Response to Vero's

I agree with you here. Kafka displayed a great characterization technique here, which ultimately allowed us to see how K. is as a person. We learned in all of the earlier chapters that K. is a business man, who often thought with his wallet rather then his heart. He always tried to outsmart everyone.

However, we learn here that he is a nice, caring person. This sort of made me like K. a little bit more. He diverged from the opinion that I had about him before. He showed that he is compassionate and can understand other's pain.

I found it very interesting (like you did) that others in the company were being affected. To be honest, the fact that others in the company are involved is making me want to know what the Trial is about more. This means that Kafka did a great job.

Starting to Make Sense

Up to this point in the book I have been very confused about what was going on. This is due to the fact that the storyline was very confusing and unrealistic. However, it is starting to all come together. We learn that the guards are being punished for K.'s testimony. The interesting part about it though is that they are being punished within K.'s office building. This makes us wonder if the company is the one behind the trial in the first place. We also learn that K. is a genuinely nice person. When he finds out that these guards are about the be flogged for what he says, he tries stopping it through bribery. Despite his bribery, the flogger proceeds. Another interesting aspect of this is that K. tries covering it up and telling others in the office that it is a hollowing dog. If he really wanted it stopped, he should have told them what it really was.

K.'s Guilt

         From K’s reaction to the three men being whipped in the room, we see his softer, more sensitive side. He realizes that it is his fault that these men are being beat, and feels guilty that they are being punished for what he said about them. In these scenes we see the power of authority, and we are able to understand how K’s innocent, and harmless description turned out to cause the guards to be violently punished.

         This situation really takes a toll on K. He is emotional, mortified, and almost regretful of what he said that caused these men to be so brutally punished. Disturbed that such his words were taken in such a way that they were said with bad intentions, he feels guilty for what is happening and this is demonstrated by his curiosity of the room the day after he witnesses the Whipper and the three men. He realizes that there is nothing he can do about it, but is deeply troubled that it is occurring. When K. opens the windows to get fresh air, I see just how uneasy he is about the situation and how he feels that this fresh air will make him feel better about what is going on.

         Chapter five shows us that the interrogated subject is not the only one who is affected by the trial, and that those who have been spoken of negatively are punished for it in closed doors. 

Response to Camille's First Blog post on 8/24

Camille's blog post from late August has really stood out to me every time I picked up the book. Ever since I read her blog post, I have really thought about the eyes and the front cover, so I did a little research on all of the published copies of The Trial. Literally every single copy has something to do with the connotation of eyes or a magnifying glass. In any mystery based novel, though, you're going to employ something along the lines of these covers. There has got to be more meaning behind it though.

In my blog post today, I spoke about how everyone in the novel gives off this feeling that they know what's going on, and I think it speaks volumes on the cover of the book. It's like all of the blue eyes represent the superficial characters and how they know what's going on, and then the yellow eye represents K. and his inability to control his situation. I don't want to say that Kafka chose these covers on purpose, because he didn't, but I think it definitely has something to do with the plot and Kafka's overall beliefs on society.

Here are some of the covers that I found:  

Kafka's Ultimate Goal

As we continue reading on and on through the novel, Kafka's goal seems more obvious. He seems to make every one around K. suspicious, yet somewhat knowing of what's going on. I feel like Kafka is manipulating the outside eyes of the superficial characters in the novel as a way to describe his belief's of society. I just get this feeling that everyone knows what he's being accused of, and he ultimately has no control on it.

K. is initially characterized as being a successful, manipulative, and proud banker who doesn't usually get controlled by others. It's only fitting that when he finally gets into trouble with the 'law,' he has no control, and no idea of what's going on. It seems to me that Kafka is explaining his idea that no matter how successful or powerful you make present yourself to be, bureaucrats and the government can be destructive to whatever they want to be destructive toward. They have the power, and no matter what you think you can do, they ultimately control and manipulate you however you please.

Back to what I said in the beginning, I think that the outlying characters know that what's going on isn't right, but they are forced to play the game that is the government and K.'s 'Trial.'

The blur of reality and fantasy

As I progress deeper into The Trial, I start to appreciate the plot and developing themes. Kafka's character development of K. and the judicial system officials and underlings blurs the spheres of reality and fantasy in this novel. This particular development begins after the initial hearing and heightens after K. visits the judicial system offices.

I think that he returns to the apartment where the initial hearings were held because he was curious about the judicial system, it's influence in the community, and the extent of it's authority. Every person tied to this institution is unaware of freedom and unsure of their ability to control his or her own decisions. They seem to have lost the power of their minds and it's associated independence. This is clear when the court usher suffers from other people's intrusion and manipulation of his life. For example, they do not respect his privacy and control his enjoyment when they take away his wife for their own pleasure. His wife's willingness only supports the fact that the bureaucracy has eroded its employees' independence.

The blur of reality and fantasy occurs when K.loses his strength inside the bureaucracy's office. After interacting with other defendants and noticing their hopelessness and inability to reason, K. turns into the same state of mush after he has been in the building for too long. He loses his independence and has to rely on his "enemies" to get him to fresh air. While reading this section, I thought that K. would never be able to leave the building and that the officials would imprison him inside their system.

This theme of reality and fantasy develops when K. eventually exists the building and watches the bureaucracy's officials suffer from fresh, clean air. I love Kafka's manipulation of this theme especially when K. hallucinates that the two guard that arrested him are being flogged in his office building. I figure Kafka wants to emphasize that Kafka's personal life is diminishing, he is becoming more attached to the bureaucracy and that he is suffering from psychological stress.

Quarter 1 Video Discussion