The Prisoner - Kafkaesque

    The Prisoner has often been described as being Kafkaesque, meaning it is often surreal, blurring the bounderies between reality and fantasy. However the parallels between the Prisoner and the story of Joseph K in Kafka's The Trial are much closer than just the emphasis of the series.
    Der Prozess {The Trial} was written by Franz Kafka in 1914. The basic story is about Joseph K. who wakes up one morning to find himself placed under house arrest, arrested, and pronounced guilty of a crime he has not committed, because no-one will tell him what it is he is guilty of, or what crime he has committed. Joseph K. attempts to procure justice only to come up against a bureaucratic nightmare, against which he cannot win.It is such a complex story that it is not possible to outline it in a nutshell, but to get to the point, how does the Prisoner resemble The Trial? Well the similarities are such, and not in any particular order, as Joseph K. is arrested and kept under house arrest, the Prisoner is abducted and wakes up in what he assumes to be his own home, which then becomes his cell. Joseph K. is charged with a crime he has not committed and is eventually put on trial, while during the Dance of the Dead the Prisoner-No.6 is put on trial and his crime....the possession of a radio which is a breach of the rules. Both Joseph K. and the Prisoner-No.6 are given a defence lawyer. Both are faced with a buearucratic nightmare as both Joseph K. and the Prisoner-No.6 are found guilty of their crimes, and duly sentenced to death. In the case of the Prisoner-No.6, the death sentence, which was to have been carruied out by the people in the name of justice is never carried out. However in the case of Joseph K. he cannot avoid the death sentence from being carried out.
    The main question throughout The Trial is why? What has Joseph K. done to see him arrested? What was his crime? Why was Joseph K. not charged properly, in that he not informed of his crime? In the Prisoner the question is also WHY? Which side runs the village? Why did the Prisoner resign? Who is No.1? Where is the village? Questions which have largely been answered in the case of the Prisoner No.6, but not so in The Trial of Joseph K.
   When Joseph K. is arrested, the two policemen are dressed from head to foot in black. When Joseph K. has to meet the Interrorgator he has to wear black. No.6 is rendered unconscious, and abducted by two Undertakers dressed in black, and when the Prisoner meets No.2 for the first time he is wearing a dark charcoal grey suit. During Joseph K's. second interrogation everyone is wearing a badge except Joseph K., No.6 doesn't wear his badge either!
    And during Fall Out No.6 is again faced with being put on trial, only this time he gets to address the court and the delegates of the Assembly. Oh the Prisoner is allowed to speak, but under no circumstances is he allowed to be heard! At least Jospeh K. was allowed to address the court, to plead his case and be heard.
    Two men in black come for Joseph K. and lead him through the street of Prague to the place of his execution, or murder, depending on how you look at it. The two men wear black coats and black Top Hats, just as the two Undertakers who abduct the Prisoner in the first instance, and village administrations Top Hat Officials in the Prisoner in the second.
    There are indeed parallels to be drawn between Kafka's the Trial and the Prisoner. But in my researches, I have found that there are many other entities, and literary works whcih share parallels with the Prisoner. The ghost story The Midnight Express by Anthony Noyes for one, and Bram Stokers 1894 short story The Crooken Sands for another.
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