The Trial

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An essay in response to Franz Kafka's "The Trial"Essay explores the topic of justice as it pertains to the novel.

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Paul Barnabic
Draft 2
November 17, 2014
Franz Kafka’s novel The Trial introduces the reader to a world
where the law is an omnipotent, unwavering force that is enforced by
officials who have no idea who instated it. The protagonist, Josef K., is a
reputable bank clerk who is put on trial for a crime he, and everyone
he meets, is unaware of. Throughout the novel the reader struggles to
comprehend how a crime of such supposed stature can be completely
unknown, and moreover how a society can operate dependent on
forces they are not even sure exist. Unquestionably a metaphor for
Kafka’s own political views, The Trial suggests that the law left
unquestioned can become a tool for destruction rather than a pathway
to justice.
In Josef K’s unnamed society, people recognize the presence of
and put their faith in high-ranking court officials, and yet no one has
ever met them. Citizens seemingly carry out the laws and punishments
of these god-like magistrates all in the name of justice. A justice that
few fortunate citizens are ever actually bestowed. Instead citizens
either remain passive and subject themselves to the wrath of a flawed
system or fight until they lose everything worth fighting for; either way
their destruction is inevitable.
In the very first chapter we are introduced to the ‘warders.’ The
warders are K’s society’s version of policemen, however they lack any

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understanding of both the law and the justification for the arrest
warrants they give out. Soon, however, they are subject to the
hardships caused by society’s acquiescent and indolent nature.
Contrary to what the reader likely hopes, the warders are not
independent of corruption. They steal K’s breakfast, attempt to take his
shirt, and try to have him give them money. These transgressions do
not go unpunished, yet the way in which the matter is handled is
unsettling and unfair. The warders, without trial and thus solely based
off K’s accusation, are subject to being whipped for a duration that
lasts over one day; a cruel and unreasonable punishment to say the
least. To make matters worse, they are whipped in a closet belonging
to their accuser as to embarrass them and also make K feel guilty
about making the judicial system aware of their crimes. The selectively
just organization they serve also affects those who are only secondarily
associated with it.
I will include a
paragraph
discussing the
Much further along in the book, Josef K meets a tradesmen,
named Block, who is also on trial and has been for five years. Unlike
the warders and the Usher’s wife, Block decides to challenge his
charges and thus the court. Block and K share a lawyer, Huld, whose
servant informs K that Block now resides in Huld’s house in order to
have access to his services. K is informed that Block has a total of five

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lawyers, and like his own case, Block’s trial is stagnant. The only
outcome of Block’s years of work and suffering has been his own
humiliation and reduction into a slave-like being to the courts and his
lawyers. Block serves as a bleak and frightening possibility of K’s
future. However, the affects of this almighty court have also begun to
take effect on Josef K.

Josef K demonstrates the greatest amount of insubordination
towards the legal system. As soon as he is arrested, he criticizes the
warders, the chargers ( or lack thereof ), and the system as a whole.
His disdain only becomes more apparent when he mocks the judiciary
system in front of those who compose it. Deterring further from the
norm, K handles his case in his own fashion, eventually completely
independent of the services of a lawyer. Despite his efforts, the trial
envelopes his life, and he is left mentally and physically destroyed.
When the court decides to put him to death in the end, his death
serves more as a method to liberate him from oppression and hardship
rather than as a punishment

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