Awake or A Dream?

Remember the novella, The Metamorphosis, by Franz Kafka? It was published in 1915 and tells the story of one Gregor Samsa who awakes one day to discover he is a strange insect-like creature.

Gregor thinks it's all a dream.

In the 3^rd century B.C.E., in the Chuang Tzu, we find the story of a man named Chuang Chou who awakes and finds he's a butterfly.

He, like Gregor, isn't sure if he's dreaming or awake or dreaming he's awake.

Why does this imagery recur?

Was Kafka influenced by the Taoist Master?  

Or are we intuitively aware of the barriers in our perceptions?