Frank Kafk's Before the Law

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Before the Law
Tracey Percifield
American Intercontinental University

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Abstract
In the very short story, “Before the Law” by Frank Kafka he uses parables to tell and illustrate
his writing. Although, when he wrote it he, himself new not what it fully meant and lives his
readers guessing and searching for answers to their questions regarding his story.

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Before the Law
In Frank Kafka’s story, “Before the Law” he writes the story using parables and leaving his
readers to decipher the meaning and interpolation of it.In the story he does not use proper
character names but refers to them as the “man” and the “doorkeeper”.
As the man from the country goes unto and before the door wanting admittance into the
“Law” and ask the gatekeeper for admittance beyond the door. The gatekeeper however, tells
him no each time when the man asks permission for passage. The man over the years keeps
asking and bribing eventually giving away all his belongings and each time the gatekeeper
accepts his gifts still denying him access and permission to enter. As the man sits and waits
patiently year after year and getting older and weak the man toward the end of his living life asks
the question, “Why after all these years that I have been sitting here and how is it no one else
comes to ask permission to enter through the door into the law?” The gatekeeper answering his
question and telling him the door was only for your admittance only and now I’m going to shut it
now (Kafka, n.d.).
Using parables in the story you left with understanding the word “Law’ and in most
translations you would associate it with God Law’s or the Laws of the Bible and the doorway
being the gate or door to heaven since your referring as Laws are pertaining to God or the Bible.
The symbolism of the phrase, “I’m closing it now” refers to the man’s life is over and death has
passing. If you interpret as that being true account of the parables used then one can assume that
it is all about the man’s life in intervals leading up to the man’s death and the reflection of his
life and the choices he has made. The man stands before the gatekeeper and wants the permission
to go unto the Law or into Heaven but has to reflect about his whole life and what he has done
and why and reflect on his action to the choices he made throughout it before he can go beyond

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that door and at the end the door being shut reflects on the man’s death and his passing making
his life complete.
It wasn’t until later while Kafka was visiting his girlfriend that the true meaning of his story
revealed the meaning to him regarding the story he wrote but it is in the reading of the story The
Godot and the story The Trial to better understand the story Before the Law and the using of the
parables become clearer to understanding of the story at hand. The stories are about the man or
him and the uncontrollable circumstances or out of his hand but that of the Law of the land and
about war and the circumstances that surround it all from Kafka’s view point (Brainstorm, n.d.).

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REFERENCES
Frank Kafka. (n.d.).Before the law.(Compact Edition ed., Vol. 6, p. 350). New York: Pearson.
Brainstorm. (n.d.). Before the law by frank kafka. Retrieved from http://brainstorm-
services.com/wcu-2004/Before the Law-NOTES.pdf