1.
Human Institutions in the sense of Bureaucracies
I think that one theme in The Trial is the conflict
that humans create for themselves via establishing institutions and laws that
make it impossible to establish any sense of justice. The court system in the
book never reaches final conclusions for any of the people arrested because the
law prevents them. By never reaching
justice (both for the guilty and innocent if that even exists), the whole societal system fails and
makes every citizen a slave to the institution’s bureaucratic ways and
inefficiencies.
2.
Transformation
K. loses a sense of hope and ambition as he spends more time
under arrest and experiences the institution’s limitations. Although K. is
nowhere near an adolescent figure at the beginning of the book, he has a sense
of optimism as CFO for his bank and the future with Fraulein in his boarding
house. Yet, as time continues after he gets arrested, he becomes more
pessimistic about life and society in general and he realizes that there is
really no definite purpose for humans to achieve in their lives. He becomes
more secure with the idea that humans all have the same fate regardless of
their class, gender, age ect. There is a sense of the human condition here.
3.
Absence of religion
K realizes that humans can’t believe in any supernatural
force because everyone is attached to this invisible judicial institution that
can determine your future by just arresting an innocent person. The priest in
In The Cathedral chapter associates himself with the court as prison chaplain
rather than relating himself with God. There is no outlet to god, rather only
to a society where a person is born as a prisoner to this court. Religion is absent
and holds no authority in this book. There
is no one to confide in besides lawyers and miscellaneous men who believe that
they have some control over their and others’ futures in order to feel somewhat
secure and powerful.
Totalitarianism and the predetermined destiny
The idea of totalitarianism is that all of the citizens are controlled by the government and they have no control over their future, as if everyone had a predetermined destiny. No matter how this individuals spend their lives before getting caught up with the government, it has no significance in the end. The government doesn't care about race, gender, religion, class etc. In the end, we are all equal and under the control of the government.
Totalitarianism and the predetermined destiny
The idea of totalitarianism is that all of the citizens are controlled by the government and they have no control over their future, as if everyone had a predetermined destiny. No matter how this individuals spend their lives before getting caught up with the government, it has no significance in the end. The government doesn't care about race, gender, religion, class etc. In the end, we are all equal and under the control of the government.
1. I like the first theme you have. My first one is along the lines with that one as well. I like it a lot and I think it is an easy topic as well as a great topic to write about.
ReplyDelete2. My second topic was also similar to yours. I think Kafka always likes to emphasize how his main characters react to his surroundings under pressure, and this would be a great topic to write about.
3. I agree with you in that religion carries zero authority in the trial. But, in my opinion, that makes it a weak topic to write about, and I don't see it as a unique enough topic in the novel to write about. I'm sure you could make it work, but, to me, it's a little weak.