In both Joyce's The Dead, and Kafka's Metamorphasis, the central charater is suffering from a severe delusion about their own self. Gabriel, in Joyce's The Dead, believes he is the one true love in Gretta's life. When this deception is revealed his world becomse shattered. Similarly, in The Metamorphasis, Gregor Samka realizes that he is only a drudge in society, and his entire life is changed in consequence. The importance of self knowledge becomes apparent in these two tales. James Joyce, in The Dead, gives us a glimpse into the life of a man fraught with self deception. He is secure in the knowledge that he is smarter than his fellows, more adept than his fellows i