A Brief Analysis of Kafka’s The Trial

On his thirtieth birth sidereal day, Joseph K. is arrested tied(p) though he has through nothing wrong. Naturally Joseph K. is angry and annoyed. On the day of his thirty- eldest birthday, Joseph K. is interpreted to a nearby infernal region by the warders and killed. Joseph K. does nothing to stop them from killing him. The rivulet is the story of the intervening year mingled with Joseph K.s ii birthdays. This novel treats adult maley subjects, simmer down this paper leave behind examine only ternion the mystery of the bureaucracy in the novel, sexuality during the process, and the economic and social slur of view of The Trial.The bureaucracy in The Trial is large, achromatic and frightening. Prior to the beginning of the book Joseph K. is a undefeated businessman working in a argot apparently on the fast track for proficiency and even enceinteer success. afterwards his arrest he and his life sentence decline until his execution. Although Joseph K. is accuse of c rimes he did not commit . . . he still feels guilty about these unsung offenses (Meyers, 329). This guilt plays an important role throughout the novel. Joseph K. is man effecttally and emotionally paralyzed by his guilt of having been accused of the unknown crime.As Boa writes, the experience of being arrested has taken Joseph K. out of his comfort z iodine and he is ineffective to operate he doesnt know what to do. What is the nature of the judicial system, what is the law, what should the case-by-case on trial do? (1). The paralysis Joseph K. suffers appears to be psychological rather than referable to a carnal threat. The parable told to Joseph K. by the priest provides an accurate comment of the state Joseph K. is in. In the parable a man from the country comes to have access to the law tho the ostiarius forget not admit the man.The doorkeeper steps aside from the doorway and offers no material resistance, but the man is paralyzed by what cogency be d bingle by the institution. If you are so strongly tempted, try to get in without my permission. only if note that I am powerful. And I am only the lowest doorkeeper. From hall to hall, keepers stand at e precise door, one more powerful than the different . . . (Kafka, 267-8). Rather than confront these possibilities the man sits on a stool by the door and waits. This is precisely what Joseph K. does. He tacitly accepts the non-accusation of the court and submits to its jurisdiction. One cannot help but feel that if he were refuse to comply with the court that he would be free to continue animation his life. The mystery of the bureaucracy of the court appears to be a psychological threat of the unknown combined with a mans natural inclination to obey the institutions that govern the region where he lives.The second area this paper will address is sexuality during the process. During the year of the trial, Joseph K. has a drawing flirtation with Fraulein Brustner but she later refuses his adva nces. It is interesting that Brustner is very close to the German word brusten meaning breast. The thirst to dominate a woman has considerable Freudian implications that suggest that Kafka was greatly influenced by his mother, the source of his life and breastfeeding, and not always in a dogmatic manner.During this encounter Joseph K. kisses her all over the face, like around animal lapping greedily at a spring of long-sought fresh water (Kafka, 38). This is an interesting portend of his execution where he dies like a dog (Kafka, 286). After kissing her Joseph K. returns home, he fell asleep almost at once, but before doing so he public opinion for a little about his behavior, he was delightful with it, yet surprised that he was not still more pleased (38).This appears to be an example where a man dominates a woman to get his will without regard to her desire. This strength is uncharacteristic of Joseph K. particularly in regard to the affair he has with Leni, Hulds nurse. Len i appears to like men who are vulnerable. She has considerable control over her employer who must(prenominal) accept her care because of his heart condition and because she is inexplicable attracted to Joseph K. who is vulnerable because of the accusation against him.From an economic and social blot of view The Trial is particularly interesting. The Trial moves beyond the household to explore the interlocking of social power and psychic structure in urban hostel at large (Boa, 133). Adler suggests that Kafka is writing about two formation factors stand out in this period.Firstly, the conflict between Czech, German and Judaic traditions and secondly, the struggle between Pragues memorial and modernisation sic Kafka appears to have had trouble reconciling these three worlds in his own life and feels he is otiose to successfully struggle against the enormous, looming presence of the government and his unearthly background. It is interesting that Joseph K. actually has consider able impact, although it appears is unaware of it.In fact, the butterfly even follows his requests and confirms his assumptions. Although K. tells himself what time he should arrive for his first interrogation, this turns out to be the aforesaid(prenominal) hour mentioned by the Examining Magistrate. K. decides that he will attend only one interrogation, instead of the series of short interrogations planned by the Court, and the Court complies K. accuses the warders, and the Court promptly punishes them . . . . (Lasine, 34).It is this lack of sentience of the capabilities that Kafka seems to warning the reader about. The Trial is not to be viewed as a plan or even a call to change society, but an interrogative sentence of authority intended to help people imply for themselves about the issues in the book (Boa, 186).The Trial is a haunting frightening book in the same genre as the later books Orwells 1984 and Huxleys Brave raw(a) World. However, it is more subtle and thought pr ovoking. Given the multi-leveled layers of bureaucracy both governmental and in business one wonders if The Trial is not more relevant straight off that when it was written near the beginning of World contend I. Given the excess of administrative law with its great power that is not subject to many of the protections of due process, it is easy to empathize with Joseph K.Works CitedAdler, Jeremy. What Was Lost? The Czech Jewish Community. European Judaism. 38, 2 (2005) 70+. Boa, Elizabeth. Kafka Gender, Class, and Race in the Letters and Fictions. Clarendon Press Oxford, 1996. Kafka, Franz. The Trial. Alfred A. Knopf New York, 1957. Lasine, Stuart. Kafkas Trial. The Explicator. 42, 3 (1985) 34. Meyers, Jeffrey. fleet and Kafka. Papers on Language & Literature. 40, 3 (2004) 329.