Kafka's Marxist Approach

My partner and I read Kafka’s “Before the Law” as having a formalist critical approach. We chose this approach because we were a bit confused on what the text was about or who the man and gatekeeper were, making it difficult to choose a critical approach. We thought of the reading and the whole interaction between the man and the gatekeeper as being something related to sin or a higher power vs man. Sin came to mind because it appeared as though the man was being punished throughout the whole story. He was not being allowed through the gate, but it was unclear why or what was needed to get through. The gatekeeper reminded me of a God, and my partner and I agreed that word choice such as “gatekeeper,” “illumination,” and “diminishing” offered a fairy tale-like reading and could also be read as a children’s story based on its structure. However, if thought of as punishment, the gatekeeper would read more as a devil/dark figure and not a God or figure of light. If read as a children’s story, the story could then appear to have a lesson behind it, possibly with religious ties to it as well. It reminds me of a story one would hear at a Catholic Elementary School, or a story read to children during Sunday church. Regardless, it is clear the gatekeeper is superior and holds all power.

The reading, in structure, is one large text rather than being broken up into paragraphs, making for a much less formal structure. It reads as a story meant to entertain rather than having a deeper meaning and meant to make the audience think about hierarchies within society because it is so open-ended. The heavy use of dialogue throughout the text also offers a fiction short story-feel to it, emphasizing the fairy tale reading created by the narrator’s diction. However, when analyzing the dialogue and tone of the story, one could read it as also having a Marxist approach. This would take into consideration the unequal economic and power divisions created by higher authority with the gatekeeper being the one in charge, and the man pleading to be let past the gate. The entire time, the gatekeeper has a dominating tone and is clearly aware of his power within his role.

Depending on how we were interpreting it, the gatekeeper could also be read as representing any figures of authority such as police officers and government officials working against marginalized groups of color. When reading this from a Marxist approach, one could think of the gatekeeper as representing those who dominate our own society: rich white men. The man, then, becomes those belonging to marginalized groups of color, or simply even anyone who doesn’t identify as a wealthy white man. At some point in the story, the gatekeeper states that the only one truly in the way of the man was the man himself, as the entry was created solely for him. This can read as lower-class groups being told they will remain poor because that is the way it was meant to be. This could also read as people of color being told they are not trying hard enough or using their resources wisely to get out of the poor living conditions they are under. Being judged for continuing to live under poor conditions or barely making enough to get by and then being told it is your own fault, is the same tone the gatekeeper was using towards the man. It is evident that the gatekeeper feels superior to the man and views the man as foolish for being unable to get through, telling him: “Here no one else can gain entry, since this entrance was assigned only to you. I’m going now to close it” (Kafka). The gatekeeper acknowledges how simple it was for him to tell the man this information yet continues to make him feel inferior by so carelessly closing the gate.

I believe the Marxist approach is the most useful because it focuses on the injustices of the story and can be used to tell a story of dominant cultures. Even if viewed as a children’s story, it is clear that the man was being treated unfairly and should have been let past the gate since the beginning. The Marxist approach allows for critique of dominant society in all aspects of culture and works to dismantle the hierarchies created by ruling classes. Many may argue that readers cannot make such bold assumptions based solely off an ambiguous story; however, not knowing what living under oppressive societies and figures of power is like means it is unfair to dismiss the Marxist approach as less useful/convincing.