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Kafka's The Trial: Guilt - Online Paper

Kafka's The Trial: Guilt

Guilt has relative existence; in one sense or another, every man
experiences guilt. Whether or not this guilt is worthy of punishment,
however, is another question. For this, modern society has created trials
that decide whether or not a person is guilty. However, sometimes the
actual guilt or innocence of an individual is not the most important aspect
of his or her trial. In the novel, The Trial, Franz Kafka uses his main
character Joseph K to show the unimportance of the actual guilt of an
individual. Although K is arrested and summoned by the courts, he is never
informed of his crime, or questioned on his actual guilt. The trial that K
is put through can be interpreted on two ...

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beliefs, the courts treat all men as if they were guilty.
Joseph K is a prime example of this treatment. He is never told about his
crime, nor of how the trial is going. He merely waits until he is summoned,
and if he is not, he is still forced to live his life according to the
courts. This is what Kafka believes happens to all individuals; they are
controlled by the society, and forced to agree with what the society
implements upon them. K never found out what his alleged crime was, and
will never find out. However, he was forced to agree with his own guilt
because the society did not give him any other option. When he was told of
his three possible outcomes, none included a statement of innocence. K
allowed the trial and the pressure to run his daily life, and was never
able to return to his normal lifestyle. However, one night, the prison
guard summons K to the church to have a conversation.
Kafka uses a story inside of the story to provide an explanation to
why K can ...

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Kafka's The Trial: Guilt. (2004, November 20). Retrieved January 18, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Kafkas-The-Trial-Guilt/17793

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 11/20/2004 03:33:06 PM
Category: Book Reports
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 986
Pages: 4

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