Compare the various editions of The Trial (Brod’s—if possible, Muir’s and Breon Mitchell’s—based on Pasley’s German edition). How do interpretations of individual words influence the narrative? What is the significance of the chapter sequence?

In literature, science fiction, movies, or television, Kafka has consistently been a boundless source of inspiration. Choose a work you believe to be Kafkaesque and justify your selection.

What do you think Kafka would make of the Internet? More specifically, how would Josef K. navigate a Multi-User-Domain?

Kafka’s novel is frequently seen as a religious commentary. To what extent do you think this interpretation is backed by the text? Choose one faith—Calvinism, Catholicism, or Judaism—and discuss the potential textual evidence for its influence in The Trial.

Does knowing that The Trial was penned by a Jewish author in pre-WWII Europe add another layer to our understanding of the legal nightmare K. is ensnared in? Analyze the novel as what George Steiner has termed a “prophetic statement” about the Holocaust.