursault have pivotal experiences with denial, the first stage of the grieving process, in their respective novels. While Gregor refuses to accept his transformation to remain in society, Meursault denies God in Algerian religious culture, proving his individuality while isolating himself. Gregor's denial takes place when he prepares for work, unaware of his transformation: "First of all, he wanted to get up quietly, [...] get dressed, [...] have breakfast, and only then think what he was going to do next” (Kafka 6). By portraying Gregor as determined, Kafka shows his protagonist's determination to remain steadfast in ignoring his transformation for the sake of his family. Usually, such a metamorphosis would cause panic, but Gregor is so selfless that he denies his own emotions to be helpful to his family. Through the sequential syntax used in this quote, Kafka shows that Gregor does not want to deviate from his usual routine. This attribute, along with his physical transformation, separates Gregor from humanity. With his unknown state of mind, seen through the denial of his metamorphosis, and his lack of human physical character...... middle of paper ......sis and The Stranger, they can be applied to experiments by Gregor and Meursault to give a sense of humanity to surreal and absurd novels. By allowing their characters to go through the cycle of death themselves, Kafka and Camus emphasize the importance of individuality and how it leads to isolation. Despite the fact that both males encourage uniqueness, the end results differ greatly for Gregor and Meursault; Gregor seems to show the negative side of individuality while Meursault's is positive. Kafka and Camus use the emotions of Kubler Ross's five stages of death in The Metamorphosis and The Stranger to emphasize individuality and isolation. Works Cited Camus, Albert. The Stranger. Trans. Matthew Ward. New York: Vintage International, 1988. Print.Kafka, Franz. The Metamorphosis. Trans. Stanley Corngold. New York: Bantam, 2004.Print.