Natalies Response to Raoul

Like Raoul I believed that this chapter made more sense then previous chapters and was probably more realistic. Similar to Raoul, I believed that our lecture made it easier to see the dynamics of the institutions that are acting on K., which in this case are family and the government. I also believe that that discussion also made it easier to understand the novel. I also thought that Karl was being very pushy and trying to get him to care more about the case, and it does make sense because if this is occurring to someone you care about you would usually try to help. I thought it was interesting that Raoul points out how Karls actions aren’t truly altruistic because he does not want K. to hurt their families name and reputation. I also agree that I thought it was good that K was going to finally see a lawyer, but by the end of the chapter it seems that it doesn’t really matter if he has a lawyer or not it will most likely no help much. This is frustrating because not only do we not know what he is on trial for, it seems like there is no way to avoid it. I did not have as strong feelings towards Leni as Raoul did, but mostly because that part sort of confused me. It seemed like K. was also trying to get something from Leni and that he was using her. 

Natalies Reaction

Despite previous chapters of the novel and K.’s encounter with court officials, this part of the novel seemed to make the K.’s trial “more real”. Unlike the rest of the novel this chapter seemed more believable and like something that would actually occur. I realized here that K.’s trial is actually a bigger deal then what I believed prior. I found it strange that K.’s uncle, Uncle Karl found out about his trial, this probably means that it is in fact a big deal, but it is still strange that people could just randomly find out about it. I was glad that Uncle Karl made K. find a lawyer, although it seems like something obvious to do when you are being acussed and being put on trial yet it is something K. never did. This is also the first time when we meet someone who is part of K.’s family or even one of K.’s friends. Usually K. only seems to interact with random people around him that he is not very close too. When K. goes with Uncle Karl to visit the lawyer, again someone else knows about K.’s trial although it makes more sense that he would know since he is a lawyer and more involved with the court. Still the fact that he knows about it must make it a big deal since all these court officials are talking about it. It was also very strange when the Chief Clerk emerges from the corner, it sort of gave off a creepy vibe and a possible message that the government is always watching you. (in this case literally) It still bothers me that we do not know what K. is being accussed of which is really frustrating, especially since all these other people know about the trial as well. K.’s encounter with Leni was strange, yet shifted the book back to its more absurd and random nature. All the women in this novel for some reason throw themselves onto K. It seemed like K. was using Leni in order to get more information on his own case, which seems like something he does very frequently. I feel like his actions with Leni hurt his chances of bettering his case, but I was sort of confused towards the end.

Kaylee's Response to Maya

         Maya takes an interesting perspective on K.’s indifference to the situations surrounding him. She recognizes the fact the in the end his tendency to remain calm is beneficial. Like Maya, I think it is ridiculous that K,’s Uncle assumes K. is guilty because of how he is handling the trial. Remaining calm is obviously his coping mechanism. I also agree with Maya in regards to the abruptness of the trial and the Uncle making a good point in saying that these sorts of things don’t just happen. I see a great possibility in a framing of K. considering his lack of information and initial confusion. If he really committed a serious crime wouldn’t he account for it? I also think that staying put instead of going to the country was a smart move for K. because it definitely would have brought more attention to himself and possibly get him into further trouble. Unlike Maya, I understand why the Uncle is all up in K.’s face. He cares greatly for him and doesn’t want to see K. f*ck himself over. He is just trying to help; he is just doing it in an annoying way. 

Maya's Response to Kaylee

          I agree with Kaylee that this was an easier chapter to read and actually understand. I also agree  with Kaylee when she explains why this is so because the events in the chapter are more realistic. Some of the other things that have happened so far in the story resemble what I think someone would see while on hallucinogens. 

         It is nice to see someone who is actually concerned for K. The reader has not seen K. interact with family up until this point. Like Kaylee, I am wondering what exactly happened to K.’s parents and if the reader will ever find out. However, knowing Kafka, I also wonder just how screwed up the reason behind K.’s parents absence is. 

         I was also pretty lost throughout the entire encounter with Hurr Held. Where the hell was the Chief Clerk even hiding to begin with? Now, I also have a different understanding as to what actually happened with Leni. I thought she was the one who had gone after him. I guess this is not the case. I understand then why the Uncle was mad. If I were trying to help someone with something as serious as avoiding conviction, I would like them to prioritize that over getting with someone you just met. 

Maya's Reaction to Chapter 6

            In Chapter 6 of The Trial, you can tell where K. acquired the reactive tendencies he has been known to show from time to time. When K. reads the letter from Erna, he is calm and collected. His Uncle, who was apparently his legal guardian, is distraught. He is yelling and screaming, almost upset that K. is not having a stronger reaction. I believe that K. responded in the best way possible. The more upset he lets himself get about the entire situation, the more difficult it will be to cope with. 

            I thought it was a little ridiculous that K.’s Uncle insinuates that K. is guilty just because he is choosing to take what is going on in a level-headed manner. He has, what seems to me, a cursory amount of information. If he really knew what was going on he would not have had to ask as many questions as he did. He was right in saying, though, that these sorts of things do not just happen. Actually, you could say that about a lot of what goes on in The Trial. However, when K.’s Uncle says that, I began to think that maybe this could be a framing. The Uncle is right, this is the sort of thing that usually develops over a period of time and does not just spring up out of nowhere. Maybe there is something bigger going on that the reader should be worried about unearthing.  

             I agree with K. when he says that he should stay put rather than escaping to live in the country with his Uncle. Getting up and going like that will only make it look more suspicious on K.’s end, contrary to what his Uncle may believe. I think that the Uncle is kind of in K.’s face about the whole situation, but I believe that he is being genuine in his efforts of wanting to help. 

            All I got from the latter part of this chapter was that apparently, the legal system in K.’s country does allow him to hire a lawyer. But, even though he now has someone to defend him in court, he has inadvertently found himself in a love triangle. Maybe I understood it wrong, but the entire scene with the girl in lawyer’s office seemed like she essentially jumped him and tells him “You’re mine now”. So now, K. will only have legal defense as long as the lawyer, who appears to be ill, does not find out that this has happened. 

Kaylee's Reaction to Ch. 6

            Chapter 6 of the The Trial was easier to follow than past chapters because it was more realistic in sequence and substance, yet there is still some peculiarities. Of course. K.’s uncle comes to visit him and is very concerned with K.’s predicament. He demands information regarding his trial, yet never asks the question, “What did you do?” This is perplexing to me because that would be the first question I would ask of anyone accused of a crime. The ambiguity of the trial is driving me a little crazy. At this point all we know is that it is indeed a criminal offense, not political. It is mentioned that this uncle is/used to be K.’s guardian, which gets me thinking what happened to his parents. It’s nice that someone cares about K. because at this point in the novel we haven’t met any important friends or family.

            The meeting at Hurr Held’s office is where things get a little weird. First of all, K. and his uncle meet to the lawyer ill in bed and proceed to discussing K.’s trial, then the Chief Clerk emerges from the shadows like a total creeper. A noise draws K. from the room, where he meets with Leni. After flirting and discussing Elsa, K. completely disregards his uncle and Held for “hours” to get with Leni who desperately wants K. K. recognizes the fact that he likes his women when he can use them for something. Typical. After his episode with Leni, his uncle criticizes him for wasting everyone’s time. Throughout this chapter K.’s indifference to his case is very apparent. He isn’t that concerned with fixing things or addressing the problem. But can we blame him? The government is lackadaisical in their attempts to progress with the trial. As a reader, I continue to question the gravity of the case and legitimacy of the system. 

Raoul’s Response to Ryan’s Reaction

Ryan I agree that chapter 6 of The Trail offers a nice change of pace back to focusing on K.’s trail (and honestly I am relieved that we are focusing on the actual trial again). I think that the uncle’s first name was Albert and his last name was Karl. This would explain why the lawyer (Albert’s friend) referred to him as Albert, while K. referred to him as Uncle Karl. I think that the fact that the lawyer already knew about K.’s case is another indication of the corrupt society. I agree that the Chief Clerk of the Court hiding in the shadows of the lawyer’s room is Kafka like, and that it shows how the government is always watching you from the shadows. The Chief Clerk of the Court definitely indicates a sense of corruption in this society because the Chief Clerk of the Court should not be visiting a defense attorney unless some act of corruption was occurring. Let us also not forget that the Chief Clerk of the Court must have a reason to pay Huld a visit, because he would not have come just to comfort Huld in a Kafka world. I disagree with you on how Kafka will continue the story. I believe that Kafka will continue to focus on K.’s personal life because it will show us how the pillars of society are failing him. I think that the Trial is only the triggering event of the collapse of the pillars of society on K.. 

Ryan's Response to Raoul

 Raoul draws interesting, logical conclusions about Karl’s involvement in K.’s life. I agree with Raoul that Karl, who represents family, is trying push K. to follow the government, an example of two institutions of society converging on the individual. I also saw a slight similarity between K. and Meursault, in that they are both indifferent about their situation, however, their situations and personalities are much different. Raoul also makes an interesting point about the lack of true altruism because K.’s uncle wants to protect he family name, in addition to helping K. I disagree with Raoul that K. needed a lawyer. The court system of this society is clearly disorganized and unorthodox, to the point where a lawyer will have little to no effect on the case. If the court system wants K. to be guilty he will be found guilty, if not he will walk away. Furthermore, a lawyer will not help K. because he still has no idea what he is on trial for. Like Raoul, I was bothered that K. was wasting his time with Leni instead of involving himself in the conversation regarding his legal situation. However, I do not think it is Leni’s fault; if K. wanted to be in the conversation he would have been there. He was clearly bored in the other room and would have rather been with Leni.

Ryan's Eighth Reaction

The next chapter of The Trial offers a nice change of pace as the novel shifts focus backs toward K.’s trial, as well as K.’s relationship with new people he meets. Out of nowhere, K. gets a visitor at work who is his Uncle Karl, who’s name suddenly changes to Albert halfway through the chapter, which was rather odd. At first, K. seems to catch a break since his uncle knows a great defense attorney who can help K. Upon receiving this information, K.’s superiority complex is shown. Uncle Karl tells K. the attorney is great at defending poor people, which insults K. When K. first meets Huld, the attorney, K. is surprised that Huld already knows of K.’s particular case, and in a very Kafka manner, the Chief Clerk of the Court appears in the corner of the room. I think Kafka puts the Clerk in the room to show that even though the government is disorganized and unorthodox, the government is always everywhere. I also think the Clerk’s presence also indicates a sense of corruption in this society. The clerk, Huld, and K.’s uncle all discuss K.’s case. Why is the clerk there? A representative of the court should not be discussing court cases with defense attorneys, a clear conflict of interest and sign of corruption. The novel takes another Kafka turns as Leni, Huld’s nurse, suddenly throws herself onto K. for no apparent reason. K., for some reason, accepts her gesture. K.’s love life is all over the place, in the beginning he has a relationship with Ms. Bürstner, but takes a turn for the worse, now he has a key to Leni’s apartment. K. needs to get his stuff together. The portrait of the judge in Huld’s study is revealing. The judge appears to be ready to jump out of the portrait, I think Kafka is implying that K. has in fact done something wrong and the court system is close to convicting him. Unfortunately for K., the time he spent with Leni hurt the status of his case as the clerk left the apartment upon K.’s absence. I think Kafka will say on the topic of K.’s trial, rather than focusing solely on K.’s personal life like the previous couple of chapters.

Raoul’s Reaction to Chapter 6 of The Trial

I believe that Chapter six of The Trial was the first chapter that makes sense. K.’s family finally begins to get worried about K. K’s uncle (which is the chapter title) tries to get K. to stop being so indifferent about his trial (K’s indifference kind of reminds me of Meursault from The Stanger, but that is not really important). And finally K. gets a lawyer for his case (well at least he tries to get a lawyer). I do not know if this is starting to make sense because of the lecture on Kafka or because this is an easy chapter to comprehend (maybe both).

First of all, let us talk about Karl (K.’s uncle). He is energetic, pushy, and involved, which we can see in the bank. But more importantly we can clearly see Kafka’s family pillar of society in Karl. He is trying to get K. to listen to the government, and to stop being so indifferent about a serious matter. The first is an example of family supporting government. Joseph K. has broken the rules of the government and now both family and government are putting pressure on him. The second is an example of family enforcing its power on the individual to change his personality. I also found it funny that Karl was acting like was so selfless and altruistic for helping K.; however, he was only doing that to save his reputation (name). So we see again that no one is truly altruistic.

Eventually, K. listens to Karl and goes with him to get a lawyer. Personally I was extremely relieved to find out that K. was finally getting a lawyer because he seemed screwed. And Karl’s reaction to K.’s situation truly shows us how screwed K. really is. We did not know how bad it was earlier because K. was so indifferent.

        Now let us talk about Leni. I do not like Leni. I think she is a bad person. I think Karl was dead on when he called her a witch. I think she is trying to get K. to lose the trail. I do not know why, but it is the only explanation for her actions. It pissed me off when K. stayed with Leni instead of being in the room with the people who were trying to help him win the case.