Power and Corruption in Frank Kafka

The Trial Franz Kafka ‘The Trial’ is, on the surface, the story of a man who works at a bank, Josef K., who wakes up one day to find that he is being charged on an unspecified charge. The story relates his court case, his attempts to prove his innocence, and his eventual death. K. is morally detached from his society but also knows how to play the social game very skilfully to maintain his …

…justice. Knowledge and acquiescence do not equal justice. A conscience does not equal justice. While power was originally granted to an individual or organisation so they could protect or support the rights of a community as a whole, we live in a society in which the power granted in order to protect individuals now causes them to resent and dislike it. Any time that anyone is given power in the name of justice, corruption exists.