Saturday, September 14, 2013

Ryan's Third Reaction


Chapter 2 of The Trial effectively furthers the confusing and abnormal atmosphere of the novel. K. undergoes the first cross-examination a term I think is used very loosely, as the events that transpire in this chapter hardly seem to be a cross examination. While K. is looking for the courtroom where his hearing is taking place, we learn that K. is a very proud man. K. would rather tell people he was looking for a fake person, than ask where the actual courtroom is. I also thought it was very weird that the washerwoman knew exactly where K. was going as she pointed him to the courtroom in a rather mysterious way, the encounter with the washerwoman adds to the theory that the whole story is a dream. The actual layout of the courtroom seems abnormal, with there being a massive amount of people on two sides and the judge’s podium and a stand in the middle of the room. K.’s experience in the courtroom causes the reader to further question the legal system of this society. Firstly, the judge tells K. he is late and should have been present an hour earlier, even though K. admits before that he had no set appointment time and went to the courtroom at nine because that is when it opens. During his examination, K. easily seems to take control of the crowd and appears to turn the crowd against he judge, by saying the legal system was taking advantage of an innocent man and caused him irritation and inconvenience. I was very surprised, as was K., when all the people in the courtroom belonged to the same group, which only supported my opinion that the legal system is corrupt. I would also like to know what advantages the judge is referring to, when he tells K. that K. lost many possible advantages from the hearing.

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