Raoul's Response to Ryan

Ryan I completely agree with you; this novel has kept and probably will continue to keep us in suspense. I agree with you that the legal system is corrupt and wrong; however, for two reasons we can’t say that the arrest is a clear violation of human rights. The first reason is that we do not know what crime Josef has been arrested for. They could have thought that Josef murdered the president (he probably isn’t being charged with murdering a president given that it was such a nonchalant arrest, but we don’t know). The second reason why we can’t say that this is a clear violation of human rights is that we don’t know the legal system of this country. We can already predict that the country believes in guilty until proven innocent, so human rights are probably very different than they are in America. To add to the idea of the corrupt legal system though, I found it weird that the inspector did not know what Josef was being charged for. It would seem normal that an inspector would know what he is inspecting; this all seems way to strange.
I actually disagree with you about when the uncovering of what Josef is being charged for will occur. I know that the author probably wants to keep us in suspense; but on the other hand, the title of this book is the trial not the arrest. I have a feeling that we will find out soon. 

Kaylee's Response to Ryan

         Along with Ryan, I am sympathetic to Josef K.'s predicament. The thought of waking up one day and being held captive for an issue I am unaware of is absolutely frightening. Just the mere thought of being arrested is momentous. The entirety of Josef K.'s well being is about to change drastically and his life may never be the same. As a result, it is understandable that K.'s mindset is disoriented.
        The social and political matters in question are also an important element mentioned above. The legal system differs greatly from the one we are accustomed to in the U.S. presently, however the book is set in the early 1900's so it is hard to believe that any legal system was well developed during that era. I am eager to uncover more about the legal system and what measures are taken when one is arrested. The guards and inspectors are unlike any authority figures I have read about in any other piece of literature. They are indifferent about the situation and are only concerned with getting the job done so they can get paid. It is also extremely strange how all of them refuse to give any information to Josef K., yet they offer to get him breakfast from the café across the street. The arrest is suspicious and unpredictable. 

Maya's Response to Kaylee

     Kaylee, I am also interested in seeing how K’s case unfolds. I want to know how he will fight for his innocence or if he will even pursue that at all. I as well mentioned a possibility of K not being an innocent man in my reaction. But, I believe that he should at least be given the chance to prove himself otherwise. If he ends up being guilty, I am eager to see how the future events of this story will transpire. If the authorities are able to arrest K without concrete reasoning, will K even see anything slightly resembling a court case? Kafka did write this story in the early nineteen hundreds, but I do not possess the knowledge to say to what extent the judicial system of that time differs from the one of the present. I am also curious to see how something like K’s situation would be handled in modern times. With many current events such as the Trayvon Martin case and the marriage equality campaign, I would be interested in seeing how the people of today would respond to a situation much like K’s. I am excited to read further and see how the plot unfolds. 

Natalie's Response to Raoul

Similar to Raoul I don't know how I feel about Joseph K. yet. So far he seems to be a bit stuck up, he clearly thinks highly of himself but K. thinks he is way above the other two men and is only worthy of speaking to high ranking officers. K. seems a bit arrogant but like Raoul mentioned, given the nature of his situation this could just be a way of coping with not knowing what is going on. To give K. the benefit of the doubt I haven't formed any concrete opinions on him yet. Raoul also brings up a good point that we don’t know if we can trust the narrator yet and K. may be guilty, but I think that K. is in fact very confused and that makes me feel like he may not be guilty. As for possible crimes he may have commited, if he is in fact guilty, I think stealing money from the bank is a very good guess because he works at the bank and holds a high ranking position which probably would make it easier for him to steal from the bank. Unlike Raoul I don't believe that just because the officers were casual that the charges aren't that bad because at one point one officer says that cases like these tend to take a long time which lead me to believe that the charges brought upon him are in fact severe. I also agree that the legal system is corrupt because he is being arrested without being shown a warrant or being told why he is being arrested. 

Natalie's First Reaction

The first few pages of The Trial have really captured my attention. The plot of the novel is interesting and has left me wanting to read more. The main character Joseph K. seems to be a high-ranking person in society, we learn this because he holds a high position at the bank. The two officers who are meant to be watching K. frustrate me because they never provide clear answers, and seem to be very casual about the whole situation. They also seem incompetent because they mention they “hardly know one end of an ID card from another…” Which makes me question why low ranking officers like themselves would be the ones to arrest him. They also mention that their job is also to tell high-ranking officials what type of person they are going to arrest and why he should be arrested. This doesn’t seem like an easy task and low ranking officers, like they described themselves don’t really seem like the type of people that should decide something so important like this. I also think it is strange that nobody knows why K. is under arrest not even the supervisor. It seems only fair to tell someone who is being arrested why they are being arrested. This leads me to question how fair their legal system is especially since it seems everyone is guilty until proven innocent. I also found it very strange that the supervisor had rented out K.'s neighbors room and turned it into a sort of office. This is seemed very unprofessional and again I think it leads me to question the validity of their legal system.

First Reaction to The Trial

       Having read these first ten pages has already left me wanting to know more about K's situation. For me, as a reader, my immediate reaction was to have an initial belief that K's arrest was a violation of his rights. But, I may just be predisposed to respond in this manner being that I live in a time where the majority of reported arrests are explained. K's joking attitude towards his arrest may be more telling than it seems. Maybe this was the author's indirect way of showing just how laughable the justice system of his time really was. The actions of the policemen can also shed a great amount of light on the state of the justice system during Kafka’s time. The policemen state that they could not tell K anything other then he was simply under arrest. This poses a question; were the policemen's actions really governed by ability or lack of willingness? Were they just blindly following orders from a higher authority or were they keeping within the rules of their  occupation? Then again, K’s arrest may be completely just. He is a successful man who had to work hard to get to where he is today. Maybe during this time, K did some less than reputable things. I as the reader have yet to be exposed to a more extensive description of K’s past. 

Ryan's Response To Raoul

Like Raoul, I am very eager to know why K. is being arrested. Of the reasons Raoul mentioned, I believe it most likely the K. is being arrested for stealing money from the bank. So far, K. does not strike me as the man to kill someone and betray his country, whose legal system is clearly faulted; but I do believe it is very realistic that K. is greedy and wanted some extra money. However, K. is possibly under arrest for something totally different, because K. states that his position at the bank is relatively high, hurting the probability that he stole money. I agree with Raoul that this particular legal system operates on a guilty until proven innocent basis. Evident of the fact that K. is in the process of being detained, yet the supervisor is not sure if K. is actually guilty. Furthermore, the nonchalant demeanor of the two officers and the supervisor does indicate that K.’s reason for arrest is not extremely severe  like Raoul said. However, this indifference could just be a characteristic of the legal system. I also appreciate K.’s rationale thought process, despite his apparent, understandable anxiety. Like Raoul, I am excited to discover more about K.'s situation.

Kaylee's First Reaction to The Trial

         The beginning of The Trial has caught my attention as a reader. Josef K. wakes up to being held captive in his apartment as a result to his arrest. K. has no idea what is happening and is very confused, however he has a theory that the situation could be nothing but a crude joke. K. decides to play along if it is. To me the arrest seems like a serious, yet patchy matter. The men holding K. are resisting any information, which is sketchy. Overall K. has a supercilious attitude towards these men. He continues to access the situation as if it were a “show” and does not seem worried about how serious this situation may be.   

K. seems to be a fortunate man in both education and wealth, living as a banker. It is implied that he is a self-made man. He also mentions a troubled past that he has already suffered the consequences for. Does this have something to do with why is being arrested? Why won’t the officials tell him why he is being arrested? I’m interested in how the story will launch from this point on and how Josef K. will fight for his freedom and innocence if and when his arrest intensifies. 

Ryan's First Reaction

Josef K., the main character, has gained my sympathy after the first ten pages of The Trial; he is clearly in a confusing and frustrating situation that seems to have no escape. Since the first line, I immediately wanted to know why K. was arrested and K. clearly wants to know why he is being arrested. The two men who come to K. apartment act nonchalantly towards the whole situation, as if K. is acting ridiculously for frequently asking questions and acting uneasily. Within the first ten pages, many social and political critiques are seen, most prominently the incompetence and corruption of the police force and legal system. For example, when K asks the two men why he is under arrest, they say that they cannot tell him, a clear violation of human rights. The incompetence of the police force is seen when Wilhelm states that he is not familiar with identity papers and also states that he and Franz are the lowest level officers. K. is in a state of denial upon learning that he is under arrest and assumes that the whole situation is a joke setup by his friend and coworkers. K.’s thought process is understandable and realistic because he is randomly arrested and cannot think of any reason why, in addition to the fact that no one will tell him why. The underlining question of the reason for K.’s arrest is one that I believe will not be uncovered for time to come, keeping the reader as well as K. in suspense.

Raoul’s thoughts on the first 10 pages of The Trial

            So far, I find The Trial to be an exciting novel that has captured my curiosity. I want find out what Joseph K. is being arrested for. I think that he could either be charged for murder, stealing money from the bank (because he works at the bank), or treason. I also don’t know how reliable the narrator is; Joseph K. could be guilty, but we don’t know.

            I find the legal system of the country to also be a bit strange. I have a feeling that this country’s legal system believes in guilty until proven innocent because the warden said, “the Law decrees, are drawn towards the guilty”(pg. 6). Therefore, Joseph might be in some trouble, even if he is truly innocent. However, the arrest does seem to be very casual, so maybe Joseph’s crime wasn’t that bad. I also believe that the legal system of this country might be corrupt, so anything is possible.

            I don’t know how I truly feel about Joseph K., yet. I like his clear-mindedness and linear thought process, but I do not like his attitude so far.  On the other hand, Joseph K. was just arrested for some unknown crime; his normal attitude is probably different.

I can’t wait to find out what is going to happen in The Trail. Is Joseph guilt or innocent? Is Joseph going to be wrongfully convicted? Honestly, I am falling in love with this book and want to read past page 10 already.