In the Penal Colony Lesson Plan

Separate but Equal?

Kind of Activity:

Performance

Objective:

Understand the historical context behind penal colonies and critically evaluate the intersection of justice and politics

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.R.6, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.W.8, CCSS.ELA-Literacy.CCRA.SL.6

Structure:

Kafka had no problem illustrating and lampooning the laws of full-fledged nations—one of his most famous works, The Trial, does exactly this. In "In the Penal Colony," though, Kafka made a deliberate choice to locate the peculiar "judicial system" of the Old Commandant's machine in a penal colony, separate from its unnamed parent nation. This invites the question: are there...