DDrokenss

Matt Cowles
Professor Fee
English Composition 2
25 July 2011

Fear and Passivity in Before the Law

Governmental institutions often portray morality as a cerebral idea, far from the common person’s grasp. In return, people often accept a government’s law and the government’s perception of morality goes unquestioned. In Before the Law, Franz Kafka portrays the doorkeeper as a changing body of government and the country-man as one of the government’s people. Although the door to the Law lies open in front of the county-man, the Doorkeeper forbids the entrance and the man obeys without defiance. The country-man pities himself for his absence of knowledge and wastes his life waiting for permission to act. Franz Kafka uses themes of psychological power, indecision and perception in order to portray the importance of taking responsibility despite the influence and fear instilled by government.
The country-man and the doorkeeper both fear full knowledge of the Law partly because of the psychological power used above them. As the county-man peers inside the door, the doorkeeper warns him, “If you find it so compelling, then try to enter despite my prohibition. But bear in mind that I am powerful.” The doorkeeper’s words work to persuade the country-man from entering the Law while lacking any evidence of physical power. The country-man worries over what consequences he may undergo if he enters and begins to wait. The doorkeeper explains, “I am only the lowest doorkeeper. In hall after hall, keepers stand at every door. The mere sight of the third one is more than even I can bear.” The doorkeeper’s words give insight into the nature of his hierarchical government. The doorkeeper represents the lowest level of government because of his interactions with the country-man. The higher levels of government, represented by the other doorkeepers, will not let the first doorkeeper fully attain the Law in fear of his questioning. These psychological implications define the characters of the doorkeeper and country-man throughout the work.
The country-man’s passivity and indecision highlight his inability to take personal responsibility for his own actions. “To this doorkeeper comes a man from the country who asks to be admitted to the Law.” The country-man asks for permission to enter the Law in order to avoid falling into error due to his own choice. If the country-man attained permission to the Law and then befell any consequences for entering, he would have the doorkeeper to blame. “The Law, he thinks, should be always available for everyone.” Despite the country-man’s conviction, he still doubts himself and chooses not to enter. He turns away from true freedom and submits himself to the doorkeeper’s judgment. As the country-man ages, “he forgets about the other doorkeepers, and imagines that this first one is the sole obstacle barring his way to the Law.” At this moment, the country-man places all blame for his inaction onto the doorkeeper in order to alleviate his own responsibility. The doorkeeper serves as an excuse in the country-man’s mind for not taking action. Kafka emphasizes the importance of taking personal responsibility by always representing the country-man as the final decision maker, even when his decisions remain passive.
The country-man’s fluid perception helps to establish the identity of the doorkeeper and the Law throughout the story. The country-man sees the doorkeeper, “in his furred robe, with his large pointed nose and his long, thin tartar beard” The uniformed appearance of the doorkeeper further instills a sense of hierarchy in the country-man. He perceives the doorkeeper as credible due to his grand, intimidating appearance. The county-man even bribes the doorkeeper, appealing to his apparent wealth. Bribery represents the taxing of a government’s people despite the people’s powerlessness. As the country-man nears death, “he can now perceive that radiance that streams inextinguishably from the door of the Law.” The country-man’s dying perception of the Law reveals an unworldly radiance. Although the country-man’s vision of life grows dark at death, the Law appears radiant for the first time. These contrasting shades suggest an importance of the Law to the country-man’s life as a whole and potentially his afterlife. Although the doorkeeper claims power over the Law, he does not glow and the two remain separate. The countryman asks, “Why then is it that in all these years no one has come seeking admittance but me?” At the end of the country-man’s life he still perceives morality as objective, rather than a personal interpretation. The doorkeeper’s words, “this entrance was meant for you alone” finally solidify the Law as a subjective entity.
Franz Kafka presents morality in Before the Law as both subjective and personal. Through themes of psychological power, indecision and perception, Kafka portrays a governmental body which works to keeps their people passive and fearful. However, the government does not bear full responsibility for the country-man’s demise. The country-man wastes away his life as he takes no action, avoiding the personal responsibility required to make his own decisions and discover his own morality.