kafka guilt

Guilt has relative existence; in one sense or another, every man experiences guilt. Whether or not this guilt is worthy of punishment, however, is another question. For this, modern society has created trials that decide whether or not a person is guilty. However, sometimes the actual guilt or innocence of an individual is not the most important aspect of his or her trial. In the novel, The Trial, Franz Kafka uses his main character Joseph …

…this particular chapter. From the beginning of the novel, Joseph never takes responsibility for himself or the trial. He appears to blame everyone else for the trial, and passes along the responsibility of helping him win his case to the other characters in the book. Even in the remaining last minutes before his death, Joseph refuses to take responsibility for his life continuing to deny his guilt. For this reason, Joseph dies an empty death,