"Before the Law": Marxism and New Criticism

 There are several hallmarks to a Marxist critical approach, the most common of these being an “insistence that human interactions are economically drive and that the basic model for human progress is based on a struggle for power between different social classes” (Gardner). In short, this means that humans do things for their own gain, usually financial, and progress is the result of people trying to one up one another. These points are easily applied to Franz Kafka’s “Before the Law” in several different ways.

              The first thing that hints at a Marxist undertone is the relationship the man from the country has with it, which is no relationship whatsoever. The law is set up as this amazing thing that one should strive to attain. This mirrors how society views economic and/or social success, people strive all their lives to succeed and reach the next goal, but does that ever really end? There will always be another medal to win, promotion to get, or record to break yet people continue to try. In a similar manner, the man from the country gave up everything he owned for the chance to get past the gate just like how humans strive for success.

              Another point for the Marxist approach are the characters themselves. The man from the country and the gatekeeper obviously represent two of the possible social castes and the gates after the first represent the rest of the possible castes. A major principle of a Marxist analysis is struggle between social classes and, in many cases, this struggle can be moving from one to another or simply seeking to improve the social standing of a class. In this short story one can see the struggle the man from the country goes through. He wastes his entire life and all that he has worked for but dies no closer then the first day he attempted to cross the gate.

              Although I found the Marxist approach an enlightening and refreshing experience, one is best served viewing “Before the Law” through the tried and true lens of formalism or new criticism. The message this short story is trying to impart is that the law is not for men to decide or set. It is above our station and should be left to higher powers. This interpretation is seen through Kafka’s use of punctuation, sentence structure, and symbolism.

             Kafka uses punctuation to great effect

The gatekeeper is one such symbol that Kafka utilizes. He is an unchanging, seemingly immortal figure who is the same despite the passage of time

              While a Marxist approach does offer unique and compelling arguments into the true meaning of the excerpt it also limits the approaches one can take to the piece.