The Trial

Introduction + Context

Plot Summary

Detailed Summary & Analysis

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10

Themes

All Themes Justice vs. The Law The Absurd The Unknowable and Interpretation Alienation and Control Sex and Seduction

Quotes

Characters

All Characters Josef K. Fraulein Burstner Titorelli Block The Doorkeeper

Symbols

All Symbols Titorelli’s Painting of the Judge The Court’s Oppressive Air The Prison Chaplain’s Parable

Upgrade to LitCharts A⁺

Instant downloads of all 1202 LitChart PDFs (including The Trial).

LitCharts Teacher Editions. Teach your students to analyze literature like LitCharts does.

Detailed explanations, analysis, and citation info for every important quote on LitCharts.

The original text plus a side-by-side modern translation of every Shakespeare play.

LitCharts From the creators of SparkNotes, something better.

Shakespeare Translations

The Trial

Franz Kafka

Upgrade to A⁺

Download this LitChart! (PDF)

Introduction

Plot Summary

Detailed Summary
& Analysis

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10

Themes

All Themes
Justice vs. The Law
The Absurd
The Unknowable and Interpretation
Alienation and Control
Sex and Seduction

Quotes

Characters

All Characters
Josef K.
Fraulein Burstner
Titorelli
Block
The Doorkeeper

Symbols

All Symbols
Titorelli’s Painting of the Judge
The Court’s Oppressive Air
The Prison Chaplain’s Parable

Theme Wheel

The Trial Study Guide

It's easy to cite LitCharts for use in academic papers and reports.

MLA

Sobel, Ben. "The Trial." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 1 Feb 2014. Web. 18 Jan 2020.

Chicago

Sobel, Ben. "The Trial." LitCharts LLC, February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2020. https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-trial.

Download this Chart (PDF)

The printed PDF version of the LitChart on The Trial

“Would not have made it through AP Literature without the printable PDFs. They're like having in-class notes for every discussion!”

Download!

Get the Teacher Edition

The Teacher Edition of the LitChart on The Trial

“This is absolutely THE best teacher resource I have ever purchased. My students love how organized the handouts are and enjoy tracking the themes as a class.”

Get it!

Which guides should we add? Request one!

How can we improve? Tell us!

LitCharts is hiring.

Company

About Us Our Story Jobs

Connect

Help Contact Blog Facebook Twitter

Mobile Apps

iOS Android

Legal

Home About Story Contact Help

LitCharts is hiring!

Terms Privacy GDPR

LitCharts uses cookies to personalize our services. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Cookie Policy, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.