Kafka plays out a story for us
about a man named Joseph K. who is accused of a crime that he is never informed
of. Throughout the story, he seems lost and uninformed as to how the court
proceedings go. He is surprised that he is “under arrest” but can still go
about his daily job, he doesn’t know the location of the courts, and he was
never told a time to arrive at court. When he finally manages to arrive at the
court, he realizes that he is being judged by an audience that claps or boos
what he says.
While K. is left out of the loop
and seemingly without any power to guide his fate in his own favor, he ends up
swaying the audience to listen to him as he claims that the court is and “extensive
organization” that “arrest[s] innocent people and introduce[s] senseless
proceedings against them, which…go nowhere” (Kafka, 50). This is an interesting
display of power in a public trial. I think it will be interesting to see how
this power of the court unfolds and whether or not there will be any influence
from the “audience”, like how the girls in The Crucible put on a theatrical performance
in order to get their way.
Very straightforward summary and analysis of the text. I like your comparison of the Trial to the Crucible, which the theatrical display of the public court proceedings. This situation seems to also show up in "O Judeu." K. cannot guide his fate in his own favor, much like how Antonio da Silva couldn't escape his sentence. The whole court proceeding seems scripted, where the outcome cannot be changed, especially when K. discovered that his audience and the magistrate were all part of the same organization. The public proceeding in The Trial can be compared to Foucault's idea of a spectacle as well. Although the court system is kind of odd, as you mentioned, the Trial seems to portray a modern court system so far because the trial K. goes through seems to be public.
ReplyDeleteI like how you touched on K being left out of the loop, and that brought my memory back to when we were reading "The Wall" and helped me recognize some similarities between the two. It is interesting how in both stories characters are in trouble, but do not know why. I also found that in both stories shots are being fired towards the justice system. "The Wall" is firing shots toward the idea of interrogation, and how their comes a time when the accused just loses hope and falsely confesses. "The Trial" appears to be firing shots toward the justice system. Also, both characters are experiencing an interesting type of psychological torture where they are in trouble and apparently deserve it, but do not know what they have done.
ReplyDelete-Megan, I agree with Andrea and Austin in their responses to your analysis of the first part of The Trial. I find the Trial different from any of our other readings in the sense that in this story K experiences a different level of psychological torture. Being arrested, without knowing what for but everybody else seeming to have the knowledge of his case and who he is is torture enough. Kafka uses wonderful imagery of hollowed vacant spaces, which in my opinion adds to K's paranoia of "somebody watching him" and being followed.
ReplyDeleteThe more we analyse this topic of torture and trials, the more obvious it becomes of how its all a power game. K's seeming loss of power and control over his own fate, is exemplified when in the court room he tries to make a speech and convince the audience to support him, only to find out that they are all corrupt officials. The loss of power by one, is supplemented by the gain of power by another and that is a reccurring theme in the readings.
Great summary and analysis of the first part of The Trial, Megan! I found it interesting that you tied in the "trial" found in the Crucible to K.'s trial. Both seem to have a very performance like feel to them which not only complicates the truth, but can also cover it up. Even thinking about trials in American today, it is clear there is still a performance aspect to them. Prosecutors and defenders have to perform to the judge and jurors which creates an interesting tie between what we have read so far in class and in the real world. I think it will be intriguing to keep this in mind as we finish up our discussion of The Trial and dive into the other works we will be looking at this semester.
ReplyDeleteI really like your comparison to The Crucible and the example you used to point out the power. It is very interesting to look at how The Crucible and The Trial both definitely use the involvement of the public for the trials. Like you said they are both also comparable to a performance. I also think the use of the public in the courthouse is a form of torture. Having a room of people either cheering or booing what the person on trial says could have serious psychological effects. Also while he does not have any knowledge of the reasons for his arrest or any information about the courthouse in my opinion this lack of knowledge is its own form of torture. I enjoyed reading your post, great job!
ReplyDeleteMegan- I like the way you focus on the concept of K. being lost throughout the story. Also, it is interesting how you connect K.'s performance in the court to the way the young girls acted in The Crucible. I find it intriguing how when people are accused of something abstract and unclear, they attempt to regain the power that has been taken from them. K. does this when he addresses the court, just as Abigail does it when she feels she is in danger of being accused of witchcraft. And K.'s perpetual feeling of being lost dictates his manner throughout the story.
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