Common Module Related Text - In the Penal Colony and The Merchant of Venice PDF

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Summary

Common Module - Analysis of both The Merchant of Venice and In the Penal Colony. Themes: Power and Alienation; and Justice and Mercy...

Description

Title of Text: In the Penal Colony

Text type: Short story

Date of composition: 1919

Source: Online (Internet)

1. Summary of text “In the Penal Colony (1919)” recounts a traveller visiting a small, unknown penal colony where a high-status officer describes an elaborate execution device used to punish the condemned prisoners. However, the condemned are not aware of their crime, only knowing when the machine carves the crime onto their skin before letting them die. 2. What kinds of Human Experiences are represented in the related text? How are they represented? What is the composer trying to represent? How effectively have they done this? Provide specific textual examples and techniques from the related to support your answer. Power is explored in Franz Kafka’s ‘In the Penal Colony (1919)’ (ITPC) in order to express how authority is maintained in society, in which the powerless are forced to endure the social laws, leading to the alienation of their humanity. Kafka’s ITPC describes an execution device, called the Apparatus, through which the expression of power in a small, unknown penal colony is successfully demonstrated. He utilises the Apparatus as a symbol of power to effectively represent a justice system more concerned with maintaining influence than it is with the respectability of human life, forcing the audience to reflect on the absurdity of the penal colony’s societal system. The personification of the Apparatus as it “quivers” and “move on its own” contrasts with the insulting metaphor and description of the condemned soldier where he is compared to a “submissive dog” and called “stupid-looking”. The disparity of power successfully reinforces the alienation the condemned man feels towards the officer and the penal colony as he blindly follows the officer’s orders. To add to the lack of power, the soldier is unaware of the situation occurring around him due to his language difference to the French-speaking officer. Kafka expertly utilises this dramatic irony to create tension and emphasise the dissociation of reality among those who lack power. The condemned man feels alienated by not being able to relate to the occurring situation, only following orders by force. There is no connection between himself and his alleged crime. The situation causes the audience to question the justice system being presented to them as well as the violative nature and unequal ideals embedded within the system. Thus, the exploitative nature in the penal colony is extensively explored, conveying the alienation of the exploited. Furthermore, through Kafka’s illustration of an uncivilised society, he expresses the cynical nature of society’s justice and mercy. The officer expresses to the traveller “guilt is always beyond a doubt". The traveller questions the officer’s guiding principle, in which the officer responds with the interrogation of the accused would only lead to “confusion”. Dialogue and high modality language are utilised to successfully express the officer’s tyrannical and shallow views on justice. It highlights the ignorance of the penal colony’s system, establishing the unfair concept of unquestioned guilt. Kafka efficaciously demonstrates to the audience the idea that in society, humans may find themselves being judged by people they can’t see and laws they don’t understand. The traveller observes the “naked” condemned man in front of him who wears the expression of “dog-like resignation”. The compelling use of an objective viewpoint positions the traveller and audience through the same experience of watching the moments

leading up to the execution of the condemned soldier. By doing so, Kafka provokes the reflection of injustice in society as the traveller and audience are forced to watch the execution of a man, aware that the condemned man has no chance to defend himself. When the officer sacrifices himself to the apparatus, the machine kills him, leaving him with his self-chosen words “BE JUST” improperly tattooed onto his lifeless body. The irony of the words tattooed onto his body is used to highlight the tyranny and injustice in the penal justice system. There was nothing “just” about the system. It was a flawed system based on the conviction of absolute justice and circumstantial feelings. The audience is provoked to question the basis of logic used to punish an individual. The officer’s death signifies the end of the old system, suggesting it was broken and oppressive. Kafka insinuates ‘justice’ only as a medium to maintain power and the idea that punishing the transgressors is not justice. Through the exploration of Kafka’s short story ITPC, he successfully criticises the dictatorial nature of the penal system, emphasising the alienating experiences of the powerless. 3. What are the similarities and/or differences between the related text and the prescribed text examined in class in the representation of Human Experiences? What do these similarities and/or differences demonstrate about Human Experiences? Use specific textual evidence from both texts to support your response. ‘The Merchant of Venice’ (TMOV) by Shakespeare and ‘In the Penal Colony (1919)’ (ITPC) by Frank Kafka explores how injustice stems from alienation, skilfully demonstrating the dichotomy of justice and mercy. In TMOV, controls were exerted upon Shylock due to being Jewish as Venice during the Elizabethan period was built upon Christian ideologies. By constantly being referred to by Christians as “the Jew” and not by his name, it demonstrates the dehumanization of Shylock as a person. Shylock questions Antonio, asking “if you prick us, do we not bleed?” to argue as a human, he should be treated equally. In court when he is asked to give mercy to Antonio, he justifies his hatred towards Antonio by claiming he was called a “misbeliever, cutthroat dog” and got spat on his “Jewish gaberdine”. Similarly, in Kafka’s ITPC, injustice is demonstrated through the alienation of the condemned man. The condemned soldier is forced to be executed while unaware of his crime. The officer tells the traveller “guilt is always beyond doubt” and instead of giving mercy by allowing the soldier to understand his crime and defend himself, the soldier “experiences it on his own body”. As the French-speaking officer explains the execution procedures, the condemned man “did what he could to follow”, but was unsuccessful in understanding the situation due to the separation of language and thus, further emphasising the alienation the condemned prisoner experiences. Both texts effectively convey the injustice created through the alienation of the powerless and therefore, allowing the audience to gain insight into the behaviour and motivations of the human condition....