Kafka Essay

Joseph K. is the main character in F. Kafka’s novel, The Trial. K. is in a world that is as uncertain and hard to understand as K’s mind. The calmness, uncertainty, and sense of entitlement that K feels all plays a role in how he views his situation and how he deals with it. His status in the society does not play much of a role in getting answers and he is left to try and decipher everything that he is presented with on his own. He tries to act as though he is in control and is sometimes successful in convincing himself but knows deep down that in most cases he is not. Although K thrives on power and control, throughout the novel, he has only been able to replicate those feelings but never truly experiences them.

While K. is facing being arrested for reasons unknown to him, he is still able to act as though he deserves to be treated better and above everything in hopes of making himself feel more at ease about his arrest. “K. lived in a state governed by the law, there was universal peace, all statutes were in force; who dared assault him in his own lodgings” (6)? He is not sure what he is being arrested for and how serious it may be but he is quick to get on the defensive. He uses this type of response to try and hide the fact that he is unsure of what is happening in his own room. By acting as though he is outraged by the treatment he is receiving from the guards he is fooling himself into thinking he has more control although he is even unsure of the law in the state of which he lives. K. does not want to feel as though he is unimportant or as low as the bank assistants he looks down upon.

Another way in which K. shows his doubt is when he is not responded to in the way he expects or wishes, which is the case when Frau Grubach does not shake his hand. Since position means a lot to him, K. wants to know that the Inspector in some way relates to K. as they share the bond of being remotely powerful. Not being recognized when he goes in to shake the Inspectors...