An Imperial Message

Authority is the right to exercise power. I have analyzed through reading Kafka that he writes about the power of authority, and the unimportance it has on a person. In the reading it says, “He takes the filth of those who command authority.”

This reading was very difficult for me to understand. I had to read through it a couple of times to grasp the concept, and even now, I don’t know if I understand it correctly. The Emperor who is dead has commanded a message be sent to a palace containing a man of no importance to anyone. The man is “cowering,” in the imperial sun. I believe he is a man of much wealth, who over time has deteriorated away from the world because of his arrogance and self worthiness. The message being sent is very special and important to the Emperor, and he must succeed in getting there. No matter how hard the messenger tries, he cannot make it to this place of relevance. I think what Kafka is trying to say is a man who listens and tries will succeed in life, even if he cannot conquer his goal. Whereas a man of arrogance, who bathes in the imperial sun will go nowhere, and instead hide in the shadows like a coward his entire life.