An enigmatic storyteller, Franz Kafka's legacy has long remained the subject of numerous writings on existential literature. His stories explore themes so depressing, and sometimes seem so trivial, that they put off many readers while captivating another. The most popular of his works, The Trial, is no less confusing than its brethren, and a cursory examination leaves the reader distinctly unsatisfied. After all, what's the point of reading a two-hundred-page book about a man on trial if you never find out what he did, or if he's even guilty? It is tempting to suggest that, given that this is a piece of existential literature, the fact is that it serves no purpose. However, Kafka's work is so multifaceted that it offers many other possible interpretations – a myriad of which are of far greater value than such a simplistic analysis. One of the most interesting angles to consider in The Trial is to recognize the story as Josef's troubled identity and the characters within it as representative of a mental struggle with uncertainty and guilt. Examined from this angle, the story stops seeming so monotonous and boring, and the ending is ultimately less shocking and unexpected. The first question that comes to mind when reading The Trial is, of course, who accused Joseph and of what? After all, the first words of the story set the tone with the following statement: "Someone must have slandered Josef K., because one morning, without having done anything really wrong, he was arrested." Yet these words can be interpreted in a somewhat different way than assuming that someone simply accused Josef of something he never did. Because, on a deeper level, it doesn't matter who accused Josef - and for all anyone knows, Josef may have... middle of paper... between a notion of right and wrong," and “deprived of all metaphysical guidance...[but] nevertheless obliged to act morally in a world where death renders everything meaningless.” » A distinctly unenviable position, it seems that ultimately what troubles Josef most is the guilt of uncertainty.BibliographyCzermak, Herberth CliffsNotes on The Metamorphosis and Other Stories February 17, 2014.Kafka, Franz and Breon Mitchell The Trial: a new translation, based on the restored text, New York: Schocken Books, 1998.Reis de Oliveira, Irismar. “The Dilemma of Kafka's Trial: Proposing a Practical Solution to the Unknown Accusation of Joseph K.” Medical Hypotheses 77, no. science/article/pii/S0306987711001125#articles (accessed February 15, 2014).