The Trial, Part 2 summary
Part 2 of 10 · 23 min to read the part
In The First Inquiry, K. attends a Sunday hearing in a crowded tenement, challenges the examining magistrate, and denounces the court’s treatment of innocent people. When he discovers that the apparently divided audience all wear officials’ badges, he rejects the examination and leaves despite the magistrate’s warning that he sacrifices an advantage.
What happens
- A telephone summons gives K. a Sunday hearing without a time, and he declines the deputy director’s sailing invitation.
- K. searches a suburban tenement by asking for an invented carpenter and finds the crowded hearing on the fifth floor.
- The examining magistrate accuses K. of lateness and wrongly identifies him as a house painter.
- K. describes his arrest, attacks official corruption, and tries to win the audience’s support.
- A man’s shrieking interrupts K., and the crowd blocks his attempt to reach the washerwoman beside him.
- K. notices officials’ badges throughout the audience, condemns their apparent deception, and leaves despite the magistrate’s warning.
Free for 3 months
Get the full summary of The Trial, free
- 200,000+ classics as eBooks, audiobooks and 15-minute summaries, and print and large print at cost
- Up to 5 readers in your home on one plan
In this part
What to notice
The badges overturn K.’s belief that he addresses separate factions. His attempt to gain public support becomes a direct confrontation with an audience connected to the court.
Quick check
What reveals that the apparently opposing audience groups belong together?
Free for 3 months
Get the full summary of The Trial, free
- 200,000+ classics as eBooks, audiobooks and 15-minute summaries, and print and large print at cost
- Up to 5 readers in your home on one plan
15-minute summaries today, eBooks and audiobooks as each book opens, and printed books, large print included, at cost.
Try 3 months free
