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By Fred Miller -- 6/00
i just finished reading the trial, and wanted to vent some of my feelings on the work.
i think the trial that's going on here is the trial of k's life, actually, the trial that is his life. this is the story of the man who is consumed with his own guilt, and is unable to cope with it. in the first chapter we learn he is an accused man, and he seems to accept it with his attitude and actions, while maintaining his innocence only vaguely. He drinks whiskey at 9 in the morning for chrissakes.
In the second chapter, he deals with the unfair court proceedings by acting out an anti-authority dream, however, his childish arguments, as reasonable as they are, cannot help him escape from the guilt. Later in the book, he turns to women to help, but only falls for their simple charms. He is in association with Elsa, possibly a prostitute.
The poor man is guilty. Robin Williams said you're either a smoker or you're not a smoker. Decide which one you are and live with it. K is a guilty man, but guilt of course, is relative to the law. He could easily live with his guilt, but he cannot, so he's condemned to be destroyed by it.
I think the law in The Trial is supposed to represent the conscience of k, or perhaps the general slippery moral standards of the world around him.
K is being judged by what seems to be the entire city, remember that just about every character (save his uncle) is connected with the court in some way. Even his collegues at the bank are minions of the court. Because mans law is quite different that divine law, you can see that k would be confused at what is right and wrong within mans law, the law of his peers. When he goes to the court offices, he is overcome by the various machinations that all of his peers set up to judge the right and wrong.
But in the end it is indeed k that proves himself guilty, by failing to understand that it is only himself that can provide the final aquittal.
The trial definiately struck me at a level way above #1 and #2. I feel like it has a whole lot to say about man and the nature of our relationship with ourselves. If anyone wants to talk about this book, feel free to email me, I just had to get some of these ideas off my chest. This all took about 15 minutes to write out and i didn't check spelling... that's it.. metamorphisis is next...
By Fred Miller -- 6/00
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