The Castle

The world of Kafka, as already revealed in The Trial, is one in which the individual struggles against ubiquitous, elusive, and anonymous powers determining and yet simultaneously opposing his every step. Kafka defines each situation very clearly, but at the same time an atmosphere of fearful uncertainty grows out of the weirdly illogical sequence of simple events. The tale of the arrival of a stranger in the village below the Castle, which seemingly rules it, reflects the pathos of human isolation and of man's quest for freedom and responsability, and the religious spirit which pervades all Kafka's work.