Kafca and Wiesel

Out-of-Class Reading Response to Kafka and Wiesel

1. Compare and contrast the two excerpts.

In both excerpts the reader can appreciate the suddenness of change in the main characters’ world. In The Trial, Joseph K. is arrested without any specific reason on the day of his birthday. Birthdays are special days, and even more if they are marking off a decade. People tend to do some soul-searching and think about their lives on their birthdays. The life of Joseph K. is changing, and even more now that he has been arrested without a reason. K. is caught by surprise, and he was not prepared for this situation. K. contemplates suicide as a solution to this dilemma, but he dismisses it as irrational On the other hand, in the selection from Night, The life of Elie is going through a tough spiritual struggle because of the things that are happening around him. He can no longer make sense of his world. He is going through a painful experience full of persecution and cruelty. With all this, he becomes aware of the cruelty of which he himself is capable. He was giving up; he said that those moments killed his God, soul and dreams. He was losing his faith, and he thought nothing could be worse than that, not even death.

Another theme that was used in both excerpts was the theme of being spied upon while losing personal freedom. In the selection from The Trial, the main character is now under arrest, a stranger walked into his room, and people watching him all the time. Also, During his arrest, several people were enjoying the spectacle, and he was interrogated by the inspector. Although he was free to go to work at the bank, people were watching him all the time. He lost his personal freedom, and he did not even know why. In the selection from Night, The loss of personal freedom is clearly seen, Elie and his family was sent to a death camp, the entire selection shows scenes of humiliation, deprivation, and murder. They had lost all their freedom and they were...