Outline

Thesis: In The Trial, a phony bureaucracy under an unnamed society of men control and ultimately wear down K. into a completely different person. The idea that social creations like a fake bureaucracy are created to manipulate people ultimately can change who we are at our core existence.

Outline: I. Introduction
                 a. Just a regular introduction, my thesis, and a tease of what I'm going to write about in regards to K.'s transformation as a person in The Trial.
II. The man K. was before the arrest
                 a. In the beginning of the novel, K. is described as being self-made, elaborate on that in the paper
                 b. Hardworking
                 c. Persistent in achieving his goals
III. The man K. was after the arrest
                 a. Show how each of the three letters in the previous paragraph are completely changed in K. towards the end of the book:
                          i. K. gets obsessed with his trial, and cannot focus properly on work
                         ii. K. hires someone else to work on his Trial for him, rather than putting in the work to make it right. 
                        iii. K. gets tired of his trial going absolutely nowhere, and finally decides to fire his lawyer, but is so run down by the whole process that he actually does an even worse job, leading to his inevitable death. 
IV. Conclusion
                 a. Brief overview of everything I spoke about
                 b. Current examples of our government and how it can warp our perceptions/actions, and how it can change us completely.

Final Outline

Thesis: Franz Kafka’s drive to highlight the corruption of government and lack of professionalism in Russian society is exceptionally portrayed through the characters and situations that occur in "The Trial." The implications of his belief system were cleverly interlaced in the novel to express his dissatisfaction in the unofficial, unethical customs of the modern Russian government.     I.         Introduction: Thesis, brief summary

   II.         K’s Arrest
                   a.   The Guards
                                    i.     Randomly coming to K.’s house and arresting him
                                    ii.     Unspecified charge
                   b.   Conditions of Arrest
                                    i.     Allowed to go about his daily routine
                                    ii.     Under arrest but not told why
III.        First court hearing
IV.        Importance of Innocence in the trial (Huld)
                 a.   Huld
                                    i.     Admits to Joseph K that the only way to win a trial is through connections
                                    ii.     Innocence means nothing, it is all about who you know or what you can do for the Judges.
                 b.   Titorelli
                                   i.     Because of his paintings he is classified as a “connection.”
                                   ii.     A painter can be more important than innocence in this bureaucracy.
  V.     Totalitarianism; power to the worthy
                a.   Titorelli
                                   i.     Has so much power because of his power
                                   ii.     Not qualified but is able to get what he wants because he has what those in authority want
                                   iii.     Complete abuse of power demonstrated by Titorelli’s character
                b.   Leni
                                  i.     Sleeps with men in order to be secured by the government
                                  ii.     Because of her promiscuity she has some power, not because of qualifications
VI.      K’s Death; comparison between the guards who arrested him and killed him.
               a.   Similarity between the guards who arrested him in the beginning and those who killed him in the end
               b.   Unprofessionalism of these events; parallelism between the two incidences
VII.         Kafka’s analysis on Russian government during that time; indirect critique
               a.   His view on totalitarian government
               b.   Idea that the only way to get anywhere is through connections
               c.    Intelligence, experience, or innocence do not matter.
               d.   All that matters is your name or what you can do for those in charge.
VIII.        Conclusion
 

term paper outline

THESIS STATEMENT: Many people in society believe that in a time of need others will provide you with necessary aid in order to help in the predicament that one is situated in. However, in many instances in The Trial, Joseph K. is pressed by the government which causes him to be both alienated by society and stubborn to accept anyone’s help.

      I.         The Court

a.     The court represents a society where everyone is the same.

                                               i.     No one can be different and those that are, are forced to conform to the norm.

b.     “And you should talk less in general; almost everything you've said up to now could have been inferred from your behavior, even if you'd said only a few words, and it wasn't terribly favorable to you in any case.”

                                               i.     They are basically telling Joseph K. that no matter if he is telling the truth or being completely fictitious, the court will change it to make sure that it is turned against him.

                                             ii.     In other words, the court is always right and never messes up.

c.     “What has happened to me is merely a single case and as such of no particular consequence, since I don't take it very seriously, but it is typical of the proceedings being brought against many people. I speak for them, not for myself.”

                                               i.     K. thinks that the court oppresses many people and that he is not only defending himself but all of these people that the court system takes advantage of.

    II.         K.’s Defense By Huld and Himself

a.     K. is isolated and eventually is forced to defend himself.

                                               i.     He becomes to engulfed by the Trial and believes that only he will be able to defend himself.

                                             ii.     Unfortunately, this was not the best decision.

b.     "Don't go into shock at every word […] You should be ashamed here in front of my client! […] It's senseless anxiety!"

                                               i.     Although this was not to K. and to Block instead, it shows that Huld’s defense is pointless.

                                             ii.     Block is freaking out because he knows to much about the court.

                                            iii.     This should scare K. because he does not really know anything about the court

  III.         Personal Relationships

a.     He used to be all about buissiness, but because of the Trial he is forced to care about that more and more.

                                               i.     He even has a client taken away from him by his boss.

                                             ii.     Turns out that this boss even knows about the trial.

b.     “Didn't a painstaking defense simultaneously imply the necessity of cutting himself off as far as possible from everything else? Would he successfully survive that? “

                                               i.     The trial begins to take over every aspect of his life.

                                             ii.     Because it takes up so much time he has nothing else to focus on.

  IV.         The Unknown

a.     It is the unknown that places K. into isolation in the first place and ends up taking over his life.

                                               i.     Trial would have been much different had he known what he was being accused of.

                                             ii.     Because of the fact that he didn’t, he could not provide himself with a proper defense.

b.     Due to the fact that he doesn’t know, his world gets flipped upside down.

Full Outline

In his novel The Trial, Franz Kafka criticizes societal institutions made by mankind’s destructive logic that ensure citizen confinement and lead to the inevitable failure of human values and beliefs. These institutions digress citizens’ attention from life’s chaos and uncertainty highlighted by the court system.

      I.         The different roles in society, their knowledge of and influence in the court system

a.     The inspector

                                               i.     Pg. 14 “Think less about us and what’s going to happen to you, and instead think more about yourself.”

                                             ii.     By saying that you are blatantly innocent, it makes you seem guilty

                                            iii.     Directly follows his duty of arresting K and noting his reaction, tells him that his ordinary life should not be disrupted. Knows everything about K’s life including his profession and love life

b.     The court usher

                                               i.     Physical pg. 66 “the court usher’s civilian jacket, which, in addition to the norml buttons, bore as sole emblem of the office two gold buttons, which seemed to have been taken off an old officer’s uniform”- the illegitimacy of the court system

                                             ii.     Talks to K about his wife having an affair with all of other men who belong to the court system, “you’re a defendant after all”- all of the risks you take will have no effect on the outcome of your trial

                                            iii.     Brought K to the law court offices- K’s perspective of the court system pg. 68

c.     Titorelli the painter

                                               i.     Paints portraits of officials in the court system, gossips about the court system but acts like a beggar when he tries to sell his artwork

                                             ii.     The manufacturer- “A person is naturally reluctant to allow himself to be advised by a fellow like that.”- may provide some information and insight about the judges

d.     Block the Merchant

                                               i.     When he is asked about his past with the lawyer- “I’ll confide in part, but you have to tell me a secret too, so that we both have something to hold over the other with regard to the lawyer” pg. 173

                                             ii.     Has 5 other lawyers because doesn’t want to overlook anything, spent everything on his trial (include his personal and career life)- gives K information about working with the court directly pg. 174

    II.        The confinement of following superstitions and traditions

a.     The reliance on lawyers

                                               i.     Need them in order to win the case, as they should know everything about bypassing all decisions

                                             ii.     Pg. 173 “The mind can’t deal with, people are simply too tired and distracted, and by way of compensation they resort to superstition”- the effect of the court on people involved with it

                                            iii.     Different superstitions found in the court and how irrelent and inconsequential they are. They are something to believe in pg. 174

b.     Pursuit of success and a final evident conclusion

                                               i.     K tries so hard to win his case that he misses a lot going on in his personal life and overlooks other outlets to escape from

                                             ii.     Titorelli gives him choices for his case but neither has a definitive conclusion. His trial will continue for the rest of his life. Leaves K. wanting more and making worse decisions

  III.         Cathedral’s allegory

a.     Why we believe the things that we don’t see

b.     The parable is about a man who is desperately trying to gain permission to enter a door and he dies before his wish is granted.

c.     Setting and characters are allusive- not all identical with our reality, dream-like and nonsensical, characters don’t have human characteristics and are translated to motives

                                               i.     Man from countryside is a persistent desire

                                             ii.     Doorkeeper is an obstacle to the idtentity of a hidden Law that neither of them knows

d.     K’s personal experience-

                                               i.      the man from the country side is waiting for permission from the doorkeeper like the man who is looking for freedom but always seem to block himself from it

                                             ii.      a man desiring an absolute ideal that doesn’t exist in reality

                                            iii.     K has never achieved the sense of isolation from the judicial system, there is no exit once you enter the system and there is no way to avoid the system

                                            iv.     It is an absolute that engulfs everyone even though we cant feel, perceive or know it.

  IV.         The difference between K’s personality before he was arrested and before he was killed- both highlights the weaknesses of the bureaucracy created by humans

a.     Before his arrest

                                               i.     Pg. 13- Aware of life’s unanticipated distractions and hardships “…had to make your way on your own you get hardened to surprises and don’t take them too seriously”

                                             ii.     Thinks the arrest isn’t important- since he can’t think of an offense of which he would be accused then he is rightfully innocent (misconception of human institutions)

                                            iii.     Personality- pg. 14- has a whole list of questions to figure out about his arrest, all logic based on observations and reasoning

                                            iv.     Men are rugged and poor individuals

b.     After his arrest

                                               i.     Men are formal and of a higher society in order to show that the role an individual holds in society is irrelevant to his vulnerability to hidden and oppressive institutions

                                             ii.     “So one of the men asked the other to let him work on positioning K on his own for a while, but that didn’t improve things either. Finally they left K in a position that wasn’t even the best of those they had already tried” – have lost all sense of their natural intelligence and consciousness, and when they come across issues that were not outlined in their directions they find themselves hesitant about what to do

                                            iii.     “Logis is no doubt unshakable, but it cant withstand a person who wants to live.” Give up all instincts that would allow them to thrive in reality, this institution arrests the men who thrive in reality

                                            iv.     “’Like a dog!’ –K”- the shame was to outlive him, people’s perspectives and influences on an individual are more important than how an individual lives their lives.