One morning Anders, a white man, woke up to find he had turned a deep and undeniable brown.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: The opening sentence of The Last White Man mimics the opening sentence of Franz Kafka's novella The Metamorphosis, in which a man awakens to discover he has transformed into a cockroach. This novel and Kafka's novella are both allegories about people experiencing a dramatic change and dealing with the consequences, both in the way they feel about themselves and in the way they are viewed by others.

He did not know what they were thinking, if they were thinking anything, and he suspected it was only in his imagination that he saw flickers of hostility or distaste.
-- Narrator (chapter 1)

Importance: When Anders emerges from his house after he has become dark-skinned, he carefully observes the reactions of other people and believes he sees indications of hostility or distaste, though it is unclear if he is...