In The Penal Colony

Franz Kafka
The ending
The Officer is so disappointed that he has failed to win the Traveller round to
the benefits of the device, that he sets the Condemned man free and puts
himself into the machine, programming the words ‘Be Just’ to be inscribed on
his skin as he slowly dies. But the machine malfunctions, and stabs him to
death so he is denied the slow death, and accompanying religious epiphany,
which he had hoped for.

The Soldier and Condemned show the Traveller the grave of the old
Commandant, which contains an inscription stating that he will return at some
point in the future and rule the colony once again. The Traveller makes plans to
leave the strange colony as soon as possible, forbidding the Soldier and the
Condemned from following him.

It’s clear that the officer is going to sacrifice himself in the place of the prisoner
in the name of his beliefs, which suggests a twisted parallel with Jesus Christ
sacrificing himself on the cross. The unwavering, religious dedication to the
judicial system impresses the explorer, who again chooses not to interfere.

In the climax of the story, the officer dies without receiving redemption. This
might suggests that he was not actually guilty of the crime he committed—by
letting the prisoner go and sacrificing himself, he was in fact being just for once.
However, this moment could just as easily be read as evidence that the entire
system of “justice” the officer represented was fundamentally flawed, and that
no prisoners ever actually achieved “enlightenment.” The explorer acts too
slowly to save the officer and his description of the apparatus shows the
machine for its true purpose—murder. That the officer is ultimately killed by a
spike is another connection to Jesus Christ, who was stabbed by a spear when
he hung on the cross.
 The soldier and prisoner’s mad dash suggest that despite the disappearance of
the apparatus, life in the penal colony is still undesirable. The explorer’s
reaction to the men shows that though Western minds may value justice, he is
hesitant to actually help those in need and considers himself innately superior
to men like the prisoner and soldier.

ROLE/CHARACTER OF THE OFFICER

The story’s antagonist, the officer acts as judge, jury, and executioner in the penal
colony and is the last person who adheres to the rule of law created by the old
Commandant. The officer is obsessed with the apparatus, a machine created by
the old Commandant to torture and kill prisoners. The officer also took part in the
early development of the apparatus and demonstrates this fondness for the device
through his loving attention to every detail of the machine, which literally etches a
sentence onto the body of the condemned and as it slowly kills them over the
course of twelve hours. In an effort to continue the way of life he’s known (and
fiercely believes in), the officer gives a detailed explanation of the apparatus to the
explorer, who he believes can convince the new Commandant to reinvest in
apparatus and all it represents. The officer reflects an older, authoritarian society in
which the few elite rule over the masses and use their authority to maintain power
while cruelly inflicting punishment on anyone who breaks their rules. He does not
give prisoners any chances to defend themselves, believing that anyone accused of
a crime is guilty and that entertaining any counterarguments is a tedious and
unnecessary part of a system of justice. At the end of the story, the officer
maintains his allegiance to the old Commandant by sacrificially offering himself
on the apparatus and sentencing himself to the crime of being unjust. This suggests
a biblical parallel with Christ’s crucifixion, underscoring the fanaticism of the
officer’s beliefs. In its final execution, however, the apparatus begins to break
down, ultimately killing the officer by driving a spike through his head. The
parallel fates of the officer and the machine demonstrate the finality of his system
of justice.

OLD COMMANDANT
The old Commandant was the founder of the penal colony and the designer
of the apparatus. According to the officer, he was kind of the bomb. He was
responsible for everything about the colony, from the sentences of the
apparatus to the operation of the judicial procedure. He was "soldier, judge,
mechanic, chemist, and draughtsman" (10). Nobody would dare disobey
him.
A sort of aura surrounds the old Commandant, at least when listening to the
officer talk about him. It's as if he's God or something. He's a Creator: the
colony is all his design, just as he built the machine himself. Oh, and don't
forget that everything he made is perfect (according to the officer). The old
Commandant is like a divine Judge or Lawgiver: his system delivers perfect
justice, which everybody knows is just (or so the officer says). And he's kind
of like Jesus: apparently, there's a prophecy that the old Commandant will
"rise again" from his grave and lead his faithful to retake the colony. Though
most people in the colony now find this notion very funny.

“Be Just”

In Franz Kafka's short story "In the Penal Colony," the phrase "Be just" is
written on the apparatus used for executing prisoners in a remote penal
colony. The story revolves around the gruesome execution method
employed in this colony, where the condemned prisoner is subjected to a
torturous and elaborate process of inscribing their crime onto their body as
they die.

The phrase "Be just" on the apparatus carries several layers of meaning
within the story:es

1. Irony: The apparatus is anything but just, as it enforces a brutal and

inhumane form of justice. It highlights the absurdity and brutality of
the legal system in the colony.
2. Critique of Justice: Kafka's story raises questions about the nature of
justice and the ethics of punishment. The phrase suggests that the
colony's form of justice is misguided and cruel.
3. Symbol of Blind Obedience: The officer who operates the apparatus is
devoted to the colony and its methods, even though they are clearly
unjust. The phrase may symbolize his unwavering loyalty to the
system, despite its flaws.

Overall, the phrase "Be just" in Kafka's story serves to emphasize the story's
themes of justice, cruelty, and the dehumanizing effects of bureaucracy. It
underscores the dark and Kafkaesque atmosphere that permeates the
narrative.

Procedure of execution

In Franz Kafka's short story "In the Penal Colony," the process of execution
is a highly elaborate and grotesque procedure carried out using a complex
and terrifying apparatus. Here is a description of the process:

1. Explanation: The condemned prisoner is first brought to the

execution site, where they are explained the charges against them
and the process that will lead to their death. The officer in charge of
the execution acts as both judge and executioner, explaining the
sentence and the purpose of the apparatus.
2. Strapping: The prisoner is then strapped onto a special table or
board, which is part of the apparatus. They are secured in such a way
that they cannot move during the procedure.
3. Inscription: The most unique and gruesome aspect of the execution is
the inscribing of the prisoner's sentence onto their body. The
apparatus has a series of needles, and the sentence is engraved into
the prisoner's skin in a very intricate and elaborate fashion. The
sentence itself is long and detailed, listing all the prisoner's crimes.
4. Torturous Death: As the sentence is inscribed, the needles of the
apparatus pierce the prisoner's body, causing immense pain and
ultimately leading to their death. The process is slow and agonizing,
with the prisoner's blood mixing with the ink used to write the
sentence.
5. Death and Cleaning: Once the sentence is fully inscribed and the
prisoner has died from their injuries, the apparatus automatically
cleans itself by rinsing away the blood and disposing of the used
needles.

The entire process is depicted as a horrifying and inhumane ritual. It serves

as a critique of the brutality and absurdity of the legal and penal system in
the colony and raises questions about justice, punishment, and the
dehumanizing effects of bureaucracy. Kafka's story is known for its dark and
surreal themes, and the execution process is a central element that
underscores these themes.

new commandant
The new Commandant is beginning to change this situation, suggesting the
social shift in the penal colony away from such antiquated notions of
justice.By withholding resources to the officer and allowing the apparatus to
deteriorate, the new Commandant shows that he is a different leader than
the old Commandant. The breaking of the apparatus also suggests the
breaking of the officer’s system of justice
The new Commandant’s public meetings suggest a more liberal,
progressive environment that contrasts sharply with the public spectacle of
executions under the old Commandant. The officer truly believes that the
explorer has the power to shift the views on the penal colony and create a
change, which suggests that the explorer does have authority as a visitor
from the West and outsider to the culture.

THE NEGOTIABLE COW

A.P. HERBERT

what is the satire of the negotiable cow on English legal system?

The story humorously highlights the complexities and inefficiencies of the legal and financial
systems, as well as the dehumanizing aspects of treating everything as a commodity.
Herbert's satire in this story is a critique of the way society sometimes places more value on
material possessions and financial transactions than on human or animal welfare. It also
pokes fun at the often bewildering and absurd nature of legal proceedings and bureaucracy.

Dehumanization and Commodity Fetishism: The story satirizes the tendency of modern
society to reduce living beings, such as cows, to mere commodities that can be bought, sold,
and used as collateral for loans. By treating a cow as a negotiable asset, the story highlights
the absurdity of prioritizing financial gain over the well-being of living creatures.
Bureaucratic Absurdity Herbert's story lampoons the complexities and inefficiencies of
bureaucracy. various authorities and institutions become involved, each with its own set of
rules and procedures .

This results in a convoluted and comical bureaucratic mess, reflecting the real-life frustrations
many people experience when dealing with bureaucracy

1. Legal Absurdity: The story also highlights the absurdities of the legal system.
The farmer's attempt to use the cow as collateral leads to a legal dispute, with
lawyers and judges becoming entangled in the matter. This satirical element
underscores how legal proceedings can sometimes prioritize technicalities
over common sense.
2. Social Commentary: Through humor and satire, Herbert criticizes the
priorities of a society that places more importance on financial transactions
and legal formalities than on the well-being of individuals, whether human or
animal. It prompts readers to reflect on the values and priorities of their own
society.

did the cow have all the ingridients of a cheque in the story the
negotiable cow by a p Herbert

This note includes elements that are characteristic of a negotiable instrument, such
as a promise to pay a sum of money.

While the story uses humor and satire to emphasize the absurdity of treating a living
creature in this manner, it does play on the idea that the cow's hide, with the writing
on it, is being treated as if it were a financial document like a check. The legal and
financial authorities in the story then become embroiled in a dispute over whether
this cow-hide "note" is a valid negotiable instrument.

So, to answer your question, the cow's hide is presented in the story as having some
of the elements of a negotiable instrument, but the story's humor arises from the fact
that this is a highly unconventional and satirical interpretation of financial and legal
norms.
The cow fulfils some features of the cheque as cheque when given to the bank has to be
paid to the person who either holds it or whose name is written on it. It is given no where
that it has to be on a piece of four dimensional paper . Mr Haddock has written cheque on
menu, napkins etc and these were accepted by the bank . So a cheque on a napkin is no
different from a cheque on a piece of cow . He also had the funds available in the bank to
pay tax. The cheque had to be a written order to pay money in customary form with
statutory requirements as to stamps which the cow had.

THE BET
Anton Chekhov

Character Analysis in The Bet

The Banker: The banker is a greedy businessman who uses his power and wealth to
manipulate others. Initially, he freely risks two million rubles in the bet with the lawyer.
However, as the story progresses, the banker falls into destitution and considers murdering
the lawyer so as not to pay him back. His choices are always financially or materialistically
driven. The banker did not mature with his advancing age as he bet his two millions just for a
bet, he lost his wealth in the stock exchange, making wild speculations etc, his excited
behaviour and no concern for money led to decline in his financial status. He who was a
millionaire at one point of time, today is a mere struggling banker , who would lose all his
money if the lawyer wins the best.

The banker is also a selfish person as he tries to kill the lawyer because he would loose all his
money if he wins the bet, he also cares a lot about his reputation as he puts the letter away in
the fireproof store to keep the message hidden that the lawyer renounced 2 million and that he
ran away 5 minutes early just to renounce that money.

The Lawyer: The lawyer, like the banker, goes through a transformation during the fifteen
year period. At the start of the story, the lawyer is young and impulsive, willfully throwing
himself into the bet. The lawyer, however, is intelligent and uses his solitary confinement to
read poetry and to study the natural sciences. By the time the lawyer emerges from his
confinement, he has lived vicariously through his literature. At forty years old, he has
matured and learned about the pitfalls of the human condition. Unlike the banker,
however, he is not responsible for anyone’s safety but his own. He evolves as the
years go by in his cell, eventually committing to reading as much as he can and
sharpening his mind. By the end of his 15-year term he is a completely changed
man—extremely learned yet completely dismissive of all earthly things, insisting
that they are misleading mirages that blind human beings to the transience of life.
He is resentful of others and sees himself as above those who have “bartered
heaven for earth”—that is, who are living in sin. The banker notes that the lawyer
is so emaciated by the end of his sentence that he is hard to look at, prematurely
aged, and appears ill. This outward appearance contrasts with the lawyer’s own
belief that he has bettered himself. He ultimately renounces the bet by escaping his
cell just five hours before he would be awarded his winnings.
How did the lawyer spend his 15 years in the lodge?

1st year- neither did he drank wine nor he smoked because wine excites his desire
him while smoke would ruins the air in his room, feeling od lonliness and
depression, played piano , started reading light characters, complicated love
stories, sensational and fantastic stories.
2nd year- classics and no piano

5th year- music audible again, started drinking wine, drinking eating sleeping,
talking angrily to himself, wrote letters at night and tore them in the morning
6th year- reading language history philosophy
wrote letter to banker (6 language,guns)

6-10 years – 6 languages + 600 volumes

10th year-sat in the chair and read gospels

last two years- philosophy, chemistry, theology, medicine, shekspeare, bryon, natural science

how did banker violate his term of the agreement in the bet?
The banker, on the other hand, has misused his money; and now if
he pays off the bet, the banker will lose everything. After much inner
turmoil, the banker decides to kill the lawyer before the end of the
bet to keep from having to pay the loan. He sneaks into the guest
house.The banker has misued his money and now when he would
loose the bet and would have to pay 2 million to the lawyer he
would be left with no money and the he would have to listen to the
lawyer say that it was because of the banker that he is living a
luxurious life and he would out of sympathy tell the banker to take
some money from him. To avoid that situation he tries to sneak into
the lodge where the lawyer is kept, to murder him so that he would
not have to pay the money to him. It was raining that day and the
watchmen was also not there and he burned a matchstick to look at
the surroundings, he found no one and the he made a p,an to
murder the lawyer with the pillow.

Life imprisonment or death?