The Trial by Franz Kafka - Essay Example

The Trial Chapter 10 End The chapter starts with the protagonist Joseph K dressed up for his 31st birthday. Instead of his birthday he is met with a terrible fate. The time of 9 pm at evening alludes to the time when Joseph K. was arrested by the agents, and that was exactly a year back. Now, two black-frocked men arrested him. The proceeding story is allusive as the whole novel; for example the woman whom he saw while leaving was looking like Fräulein Bürstner, he gets confused whether the woman is Fräulein Bürstner or not. Joseph K. was given choice to lead and the two men followed. He did not resist but at a point refused to move. It is when K sees Fräulein Burstner. The agents then give him free will to lead the way. K follows some time for the women and goes on through parks and then, he realizes he has reached the suburb of the city. There the agents hold the Joseph K. His face is pressed with a brick, and the two agents play back and forth with a knife. K thinks of getting the knife and committing suicide, but he abandons it. After that, an individual holds him with his shoulder, and the other stabs him in the front and twists the knife twice. He sees that the agents were looking at him cheek to cheek close to his face ‘like a dog!’ Chapter 10 is the last chapter of the novel. The chapter ends the litigation without any substantial outcome. The chapter also ends K’s life for his unknown crime. The obscurity and obliviousness in the plot are maintained till the end of the novel. In the plot, the protagonist is completely at the mercy of the court as the Pop tells him. The agents grab him in between and hold him in such a way that they all have aligned to one. He does not resist all the way because he realizes that there is nothing glorious or heroic to resist. Instead, he submits himself before the two individuals, which then lead him to the place where K was destined to be killed (Kafka 265). Joseph is presented as a fighter, who fights pleading his innocence for an unknown crime he has committed. Joseph K went pursue his innocence to the court and hired a legal counselor. The agents who arrested him in the first chapter were punished and flogged in the store of his office for asking for bribes. He went to every extent to reveal the nature of the case and the judges and the law, which was violated by him. All the nine chapters are composed of the description of K. to show his ‘not guilty’. Though as the nature of the case and nature of violation and law was not known, he was unable get himself acquitted from the case. The end of K was obvious, and he made realize by individuals time to time in the previous chapters. However, his fight for justice never faded. While in the last chapter, all his energy and zeal melts down. He was downtrodden and defeated at the hand of circumstances. His spirit of the fight that maintained through the entire story lost and he surrendered at the hand of circumstances. In the very beginning of the chapter 10, the transformation in K’s character is obvious. K has put the gloves and properly dressed up as if he is already expecting someone to visit him. Before the arrival of the two people in chapter 10, K can walk, and he peeps out the window and he sees two little boys playing in the street. The little boys seem to unable to move from the place where they are. K seeing the little boys sitting in the street without “capable of moving” does not say something about K. Is it the boys who are playing in the street are unable to move or is it K’s vision and sense are failing? It seems that K is losing his vision, and his vision is rapidly becoming weaker and weaker. One instance of K losing his vision is that when he sees Fraulein Burstner, he is confused whether the woman is Burstner or not? These instances show K’s helplessness. As in the above paragraph, it is discussed that before the arrival of the two unknown persons to K’s house, K despite his fragile and paleness can move and peep out the window but after the arrival of the persons K is no longer capable of walking by himself. The two strangers carry him out. It is not sure whether K is capable of walking or not because in the same chapter K is shown going after woman Burstner. However, the inability of the K shows a transformation in him. It is note able that the transformation happens when the two strangers visit his house and carry him away towards the suburb of the city. The transformation in K is happening because of the two strangers that is why it links to the previous chapters of the novel. These are perhaps the same strangers who first time arrested him and victimized for an unknown crime. In addition to above, one should carefully examine the description when the two strangers carry K away. The words “becomes one unit” are used twice, and it is written that they become one unit like a lifeless thing if one is destroyed the other would automatically bog down. Do not these words tell something about K and the two other characters and especially, about their future? These words suggest that something worse is going to happen. It seems all of these people are going to meet the same fate. Furthermore, the words “becoming one unit” are enough to show the transformation or transition. Three of the people are becoming would be a transformation if it is not transformation then what it would be. Furthermore, on the way towards the unknown destination, K thinks of him as a “fly” which is trapped in flypaper. He wants to be like that fly that strips his legs apart, trying to get free from the flypaper. K taking him like an animal also shows a kind of transformation. Fly seems to be used here metaphorically to show the transformation of K. The characteristics of a fly are that it flies in the air, and it buzzes. Perhaps, K is a fly for the two persons who carry him away because they do not respond to K’s question and remain silent. It seems that whatever K says to the strangers is like a buzz for them, incomprehensible. Does not it show that K is already dead, or K is no more a human being at least for him and the two officials? K’s desire to strip his body into two parts reflects his desire to be free from the different problems of this life. It would be suicide if K killed himself, but he does not. Why K wants to kill himself? It seems that the only way left for K to get rid of the trial is to kill him. Therefore, there is a strong desire in K to suicide. One another instance of K’s desire to suicide is his desire to snatch the knife from the agents and thrust it into his heart. K is no longer interested in life, and he wants to get rid of it. Besides, in the last chapter of the novel, there is a change in K’s character and he is no more interested in declaring as an innocent person but he wants to become free of all the activities of daily life. He tries to use his free will and sometimes he does use it. When the two strangers who carry him out of his house stop twice on the way to K. K refuses to walk furthermore and the two persons agree with him. It seems that the change in the character of the protagonist is the major transformation. In the final chapter K does not resist to the official despite having the will power, he allows the stranger to treat him in their way. He submits him to them. The two officials are going to take his life, but he is showing no resistance because “there would be not heroic in it if he resists”. The officials seem to be hesitant in killing K because they give the Knife to each other many times before thrusting it twice into the heart of K. K’s last words are very important and reflects the transformation in K’s character. K taking his last breath sees the two persons looking at him face close to face “like a dog”. In the previous chapters, K thinks him as the dog of his advocate but here the word dog is associated with the two agents. It suggests that the persons who have killed him are going to go through the same experience as K has gone through. Perhaps, the word “dog” is used to show that the officials are the obedient dogs of the government and do whatever is ask them to do and he is no more an obedient “dog” but a free person. This shows how K has been transformed characteristically throughout the novel.   Works Cited Kafka, Franz. The Trial. New York: Courier Corporation, 1925. Print Read More