bodies 3-5

Paranoia seems almost always to lead to a feeling of helplessness. According to John Mirowsky, author of “Paranoia and the Structure of Powerlessness” paranoia is an alienation from others that has gone beyond a sense of disconnection to one of persecution (Mirowsky 228). This is completely true when it comes to the main character Josef K. Josef K first becomes paranoid in the scene “In the Empty Courtroom”. As a result of his arrest, K starts to feel the anxiety and stress that only contributes to the paranoia. The paranoia continues to put more stress and pressure on him, as the trial becomes nearer. This ultimately leads to a panic attack that occurs in the Law Court Offices, panic attacks that continue to happen throughout the book. His paranoia seems to subside a little as soon as he steps out of the offices, furthering his distance away from the Court system.

Although Josef’s panic attacks stop momentarily they come back later in the book. This could be a result of the feeling of helplessness that increases as the novel goes on. John Mirowsky believes that powerlessness leads to the belief that important outcomes in one’s life are controlled by external forces and other persons, rather than by one’s own choice and effort. This interacts with the threat of victimization or exploitation to produce mistrust which can develop into paranoia (Mirowsky 228). Mirowsky’s characterization of powerlessness coincides with the novel “The Trial”. Josef begins to believe that he has no control over his own life, mostly because of the control that the Judicial System has in his society. Instead of being able to plead with the courts, Josef feels like a victim in his own town because he has no idea what he is being tried for, and no idea how to defend himself. This in turn, leads to Josef’s basic mistrust of people in his society. He even goes so far as to call out (verbal or in thought) his Uncle, his lawyer, and a priest for being a part of the institution that is the Court System.

In the chapter “The Cathedral” Josef demonstrates his extreme mistrust and paranoia. Josef is assigned to escort an Italian to the cultural spots of the city, the cathedral. Josef starts to doubt the court system, and the people around him, thinking that they want him away from his office so that they can look through things when he is gone. This demonstrates the mistrust that Josef has of the institutions. The Italian never shows, but a caretaker escorts Josef inside the cathedral where a priest, who actually works for the court, tells Josef of his case being caught up in the lower courts. Josef seems to trust the priest completely, ignorantly believing some of his advice. Josef’s paranoia is evident in the fact that he doubts many of the events that occur to him. Almost like a puppet, Josef is helpless to the control that the government and court has over him. Even as he realizes that they have control over him, Josef is not able to do anything about it.