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In The Penal Colony
In Franz Kafka’s short story, “In the Penal Colony,” there are many metaphors that are related to issues of power and change. There are, in turn, many different ways in which to interpret these metaphors. Through using different techniques and tools we are able to identify what these metaphors are potentially attempting to convey.
The Old Governor in the story is representative of the obtainment of power through force. He intimidates his people through tools of said force, such as the machine. Thus preventing his people from standing up to him because they are too scared of what the potential consequences would be. When the Old Governor dies, he leaves behind only one true follower, the Officer. He is the one person who still feels compelled to oblige by the old way of life. It is evident that the officer is very stuck in the old ways of living. When the traveler says “These uniforms are surely too heavy for the tropics,” and the Officer replies, “Of course, but they represent our homeland…” (54) This is a good example because we are shown directly just how stuck in the old way of life he is. The Officer is representative for the last chance or hope at bringing back the old way of life. The Officer even admits he lacks the skills to compel the majority to convert back to the old ways of life. When the Officer dies, the last chance for the return of the old ways is gone, and any power that he wielded is gone as well.
The condemned man in the story was symbolic of the Officers final realization that the old ways of living were finally gone. When the traveler tells the Officer he doesn’t agree with his ways of thinking he has an epiphany that finally conveys to him that his battle has been lost. He then proceeds to let the condemned man go free, and the Officer climbs into the machine instead. The Officer realizes that there is no point in continuing the execution because there will never actually be...