The Trial- Apologia

“Franz Kafka was born 3 July, 1883 in Prague, Bohemia, now the Czech Republic, into a Jewish middle-class, German speaking family.” (Franz Kafka - Biography and Works). He was the first child of Hermann and Julie (née Löwy) Kafka, He was also the brother of three younger sisters (Hornek, Daniel). Seeing as Franz Kafka was born and raised in a Jewish family during WW2, they were ridiculed and discriminated against over something they had no control over. “All Franz three sisters were murdered by the Nazis for being Jewish at Lodz Ghetto and Auschwitz.” (Hornek, Daniel). Perhaps the unfair accusations and actions that were taken out on Franz Kafkas’ family had an influence on his writing of “the trial”. “The trial” deals with situations of unfair judgment, justice and religion, all of which have relevance to the murder of his sisters and the treatment that his friends and family were faced with. In “the trial”, the main character K is murdered without being given a reason, or a fair trial. His battle with the law appears to be close to impossible. This plot may be significant to Franz Kafkas’ life seeing as his sisters were murdered for no conspicuous reason. They, along with many others had their lives taken from them without any say in the matter; this appears be significant to the themes that occur in Kafka’s writing, seeing as in intertwines with the plot of the novel.

As for the outcome of Franz Kafkas’ life, his health began to go downhill in 1923. As a result of this, he retired from business in order to devote himself to writing. “Kafka died of tuberculosis on June 3, 1924, in Kierling (near Vienna, Austria).” (The Trial by Franz Kafka Study Guide). The trial was not published until after his death (published in 1925) (The Trial - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia). Yet why is “the trial” considered to be a classic novel?

Time is a major indicator in the shelf life of a novel. In order for a novel to be considered a classic, it must possess staying power. In order for a novel to accomplish this, the work should be of lasting interest. The comments the author makes about people, situations, and problems of life should still be relevant to a modern audience. The trial was published in 1925 and it is still being read today (The Trial - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), this indicates that the component of time is something that has not stopped people from continuing to read the trial. The situations and problems that occur in “the trial” are still relevant in today’s world because both justice and unfair accusations are issues that are dealt with frequently. They are situations that most people have heard of, some may have even experienced something similar.

Another characteristic that a classic novel should contain is the concept of morality; the novel should say something of value, draw attention to human problems and condemn or applaud certain points of view. The novel should make a statement which leaves the reader with a lasting impression, or a better understanding of the statement. In the case of the trial, the writer achieves morality by writing about a topic that draws attention to human rights (this topic deals with human problems and expresses a mans’ battle with the court from his point of view). I found that after the completion of the trial, I was left with the impression of life’s outcome sometimes being unfair. With this in mind, I began to think about the main character K’s situation being relevant to those in the real world. The impression I was left with enabled me to connect the novel to situations present in the actual world.

A final key characteristic which a classic novel should possess is the interest level of the characters. A good novel should have characters which are appealing to the reader, engage their interest and have a likable aspect. The trial exemplifies all of these qualities quite well. The main character Joseph K is a real attention grabbing character. Since the reader does not know many details about K and his life, it engages their attention, drawing them in so that they continue to read in order to learn more about this character. At the end of this novel, the reader has grown a sense of attachment towards the character, so when K is murdered the reader feels sympathy towards the character. This sympathy is felt because of the likeableness towards the character. 

“The trial” is a novel which contains a great plot, intriguing characters, relatable themes and a unique writing style. It is a fantastic piece of work that has been read by many generations, and hopefully more generations to follow. This novel contains all of the key components that a novel should possess, and for that reason, I feel like it is entitled to classic novel status.