In the beginning, when Joseph is on trial in what feels like a kangaroo court, it may seem like the whole thing is a big cautionary tale of how badly things can turn if we let the government and its justice system do as they please, completely unchecked, the abuse of power that would come with a totalitarian regime. –Franz Kafka, The Trial Franz Kafka Criticizes the WorldĪs you begin reading the book, Kafka engrosses you straight away with the peculiar and oppressive setting, an atmosphere which he maintains practically throughout the whole story disturbing, and yet engrossing at the same time. Judgement does not come suddenly the proceedings gradually merge into the judgement. He tries to gain it back, but that may prove to be too little too late the State knows better than to give free will to a criminal. With each passing day Joseph’s fate grows increasingly uncertain and his personal life spirals out of control.

He is finally released after his arrest, with one caveat: he is required to report to the court on an extremely regular basis until the matter is resolved… which of course, it never is. One day, he wakes to find that he stands accused of a crime… and not only did he not commit it, nobody will even inform him of what the crime is. The in itself has a rather simple premise, presenting us with Joseph K., the most regular man you could ever hope to meet. Franz Kafka, however, had some very interesting visions and opinions about the government and its bureaucratic gears, offering us quite a different perspective of the justice system in his timeless classic, The Trial. Of course, this is far from being the case everywhere in the world, but for the most part, we take it for granted that objective justice is something we are all entitled to, or at least should be. The justice system is something that we’ve developed as a society through many centuries of trial-and-error, and even though there are certainly some improvements to make, most of us live protected by the law and with various official resources should our rights be violated.

The trial by franz kafka