In Response to, Before the Law.

In Before the Law, Kafka proposed an allegorical tale, in which we see the senselessness of being in the human condition. A tale in which, the reader is obliged to the will of the man, and the gatekeeper is the readers subconscious. Kafka provided an absence of interpretations as to why the man might have sought the Law and leaves it to the reader providential judgment. The journey is completed when the reader shares an epiphany with the man and realizes that, one must understand for himself why one seeks acceptance, or in this case, law. From the onset, we witness an encounter of judgment at a great door between an individual from the country that is engaged with a gatekeeper who has denied him passage into a labyrinth of the just, protected by the keeper. The man seeking the entrance is perplexed, yet determined, to gain admittance to the beyond. Kafka does not provide for a motive, nor does he provide for us an explanation of the mans desire, the only notion the reader is firmly left with is, Not yet. The man, striving for passage, bides the entirety of his life to be permitted entrance past the gatekeeper into a just destination. The gatekeeper, steadfast to the mans patience, routinely denied and refuted the mans passage through the gate. Leaving no indication, explanation, or reason .On his death throws the man has a curious notion and wonders why he was the only individual to pursue the Law. The gatekeeper explained he was not for certain and that the gate he guards was only meant for him and since he will soon expire, the gatekeeper will close it. Kafkas symbolism is wrought with moral implications. Kafka was displaying how an allegorys meaning can be both distant and profound. Kafka intended the reader to apply the circumstances of the man to his personal life, thereby forcing an introspective turn towards admittance into the labyrinth of the just, an allegory in of itself for social acceptance. It is as if,

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Kafka expects his reader to be of a pre-ordained intelligence in order to decipher his intentions. In doing so, Kafka implied that it is in our individual nature that we all seek some form of Law, some way to understand our existence. Kafkas allegory suggests that we are all locked in this struggle with a subconscious gatekeeper, who exists in our internal fears, doubts and presuppositions. The gatekeepers contributions to the allegory push the reader even deeper. He provided that there are deeper realms, which even the gatekeeper himself cant know, and implied that these realms would be unattainable to the man. Before the Law is a metaphorical narrative of human life in which Kafka proposed an arrival at a point in ones life, in which we seek purpose and order, yet are obstructed from the just by our own fears, apprehensions and the unknown, (our gatekeepers if you will). As rational humans, we desire health, while declining in form, we yearn for youth, while growing increasingly aged, and we strive for love, yet seldom accomplish it. In Kafkas allegory, much like that of our own existence, there remains no constant, guiding and permanent principle in life. Hidden in the intentions of rational humans resides Kafkas parable and perhaps main point, we seek a reason, a Law if you will, that will provide us with an enlightened journey, only to discover our path is obscured only by ourselves. Kafka accomplished this with subtle irony and a thrust upon the reader to turn inward for judgment, acceptance, guidance and law.