Before the Law: Kafka

In Kafka's "Before the Law" a man arrives to the door of the law, but there is a doorkeeper. The man asks if he can enter, but the doorkeeper says no, however there is a chance the man could be admitted later. The doorkeeper tells the man that he will not try to stop him from passing, but if he does, each doorkeeper is worse than the last. Even though the door to the law is wide open, the man decides that the doorkeeper has more authority, and waits rather than disobey the doorkeeper's wishes. The man waits for years and years, never gaining admittance to the law. He even tries to offer the doorkeeper his most valuable belongings, but to no avail. As the man is about do die, he thinks to ask the doorkeeper a question. "Everyone strives to reach the Law, so how does it happen that for all these many years no one but myself has ever begged for admittance?" Seeing that the man is about to die, the doorkeeper tells the man that no one else could have ever been admitted through that gate, since it was made for the man, and he will now shut it.

This parable teaches society that we cannot sit idle. It is not enough to wait and see if things follow through, we have to take action for ourselves to create change. If the man had just gone inside the law, he may have had all of the answers he could have wanted. However, since he trusted the doorkeeper and just sat outside his entire life, his life was wasted and the man never had the fufillment that he was looking for. I believe that Kafka used a parable to make this point because it is a different form. Rather than just saying, "Okay guys, you need to step up if you want things changed," he tells society this through a story. Sometimes it takes a different medium of explanation to make people understand. A story can be easier for readers to comprehend, and it often times is easier to remember the message.

"Before the Law" sends a deep message to society about not staying idle. Many people over every generation have tried to make a difference in their societies, and only few have succeeded. However, if everyone stood up and worked together to make a difference, a difference would be made. We cannot always trust authority to do things for us, because often times, they won't. If everyone believes that "someone else will do it," no one will do it. For there to be change, we must act, and "Before the Law" is a perfect example of what happens when we don't: nothing changing.

"Before the Law" and "Antigone" have some similarities. Both were involved with making decisions around authority, and both were tragedies in their own right. Antigone did a noble act, going against authority to do what she thought was right, which ultimately lead to her death. The man in "Before the Law" did nothing, following the authority. He trusted authority, and did what he thought was right to follow the "law". Ultiimately, his lack of action lead to his death, and he never was able to find what he was looking for. It seems that tragedies have to do with discovering what is right and wrong for ourselves. "Before the Law" and "Antigone" are examples of the struggle between right and wrong and the consequences of such.