People respond to the law in a variety of ways. Some people sit submissively and wonder what they have been charged with like Josef in The Trial. While others like Antigone challenge the law, and bring change as a result. Kafka's parable of "Before the Law" tell of a man who waits his entire lifetime waiting to have access to the law. In the end, he finds that the gate was meant for him and him only and that he could have entered at any time. This illustrates how submissive people can be due to fear of the law, and what it will say because of its power over their lives. In short, the law is accessible to everyone but you must be brave enough to ask for it.
Contrast the actions of the man in the parable to that of Antigone. You will see the total opposite approach to the law. Antigone saw Kreon's law as being unjust, and believed that her brother deserved a proper burial. As a result, she breaks the law and buries her brother. When she is caught by the sentry she doesn't deny anything, and challenges Kreon's logic. Even through Antigone and Josef both die in the end, Antigone's death had a bigger impact because she was able to change the law through her death.
We can connect Kafka's "Before the Law" parable to everyday life. For example, if one person protests animal testing than others will follow. All it takes is one person to draw attention to a issue, and others will follow. In modern psychology, this is called the mob mentality in that we do things in a group that we otherwise wouldn't do. This also shows how people may want to change something, but are afraid that others won't agree with them.
Contrast the actions of the man in the parable to that of Antigone. You will see the total opposite approach to the law. Antigone saw Kreon's law as being unjust, and believed that her brother deserved a proper burial. As a result, she breaks the law and buries her brother. When she is caught by the sentry she doesn't deny anything, and challenges Kreon's logic. Even through Antigone and Josef both die in the end, Antigone's death had a bigger impact because she was able to change the law through her death.
We can connect Kafka's "Before the Law" parable to everyday life. For example, if one person protests animal testing than others will follow. All it takes is one person to draw attention to a issue, and others will follow. In modern psychology, this is called the mob mentality in that we do things in a group that we otherwise wouldn't do. This also shows how people may want to change something, but are afraid that others won't agree with them.