THEMES

Major

The trial is a crisis in the life of the chief clerk, Joseph K. The unrest within him impels him to seek justice. Symbolically this is a divine challenge to man. The officials' routine order of everyday life has been disrupted by the chaotic world of the law courts. The trial makes K. realize his feelings. His failings cannot be judged in a public trial. The spiritual urges within him act as the judge. His "bad conscience" drives him to court seeking justice. There is no specific crime or point of failure.

The mood is of unrelenting seriousness and involvement with K.'s trial. K.'s introspection, stumbling and his reactions are briefly interspersed with climatic changes in the weather. Other peoples' lives around K., their joys and celebrations are completed left out (For e.g. the novelÂ’s arena). Nor is there any source of comfort or hope in K.'s life.

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