Chapter 2 - Conversation with Frau Grubach, then Fraulein Burstner

At the beginning of chapter 2, K. is returning home from work, stopping at Frau Grubach's door before entering his room. K. finds her working in her room, where he apologizes for the commotion he must have caused in the morning with his arrest. Frau is surprised he so openly discusses the morning's occurrences, and confesses she had eavesdropped on the commissioners that morning. She reassured K. that, although she did not hear why he was being arrested, that from what she heard it seemed as if the matter was to be taken lightly and with no serious consequences, nothing criminal at least. K. then asks for Fraulein and finds out she is at the theater, and so he waits for her to get home. When she does they end up in Fraulein's room because K. wanted to apologize for the disturbances. They continue with some small talk, and although Fraulein seems uninterested and slightly bothered by K.'s presence, they kiss when K. is returning to his room.

Chapter 1 Arrest

In the first chapter we find out that the main character, who is called by the name K (Josef K.) is arrested. There does not seem to be any due process in his arrest though, because he is not told what he is arrested for, and when he asks the police will not tell him. Subconsciously the main character thinks that because it is his 30th birthday that possibly his friends could be playing prank on him. Also, it seems weird that the police let K go to the bank (his place of work) and work with his three colleagues. The main character searches for Mrs. Burstner who then offers to help him with his trial. The specifically odd part of the first chapter is how the police never offer legal services to K, and how he is never told specifically what he is being tried for. Did you guys notice anything odd or interesting?

Kafka's Judaism

Kafka was born and raised as a Jew and he remained Jewish for the entirety of his life. The majority of Kafka's friends were Jewish and all of his girlfriends except a select few were all Jewish. In Prague, where Kafka grew up, there was a lot of antisemitism. The Jews were distrusted in Bohemia so stereotypes for the Jews were created. They were regarded as conniving, shifty, cheap, and physically weak. In 1899 in Prague, there were anti-semitic riots where many shops owned by Jews were wiped out. Kafka's father owned a shop but was able to avoid having his shop ruined by anti-Semites because he registered his family as Czech nationals. I would imagine that Kafka grew up living in fear because he was Jewish In his literature, Jews are regarded as hard-working people that face great dangers that they manage to overcome.

Schizoid Personality disorder

I've read some articles that say that Kafka shows that he has Schizoid Personality disorder in his writing. The articles say that there is evidence of this disorder in his book The Metamorphosis as well as some of his other works, but they do not specifically say that there is evidence in The Trial. Schizoid Personality disorder is when someone has a lack of interest in social relationships. People with the disorder tend to have solitary lifestyles and are emotionally cold. Some people with the disorder have an elaborate internal fantasy world.

Other Works By Kafka

Kafka was known for his works The Trial and Metamorphosis. Having died at a young age in 1924 most of his works were published after his death. Other works and stories include The Castle, America. For instance The Trial was published in 1925, The Castle was published in 1926, and America was published in 1927.He left all of his writings and unpublished work to his friend Max Brod. In Kafka's will he wrote for max to not read any of the work, and to destroy or burn it. Instead Max, who was Franz's friend since a young age, decided to publish the work that was left to him, which was written in German. For this reason Kafka was not famous until after his death. Max Brod even went so far as to publish a biography about his best friend.

Author Background: Franz Kafka

Franz Kafka was born to middle class German speaking Jewish parents in Prague, Bohemia, which is now apart of the Czech Republic. He was born on July 3, 1883 to Hermann and Julie Kafka. His mother bore two sons, Heinrich and Georg, who both died at an early age. Franz was the first of his 6 siblings, and having his two brothers die at an early age clearly affected him. He also had three younger sisters, Elli, Valli, and Ottla. His father was very interested in social movement, and for that reason he was sent to German, not Czech schools. He spoke both German and Czech. Throughout his life he was considered a bachelor, having many affairs and one night stands. At his death bed on June 3, 1924 he asked his girlfriend Dora Diamont to marry him but she said no. His parents died in 1931 and 1934, and his sisters were killed in a ghetto during WWII.