“In the Penal Colony” by Kafka smoothly tied up most of the themes we discussed in Justice & Injustice as it incorporates the purpose of punishment and retribution, the idea of inner revelation rather than blind following, aspects of existentialism, the fundamentals of justice, and the interpretation of ethics and morality. The various characters and aspects of existentialistic themes in “In the Penal Colony” made me find Kafka’s work to resonate with Soren Kierkegaard’s works. Kafka explored an intriguing theme of unexamined values which is similar to how Kierkegaard explored the incomprehensibleness of faith to mankind in “Fear and Trembling.” The officer sees the apparatus as a source of pride as it’s a machine used to enforce justice. However, the entire system of this penal colony is based on the idea that “guilt is never to be doubted.” The condemned are never tried nor given the chance to defend themselves. Instead, criminals of even minor offenses are sentenced to death at the order of the judge. The only reason the officer could see this grossly unjust and inhumane system as fair is the fact that he never examined the underlying values, meanings, and normativity of this system in which he was designated to enforce. Just like how Kierkegaard found it absurd to simply accept Abraham to be willing to sacrifice his child due to his faith for God, Kafka portrays such absurdity of brutality and injustice through the eyes of the explorer. The theme of unexamined values
This article by Walter H. Sokel claims that the metamorphosis Gregor goes through gives him the chance to be rebellious. Sokel highlights that after Gregor is changed into a cockroach he also changes mentally, which affects his actions.
Yet, the punishment of life sentence allows criminal to maintain social interaction and inflicts much less pain on his acquaintances. In terms of consciousness and happiness, the capital punishment deprives criminal of his perception and sensation, two essential abilities of human beings, and permanently excludes him from all beauty and enjoyments in the world. Although retentionists might say that the long-term imprisonment is more painful since it evokes an endless feeling of tediousness and suffering, it is undeniable that the capital punishment irreversibly eradicates the possibility of feeling happiness. Literally a denial of life, capital punishment is incomparable to other punishment in depth and severity, while at the same time it is the harshest punishment that has no crime deserving it because an individual’s humanity can be denied under no circumstance.
The death penalty is a serious punishment in the United States with many citizens being split on the idea of whether the practice is moral or not. American sociologist and social critic Ernest Van Den Haag, defends the death penalty by looking at the topic through consequentialist and retributivist perspectives. In this essay, I am going to argue that Ernest van den Haag is accurate in his belief in the morality of the death penalty.
Our current ideology on crime and justice dates back to thousands of years back. This paper will compare and contrast our system and sense of crime and justice with the society Malinowski describes in “The Law in Breach and the Restoration of Order”. In our modern era, it is acceptable to think Hammurabi code is ideal to pursue crime and justice or Cesare Beccaria’s approach towards the pursue of justice is best for the society. To each to its own when it comes to this based on their own values. But regardless of how extreme, or mild our societies thought can be to sought after justice for crimes, the ultimate purpose of all of it to teach a lesson to the individual who committed the crime and to others.
The topic of justice has been talked about by many individuals in our societies. Writers too have not been left out in telling about the same issue. All people would like fair treatment but, in our communities, we find that some individuals do not get fair justice. Authors of different genres work very hard to trying to create an understanding on the issue of justice. By use of various themes in different writing, all talking about justice, we can come up with a presentation of how justice is displayed in our society. This paper will discuss the topic of justice as presented differently in the poem “The Colonel” by Carolyn Forche, the play. “No Crime” by Billy Goda, and the story “The Lottery “by Shirley Jackson.
In The Penal Colony, the revelations and realities can be expressed in the explorer, the officer and the commandant. The commandant’s revelation is highlighted when he notices that the explorer’s opinion of the judicial system is valid. He knows that because the explorer comes from a place where their judicial system is superior to theirs that his advice will not only help validate his own secret opinion but will also change the mind of the officer. The officer is also aware of that same fact, which is what lead him to his final actions.
Crime and punishment has always been a part of society. Since the time of Cain and Abel, there has been a vicious cycle of crime, punishment, and vengeance. From damp dungeons to high tech super-max prisons, man’s fascination with punishment knows no bounds. However, history shows that there is a balancing act in the true purpose of prison. Prisons seem to fluctuate between the desire to reform and the desire to punish. Harsh punishments tempt man relax rules and stop any egregious acts against prisoners. Over time, the system moves more towards a reformation. An event will occur, such as a war or economic collapse, which will lead to the governing body to be stricter on crime, and thus shift more towards a punishment attitude. The system moves
Today’s society is run by and thrives off capitalism, ruled by our government. Many things are kept surreptitious from us. The government feeds us lies to silence us and to force us conform to society’s customs, this is evident in the novel ‘The Trial.’ It depicts the way in which society is ruled by an autocratic hierarchy, which is kept secret from the working class. This is a metaphor for the Marxist ideology of the bourgeoisie exploiting the proletariat in a capitalist society. ‘The Trial’ by Franz Kafka was published in 1945 and follows the injustice of the main character Josef, who is arrested by two wardens, and prosecuted on unnamed charges. "Without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning." The nature of his crime is kept confined from him and the reader. Throughout the novel, Josef struggles ineffectively against an oppressive and autocratic court system, only to be abruptly executed, at the end of the novel. This essay will be exploring Josef’s character and the ways in which ‘The Trial’ is written in a Marxist perspective in depth, analysing how Josef struggles against the oppressive court system, adamant not to compromise his beliefs to conform to and suit society’s norms.
In The Trial by Franz Kafka, the protagonist K. is going through what is often thought of as one of the most dehumanizing aspects of society. Even in the United States many criticize the justice system for being dehumanizing. People are forced to wear the same thing, act the same way, and are given numbers instead of names. In The Trial Kafka emphasizes the dehumanizing aspects of this process by exacerbating the bureaucratic steps that must be accomplished and adds more uncertainty and secrecy to the steps. Kafka’s writing shows the lack of information that K. is given, and the symbolic dehumanization that occurs during the whipping and with K. lacking a last name.
Many views of existentialism are exposed in Kafka's Metamorphosis. One of these main views is alienation or estrangement which is demonstrated by Gregor's relationship with his family, his social life, and the way he lives his life after the metamorphosis. Namely, it suggests that man is reduced to an insect by the modern world and his family; human nature is completely self absorbed. Kafka reflects a belief that the more generous and selfless one is, the worse one is treated. This view is in direct conflict with the way things should be; man, specifically Gregor should be treated in accordance to his actions. Gregor should be greatly beloved by his family regardless of his state. This idea is displayed in three separate themes. First,
A prisoner’s life consists of twenty-three hours per day in a tiny, empty concrete cell, with one hour of daily exercise in a small concrete swimming pool; they have no access to other inmates, and only rare contact with guards, who say nothing to them; they can see nothing of the outside world except a tiny sliver of sky. The death penalty as punishment is an unnecessary threat compared to the dullness of what prison life is like.
Two central philosophies anchor the commonly accepted idea of criminal justice. The first is a ardent requirement for increased conviction rates and the second is the perception that the people in prisons deserve punishment rather than rehabilitation. These philosophies have especially grave consequences for the underprivileged and marginalized.
The Criminal Justice System goes as far back as the days of Jesus. There were Soldiers who acted like policeman, the tribune which was the court system, and Caesar, Herod and even Pontius Pilate stood as judge. The prison system was that of dark caves and dungeons. As we journey to the twenty-first century, nothing has genuinely changed. In my essay I will explicate how the various aspect of criminal justice relate to one another as well as why it so important in society. Criminal Justice refers to the facet of social justice that concern violators of criminal law. The
In his parable Before the Law, Franz Kafka suggests that obstacles that one faces in life can either be used to mold one’s success or bring about one’s failure. If one can overcome challenges that they face they grow in a unique type of way, for every individual perceives each situation in a distinct fashion. That unique type of growth is what establishes a person’s character and perception of the world. However if one cannot overcome their obstacles, then they cut of their means for growth and are left uninspired, forgetting any dreams or aspirations. It is through the man’s interaction with the doorkeeper, and his inability to overcome this obstacle, that eventually leads him down the path of complacency and failure.
This essay will consider what legal punishment is; it will draw a distinction between the two main categories.[3] It will focus on utilitarianism