Raoul's post

In Kafka’s stories, we find that the pillars of society continually collapse and inevitable fail the individual. In the case of The Trial, the government, and in particular the legal system, fails Joseph K. through not only its inborn contradictions but also its corrupt system. For being part of society, K. was left with no path to success.

If we look deep enough into the fact, Joseph K. was doomed to fail; we could even say that there was nothing that K. could have done in order to avoid failure. In fact, K. was on a path to success as a young chief clerk at the bank, until he fell into the tight grip of the corrupt legal system. Evidently, K. had no control over his damnation by the legal system. In fact, K. was never even informed about the reason for his damnation. So, after doing everything in his power to succeed and doing what society asks of him society condemns K. to the life of a condemned man.

So after K.’s inevitable arrest, he has to go up against a legal system with no hope for freedom. If we look into it, we find that the legal system of the society in which K. lives works on a policy of “guilty until proven innocent”. Never the less, if proven innocent the case is never truly dropped, he could be recharged and arrested at any point in time. Furthermore, how is K. supposed to defend himself in a case in which he doesn’t even know what he is being tried for? He is not; the legal system has already doomed him to fail. The good thing about a system like this (a legal system that lets no one free) is that the bad guy never gets away. But on the other hand, the lives of many innocent men are ruined. I believe that society needs a balance between the two. It needs a legal system that does not allow many bad guys get away, while still making sure that innocent men stay free. That is why I believe that the proper system is “innocent until proven guilty.”

His damnation came not from himself but from the society. Ironically, society was made to support the individual and collectively protect him; however, we find that it is continuously causing the opposite effect. The fact is that K.’s life has been ruined for no reason. I believe that a proper society should not doom an individual without being proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.