\n<\/b><\/a><\/p>\nIn using the form of the parable (Kafka had a special talent for parables), Kafka shows he is the equal of the Zen masters, who realized that one way to jar their students towards a consciousness-changing insight was through the use of koans. Kafka\u2019s parables are to Europeans what the koans are to the students of Zen. With parable, as with the koan, the form is everything \u2013 content is secondary to form.<\/p>\n
Here is an example of a parable from a Buddhist sutra:<\/p>\n
A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him. Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!<\/p>\n
And this is the opening verse from a well-known collection of Zen koans:<\/p>\n
The great Way has no gate; There are a thousand different roads.<\/i><\/p>\n
If you pass through this barrier once, you will walk independently in the universe.<\/i><\/p>\n
–\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Gateless Gate<\/i>, The Classic Book of Zen Koans1<\/sup><\/p>\nSome material from the bible could be described as parables.2<\/sup> With all parables, paradox is the essential element. Paradox directs the reader to look inward for some fresh insight and wisdom. Knowledge may lead to understanding, but never to wisdom.<\/p>\nKierkegaard valued parables and stories as forms better suited to the study of philosophy. Parables direct the reader to self-examination, provoke self-discovery, and cultivate the capability of developing the self.2<\/sup><\/p>\nSymbolism in Kafka\u2019s Before the Law<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
Readers can ponder the many possible meanings for the symbols in Before The Law<\/i>. The \u2018law\u2019 could be: Enlightenment, God, religion, ethics and morals, truth, the meaning of life, your life\u2019s purpose (\u2018this gate was meant only for \u00a0you\u2019), the great mystery of the universe, or simply the law \u2013 that system of rules used to administer justice. Who is the doorkeeper? And who is the man from the country? And what does the door stand for? The beauty of this work of art is that it speaks to each reader differently. Many readers will be perplexed. And some will simply despise it. Others could be frustrated. It is like a koan. No matter which way you turn to find logic, you find only paradox. And then you might see that trying to make sense of the parable using your logical thinking leads nowhere \u2013 leads to a door guarded by a doorkeeper who refuses to let you in. This parable within a parable (as part of the novel The Trial<\/i>) is intended to perplex.<\/p>\n
Two types of possible interpretations of Before the Law<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
a)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Existentialist interpretations:<\/p>\n