last body and conclusion

The helplessness that occurs in Josef K throughout the novel is most evident in the final scenes of the book.  Yet again on his birthday, two men come for Josef. Instead of attempting to flee them, to keep his freedom and free will, Josef goes with them. This is because Josef feels helplessness towards that institution, towards the court, and the system that these two men represent. He willingly goes with them, and when given the chance to escape, the chance to call to a police officer to free him, he chooses to do otherwise. Instead of calling towards the officer, he runs (with the two men) away from the officer, almost insuring his own death. Josef feels hopeless, and although he knows that the institution, the court is flawed and deceitful, he submits to them. Even though he knows the truth, he accepts the fate that he truly knows they have chosen for him.

“The Trial” by Franz Kafka demonstrates the power that institutions have over the individual; revealing through Josef K the physical and mental helplessness that the court system can cause over man. In all aspects of his life Josef K experienced this feeling of helplessness. Whether it be in his relationships with women, or in his problems with the court system and crime, he could never find trust. This mistrust that he had with almost everyone was mostly due to his paranoia, which is caused by and parallels hopelessness. In creating the character Josef K, and writing of his situation, Kafka wrote and vented on his own life, the mistrust he experienced in all aspects of his life, and the hopelessness that he must have felt after being diagnosed with tuberculosis.