Blog Post #1-Topic #1-Deven Benitez

Deven Benitez

ENL03 Fountain

10/7/17

Blog Post #1 Topic 1

           The short story “Before the Law” by Franz Kafka is a story that at first doesn’t have a clear cut meaning and can be interpreted in many different ways. In our group we all had different opinions on what literary analysis was best for the reading and understanding of “Before the Law”. Our group came to a consensus that the Marxist approach seemed to be the best literary analysis to understand this story. For example one thing we drew a conclusion about was when Kafka wrote, “I am powerful. And I am only the most lowly gatekeeper. But from room to room stand gatekeepers, each more powerful than the other”. We thought that this is a great example of the socioeconomic ladder and how a lowly worker is under all these figures that have power over them. Personally though I believe that reader response is the best analysis of this story. Going back and learning about how the people at the time read this and interpreted it was what worked best for me. Learning that at the time Czechoslovakia was declaring its independence really made me think how the people felt. It allowed me to really think about the story and why is was written and the intended message it was supposed to give its readers at the time. Also considering this is written in World War One by a law student when the Czechs were being oppressed by the central powers mainly the Austro-Hungarian Empire, I think there was a message for the readers at the time. Like the previous quote I stated above really has nothing to do with socioeconomics, but actually stands for the central powers and how there are lowly powers that could be overpowered, but the bigger more powerful countries will be impossible to overcome. Also when Kafka writes, “the law should always be accessible for everyone, he thinks…he decides that it would be better to wait until he gets permission to go inside” (Kafka). I believe what Kafka was trying to say and what the readers at the time would think was that all people should have access to their civil rights, but they also must be willing to fight for these rights in the event that someone is trying to take them away or disregard them. They must also do it themselves and not rely on the help of others as I believe Kafka was saying when he wrote, “he even asks the fleas to help him persuade the gatekeeper” (Kafka). The Marxist approach does seem to fit well with the story, but the true meaning I feel has to do more with liberties and the law more than economic forces. Furthering my opinion that the reader response theory is better is that when Kafka writes at the end, “Here no one else can gain entry, since this entrance was assigned only to you. I’m going now to close it” (Kafka). I believe that the readers were interpreting this as everyone or thing has a journey that they are destined to follow and if they don’t take the opportunity and really fight for what must be done then the journey will end, as opposed to journey never ending for the Czechoslovakia as it declared its independence and broke itself from oppression and continued on its set journey free of oppression. These reasons are why I believe the reader response theory was better than the Marxist approach in this case of interpreting the story.