World Literature Essay

World Literature Essay

The presentation and significance of the theme of alienation in The Trial and The thief and the dogs.

When he found himself alone again on the highroad, he felt all hope of ever reaching the castle fail within him. He could see no villages at allÐ'...and the worst of it was his conviction that they would never appear again.

(Broken April)

The readers are presented with a dramatic opening in The Trial. As Joseph K wakes up one fine morning, he is suddenly arrested Ð''without (his) having done anything wrong' . While the story talks about Ð''The Law' pressing charges against him, the nature of his offense is not revealed. What seems almost absurd to the reader is that the accused is allowed to move freely and is asked to visit a Court without a judge to preside over the proceedings! The reader's mind is plagued by ambiguity as the protagonists asks, in vain, Ð''Who accuses me?' or Ð''What is The Law?'

The protagonist is placed in a surreal world, incomprehensible to him and to the readers. However, the people around him treat the events in Joseph's life with casual acceptance, showing Ð''grave negligence or indifference in their treatment of him' .

A similar plot development has been adopted in The thief and the dogs. Said Mahran comes out of a prison after spending Ð''four years of my (Said's) precious life' . As he expects to Ð''breath the air of freedom', a sudden realization dawns upon him Ð'- Ð''there is no one waiting for him; nothing but his blue suit and gym shoes.' Said enters the Ð''changed' world only to bite the Ð''stifling' dust and feel the Ð''unbearable heat'. The word Ð''blue' may connote Ð''blues' or sadness felt by the protagonist. Thus the setting distances the protagonist's expectation from reality, and puts him in a world where he cannot relate to anyone, for Ð''everyone looked on him with malicious interest.' In this regard, the setting of the novels alienates the protagonists. He sees barrenness, Ð''wastelands both outside and inside' his body.

On the upfront, women in The Trial and The thief and the dogs come across as being docile, and acquiescing Ð''creatures' . However, they have a much deeper role in the novels.

In The thief and the dogs, Said Mahran seeks asylum from his Ð''enemy's friends' , in Nur's house. Given that the author has used many light imageries such as Ð'- Ð''a beam of light shone through the dark room' and Ð''darkness prevailed' to describe Said's emotions Ð'- it is more than simple coincidence that the name Nur, meaning 'light' has been assigned to the women who stands by Said, till his death. Nur is the only link between the alienated protagonist and the society. When Said begins to love Nur, his love is cut short by his sudden death. In the end, Death alienates the protagonist.

In The Trial, Joseph K., temporarily forgets all his troubles by Ð''recruiting women helpers'. During one such encounter, he meets a woman named Leni. She warns him not to be Ð''so unyielding' in the future and Ð''not to put up resistance against the Court' . But Joseph chooses to ignore her warnings and ultimately faces death; this alienates his soul from his own body.

Ð'' "The world is unaware of him, who is unaware of it." the Sheikh replied showing no concern.'

The above line from The thief and the Dogs, highlights one of the most important causes of alienation of the protagonists Ð'- Hubris or character flaws. For instance, after murdering innocent Shaban Husayn, mistaking him to be his enemy Rauf Ilwan, Said mentions in his soliloquy, Ð'' It all happened by chanceÐ'...perhaps, he had to die this day.' Said's Ð''criminal boldness' results in a lot of blood shed. The casual denial of his wrong doings and self-comforting attitude spurs out feelings of resentment within the reader, towards the character. Thus, Said is himself partly responsible for his alienation from the society.

Joseph K.'s, character flaws become evident in the early part of The Trial. His Ð''pride filled head' and arrogant behaviour with the warders, forces one of them to say, Ð''We no matter who we are, are at least free men compared to you.' K.'s, derogatory comments about The Law and its officials during his trial at the court, invites deep criticism and anger from the older members of the audience. The younger members dismissed him as a Ð''confused man.' While K. feels satisfied about expressing his