Franz Kafka lived a tragic and boring life. And he died without ever knowing that his writings would become one of the most impactful in the world of literature, just like Van Gough never get to see his masterpieces be really appreciated in his time.
Kafka was born in 1883, in Prague, Austro-Hungarian Empire. He had a lonely childhood filled with sickness, endured a difficult relationship with his overbearing and totalitarian father, and worked at a dull job as a clerical staff of the Workers’ Accident Insurance Institute – all of which contributed to his bleak worldview – before he got admitted to a sanatorium near Vienna where he died of laryngeal tuberculosis in 1924 aged just 40.
Before he passed away, on his death bed he instructed his friend Max Brod to burn all of his unpublished works that include a series of notes, letters, drafts, drawings, and some failed published works, all of which he wrote every late night after coming home from work. But luckily for us Brod did not do as instructed, but instead he edited them, polished them, and eventually published them. And thus we are able to read the masterpieces today, which has since been translated to more than 65 languages and has sold over 25 million copies worldwide.
You know that sentence, when the student is ready the teacher will appear? Sometimes I feel like some books suddenly appear when I’m ready for it, or in a real need of it. And this book is one of those books. Today, after all what I’ve experienced and witnessed, I increasingly see the world as an unjust place where the assholes can get away with their crimes, where not all felony will be caught and prosecuted, where karma doesn’t seem to exist, and that plenty of stories don’t have a happy ending.
And this bleak reality is illustrated clearly in this book, the Trial, a novel written in 1914-1915 and published posthumously in 1925.
In this book, the protagonist Josef K is being arrested without any warrant, where his possessions are subject for seizure by the state, his privacy being invaded, and he is facing a trial over something that has never been revealed both to him and to the reader, nor who the accusers are.
Instead, the reason of the arrest is never clear and the manner of his arrest is also strange, where he can still roam free in the city and do his job, but he is obliged to attend the trials at weird places with crowds that have irregular behaviour. And wherever he goes, whether in public or in the trials, observing eyes always follow his movements, which makes him feel more imprisoned than being locked up in a physical prison.
Moreover, under this bizarre circumstance, Josef then tries to mercifully clear his name, but quickly find out that the law is nothing but a broken maze of bureaucracy that is full of contradictions and have no real way out. In the effort, he meets all sorts of different people, each with their own shadiness, which only added to Josef’s confusion and paranoia.
And spoiler alert, the book suddenly ends with the weirdest execution of Josef, where not even a court sentence is announced but instead 2 men pick him up and escort him to a quarry outside the city where he then get stabbed to death.
The abrupt ending heightened the sense of hopelessness and just the sheer absurdity of the unfair trial and execution, and it leaves so many questions unanswered, including who was that person behind the window observing Josef’s stabbing? It is indeed nightmarish and illogical, a common theme in Kafka’s writings that have since dubbed as “Kafkaesque.”
But don’t despair just yet. The strength of the book is not necessarily in the story itself, but instead it is in the lessons from the journey. Such as how Josef responds calmly to the unclear accusation and unfair treatment, how he subtly trying to gather as much information as possible from the shady characters he encounters, and how he still keeps his dignity and sanity throughout this trying period.
The story also teaches us about learning to accept reality as it is. That sometimes there’s no ending or closure, or things will never be fully resolved or even understood. It also teaches us to accept our limits within this reality, in order to be more content and comfortable with our lives. Accepting our limits also means learning to accept imperfection and teaches us to be more compassionate and understanding towards ourselves and indeed towards others, like Josef did in many occasions. And it is only after we have accepted our limits that we can then focus on our strengths and use them to our advantage.
Another lesson is to make the most out of our situation, even though we’re in a very difficult circumstance (such as in Josef’s situation of isolation and alienation), and to still find resilience although our circumstance looks hopeless. But perhaps above all, the story teaches us a lesson about courage, that Josef didn’t run away from his problems by leaving the city (as suggested by his uncle), but he face the indignant treatments with head held up high.
I can’t believe that I can learn quite a lot from a dark and pessimistic story, with lessons over traits that are useful to have so that we can deal better with the cruel real world. I guess that is what makes Kafka a maestro.
THE CHAOS THEORY 