The Trial is an unfinished novel by Franz Kafka, written in 1914 and 1915 and published after his death by his friend Max Brod, who disregarded Kafka's instruction to destroy his manuscripts. It tells how Josef K., a bank clerk, is arrested one morning by unnamed authorities, who never state the charge against him. He tries to find out what he is accused of and to defend himself in an obscure legal system, but he meets only contradictory advice and bureaucratic obstacles. The novel ends with his execution. Its nightmarish atmosphere and sense of powerlessness before faceless institutions gave rise to the term Kafkaesque, and it has been widely read as a parable of modern bureaucracy and guilt.
Before and after
- 29 November 1924Death of Giacomo Puccini
- 24 December 1924Birth of Atal Bihari Vajpayee
- 1925Rise of Art Deco
- 1925Establishment of Virunga National Park
- 1925Publication of The Trial
- 1925Discovery of rhenium
- 1925Quantum mechanics is formulated
- 14 January 1925Birth of Yukio Mishima
- 26 January 1925Birth of Paul Newman
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The era
This moment belongs to the Modern era (1914 CE to 1945 CE), world wars and a changing world. You can also browse everything in the 20th century.