The Trial by Franz Kafka is an amalgamation of allegories. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Another major allegory is the themes of observation and surveillance which are reflected in ‘The Trial’. The industrial revolution were the first to introduce surveillance the idea of being monitored and watched by keeping records in paper databases of people. In the opening paragraph K. is being observed. ‘Old lady living opposite who was observing him with a curiosity quite unusual’, this causes K. to feel unsettled by being scrutinised also he knows he is being watched and this makes him feel more restricted. The reoccurring dialogues set in liminal spaces such as windows, doorways, corridors and staircases are motifs used by Kafka to heighten the sense of paranoia and concealment in K. These places symbolise potentiality, possibilities and observation also the fact that K. is not taken away to a police station but still under arrest creates this ironic notion of being free to an extent. Furthermore K.’s burning desire for freedom inside him to tear away is expressed by Kafka numerous times but K. doesn’t run away instead surrenders himself to the justice system maybe out of curiosity to find out the reason behind his arrest or knowing that the justice system is constantly monitoring him that in a way Kafka is saying that K.'s arrest is not a dream but an inescapable reality.  

Moreover one of the most essential motifs that Kafka echoes throughout the whole first chapter is that the trial itself is a COSMIC joke. At one point Josef K. contemplates whether the whole events that occurred in the morning were in actual fact a joke. As K. says ‘That would take it beyond the limits of a joke. So I’m not going to say it’s a joke’. This quotation explains that K. believes that the situation is transcending away from a joke and at this point in time K. has suppressed the idea of this being a joke. The warders constantly exchange smiles and then it ‘was followed by a short burst of laughter’, the unintentional smiles from the warders suggest that there is something going on behind the scenes, and this conveys the idea of ulteriority that the warders are concealing information from K.

In conclusion ‘The Trial’ is to an extent a patchwork of allegories as many characters in the novel symbolise and reflect specific ideas and concepts especially themes to do with the bureaucratic system and how it is dysfunctional in Kafka’s portrayal of it. However ‘The Trial’ also includes views that are also perceived through different interpretations of being the truth about what the legal system is like and many people share similar views to those conveyed by Kafka in ‘The Trial’ so on the other hand The Trial is not a completely a patchwork of allegories but contains to an extent direct presentations of themes and does not just symbolise ideas through characters.