Kafka's story “In the Correctional Colony” was written in 1914 and, together with two other famous stories (“Sentence”, “Transformation”), was included in the collection, called “Kara”.
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) is a German-language writer, whose work became the brightest phenomenon in the literature of the early XX century. However, his prose is not easy to read - it is unusual, combines the features of realism and fantasy, full of absurdity and grotesque.
Personality and Fate
Literary work, which was for the writer, as he himself said, “an excuse for existence,” never brought him fame or money during his lifetime. Most of his works were published only after the death of the author.
And Kafka’s fate was not easy - a complicated relationship with his family, work that he hated and still did well (he was a leading specialist, and his superiors didn’t even want to fire him because of his illness), self-doubt, asceticism and alienation relationships with others. Several times Kafka was in love, but could not start a family. He was haunted by ailments that led to an early death.
The writer called himself a "completely absurd bird" (after all, kavka in Czech means "jackdaw"). And he continued the auto characterization:
... my wings have died out. And now for me there is neither height nor distance. Shyly, I am jumping among people ... I am gray as ash. Jackdaw craving to hide among the stones.
It is no accident that fear has become the common unifying theme of Franz Kafka’s books. This is a man’s horror before the cruelty and soullessness of the outside world, especially since this world is often represented by some impersonal authoritative forces, bureaucratic machines - mechanisms in their essence. Moreover, the circumstances of the life of the characters and the difficulties that arise in it are so incredible and absurd that most often the heroes of Kafka's prose are not able to arouse the reader either sympathy or pity. A general feeling of alienation, loneliness, obscure anxiety, fear - this is what determines the mood of a reader of Kafka prose.
In the article, we briefly dwell on the analysis of “In the correctional colony” of Kafka, give a brief summary of the plot, tell about the characters in the story.
Start
A traveling scientist arrives in a certain correctional colony, to whom the commandant of the colony suggested to be present at the execution of one soldier convicted of disobedience to his superiors. This event, in general, is ordinary, and nobody really cares. And the Traveler himself accepted the invitation more out of politeness than out of curiosity.
The punishment is carried out by a special machine, which was invented by the former old commandant of the colony.
Most of the story is the Officer's monologue, which explains the guest the principles of the machine and its structure. The officer, who was once a friend of the former commandant, was so inspired by the construction and debugging of this apparatus that it became part of his life. Now he talks about the mechanism, explaining all the subtleties of his device, with love and knowledge of the matter. The device is, even in the eyes of an inexperienced traveler in mechanics, however, it is not very difficult:
The sunbed and scribe had the same area and looked like two dark drawers. The scribe was strengthened about two meters above the sunbed and was connected to it in the corners by four brass rods, which directly radiated in the sun. Between the drawers on the steel cable hung a harrow.
The officer added that the last part is the most important, because
... the harrow, in fact, is entrusted with the execution of the sentence.
The machine, descending, with the help of special teeth, scratches the inscription on the body of the convict - this is the commandment, the fulfillment of which he neglected, committing a crime. Then the body shifts or turns over, and the same procedure is performed elsewhere. The torture continues for twelve hours until the convicted person dies.
In sufficient detail to be able to imagine how terrible this is, the Officer explains the essence of the work that the mechanism produces:
Near each long tooth there is a short one. The long one writes, and the short one releases water to wash away the blood and keep the legibility of the inscription. Bloody water is discharged through the grooves and drains into the main channel, and from there through the sewer into a pit.
And further about the operation of the machine:
So she writes deeper and deeper for twelve hours. The first six hours, the convict lives almost the same as before, he only suffers from pain.
The Officer's speech is calm and businesslike - that’s how an auto mechanic would talk about the arrangement of a car. Its greatest value is leaflets with machine drawings made by the hand of the Former Commandant. He shows them to the Traveler, without even giving in hand.
Legal proceedings
Further explanations from the Traveler, who at first, because of the scorching sun and the inability to concentrate, listened inattentively, suddenly cause a keen interest.
Incredible are the words spoken by the Officer about the legal proceedings that have been adopted in these places.
He reports that, despite his youth, he performs the duties of a judge here. Yes, like the former commandant once, the Officer is now in the colony — a judge, a constructor, and a mechanic. And, according to him, passing a sentence, he adheres to the rule:
Guilty is always certain
It is completely impossible from the point of view of both the Traveler and the reader, the fact that the convicted person does not recognize either the convicted person or his sentence seems to be completely impossible. He also does not have the possibility of protection. The officer explains this quite calmly:
It would be useless to pronounce a verdict on him. After all, he recognizes it with his own body.
That is, after reading the inscription scratched by the machine on your skin.
Batman Crime
The soldier who was standing nearby now, to blame, was to blame for the following: when he served as captain's batman, he had to salute at the door of this officer every hour, day and night. But the soldier overslept. And when the captain, catching him sleeping, hit his face with a whip, he
grabbed his master by the legs, began to shake him and shout: "Throw the whip, otherwise I'll kill you!"
The captain appeared to the judge, who was not slow to pronounce the verdict. Batman chained. Now on his body will appear the inscription "Honor your boss!".
And the investigation, according to the Officer, would inevitably lead to confusion and delays: after all, a negligent soldier, if they began to interrogate him, would lie and dodge. And being exposed in a lie, he would invent a new lie in place of the old.
Execution as a sight
And once, the Officer recalls, every execution was an event in these places. A large society was about to see how the execution was carried out:
The day before the execution, the whole valley was crowded with people; everyone came for such a sight, the commandant with his ladies appeared early in the morning, the fanfare awoke the camp, I gave a report that everything was ready, the assembled — none of the top officials had the right to be absent — were located around the car. ... The polished machine sparkled ... In front of hundreds of people, the commandant personally put the convict under the harrow.
Two hours later, - said the Officer, - rice porridge was placed in a bowl near the head of the criminal. Her
a convicted person may lick his tongue if desired. No one neglects this opportunity.
But at the sixth hour, the executed man usually lost his appetite. Then, according to the Officer, he sat down and looked at how the "insight" came:
But how the criminal calms down at the sixth hour! Enlightenment of thought occurs in the most dull. It starts around the eyes. And from here it spreads. This sight is so seductive that you yourself are ready to lie down next to the harrow. Actually, nothing new is happening anymore, just the convicted person begins to disassemble the inscription, he concentrates, as if listening.
There were so many people who wanted to take a close look at this, according to the Officer, that there was no way to satisfy them all. But on how justice triumphs, first of all, by order of the commandant, they allowed to see the children.
The officer’s delighted words about how greedily all viewers caught
an expression of enlightenment on a tormented face, as faces were substituting the radiance of this finally achieved and already disappearing justice,
- can be considered the culmination in the whole monologue of this character.
Exclaiming “Oh, what a time these were, buddy!”, The experienced Officer even embraced the Traveler and laid his head on his shoulder.
In the end, after another six hours, the harrow pierced the prisoner completely and threw it into the pit.
Conversation
Further, the Officer, assuming that the distinguished guest is held captive by convictions dictated by European traditions, and even is an opponent of the death penalty
and such a mechanized execution of a sentence in particular
still offers the Traveler a plan in order to change the attitude of the new commandant towards him. At a meeting to be held the next day, he asks the guest to speak out in support of both executions and the infernal machine. In fact, in support of the old commandant.
It is interesting that the Officer does not in the least doubt the guest’s consent, and his refusal sounds to him like a bolt from the blue. Moreover, the Traveler promised to express to the new Commandant his negative attitude to local proceedings.
Denouement
After refusing help, the Officer arrives unexpectedly: he releases the convict and again pulls out the drawings of the Old Commandant from his pocket. "Be fair!" - it is written there on one of the sheets. Then he gets up on the car, puts the leaf with this commandment in the mechanism that produces the inscriptions, undresses, while throwing the uniform with the axelbants and the dagger into the pit, and lies on the sunbed. The soldier guarding the convict and the convict himself bind him.
And then the incomprehensible happens: the machine turns on by itself. The sunbed begins to vibrate, the harrow rises and falls, the teeth injure the skin.
The convict who did not understand a word from past conversations (since the Officer spoke with the Traveler in a language that was unfamiliar to him), decides that the officer’s upcoming punishment is revenge for him, the convict, from the Traveler. Therefore, the former batman smiles maliciously, looking at what is happening.
The traveler wanted to drive the soldier and former officer convicted from the place of suicide, but then the hood of the car opens by itself and gears begin to fall out of it. The harrow stops writing, it only puts the body deeper on the teeth. This is not a slow torture, but a murder. A body pierced through, hangs over the pit.
In a coffee shop
The final page of Kafka’s short story “In Correctional Colony” describes how the Soldier and the Convict led the Traveler to the place where the Former Commandant was buried. Since the priest refused him a place in the cemetery, they buried him under one of the tables in the old coffee house.
A foreign guest could even consider the tombstone.
It was a simple stone low enough for a table to hide. An inscription was made on it in very small letters. The traveler had to kneel to read it. The inscription read: “Here lies the old commandant. His supporters, who now cannot name themselves, dug this grave for him and put this stone. There is a prediction that after a certain number of years the commandant will rise and lead his supporters to conquer the colony from this house. Believe and wait! ”
To others, this inscription and prediction seems funny.
The traveler leaves for the port to board the boat and leave the island where the colony is located. The soldier and the Convict would like to sail away with him, but they do not have time.
This is a summary of Kafka's "In the Correctional Colony."
Heroes
They do not have ordinary names, as they are extremely functional and necessary for the author to create a general picture. These characters are the Traveler (he listens), the Officer (gives explanations about the operation of the machine), the Convict (who will be executed), the Soldier (guarding him). That is, in the story "In the penal colony" there are only four actors.
One could add that the Old Commandant of the correctional colony, already dead by the time the events began, is invisibly present in the narrative.
Interpretation
Franz Kafka's books are unlikely to be categorically interpreted. The same with this story. For example, explain it like this.
The priest, refusing the Former Commandant in the burial place, expresses a general attitude towards him and his activities. However, torture continued even after the death of this chief. And even the new government, excluding the creation of minor bureaucratic obstacles, can do nothing with this. The procedure for legal proceedings and punishment as if instituted here once and for all. He is higher than reason and the ordinary, understandable, order of things. No one can change it. This is also reported by the inscription made on the tombstone.
Thus, the central problem and meaning of “In the Kafka Correctional Colony” is in the unreasonable, irrational, and powerful judicial power. Even dying, she reserves the right to confront the new.
Although the brightest in the story is the episode with the self-destruction of the machine. When her master deliberately went to death, she herself began to fall apart. In the end, she did everything she could for her guardian: instead of suffering, dying for 12 hours, as always happened before him, the Officer dies quickly.