1. The corruption of government and lack of professionalism in "The Trial" are very apparent and ongoing themes in the plot. Through many characters such as Titiorelli and Leni, Kafka was able to express his viewpoints on how unofficial and corrupt the government is, and how seemingly unimportant people can become such "respected" figures in society because of the connections they have.
2. Kafka's writing strategies regarding fantasy vs reality are exemplified throughout the entire novel. His existentialist perspectives are underlined through the strange, eerie situations that K. experiences. At some moments, it is very unclear whether or not what is happening is real and it all forms part of this "kafkaesque" style that the readers become so familiar with.
3. Kafka's perception on the pressures exerted by the state institution are very clearly portrayed throughout the novel. In fact, it seems as though the details of the trial were never revealed solely for this purpose; to highlight the way he feels the state institution impacts citizens in a negative way.
4. Kafka's critique on totalitarianism is also a reoccurring topic in "The Trial." The idea that the government controls society fully, and that the authorities involved are no more fit to be leaders than anyone else in the society is often implied.
I personally think that you should write your paper on #4. It is continually occurring throughout the novel. The theme i least like is the 2nd one.
ReplyDelete1) I may be wrong but I think the only time that K has directly interacted with the government is when he gets arrested, goes to his first hearing and gets killed. Other than that, all reflections of the government are portrayed by characters you noted along with others. I like this theme because it leaves you with a lot to work with since there are so many characters and those two aspects are really strong in the story. Also, I noticed a parallelism between the men who arrested K and the men who killed him so maybe that could come into play here.
ReplyDelete2) I like the second one a lot too because there are a bunch of weird situations that K describes like when he almost passes out at the beginning of the novel to the cathedral scene. Also, just the way that Kafka wrote this novel, his style and tone, is kafkaesque too.
3) I'm a little confused by your third point. I probably completely wrong but I think that you are saying that the state isolates its citizens and controls their destiny or fate, as if there is little responsibility left for them. If so, then I really like it because I think that K realizes how his previous endeavors of being CFO at a bank are completely useless under this situation. The fact that Kafka never really described the "upper" levels of the judicial system, as if it is invisible, makes it seem like it is somewhat like a God.
4) I think that this topic plays off of the third one. It shows that the human condition or nature like class, gender etc. really have no importance when it comes down to the nitty-gritty. In the end, we are all equal