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In the Penal Colony

knowing the charges against him. Viewed from a dystopian
INTR
INTRODUCTION
ODUCTION lens, the short story by Harlan Ellison “‘Repent, Harlequin!’ Said
the Ticktockman” is another example of a tale that reveals the
BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF FRANZ KAFKA inhumane treatment of individuals within abusive power
Franz Kafka was born into a middle-class Jewish family in 1883 structures. Perhaps the most famous dystopian novel, George
in Prague. Throughout his life, Kafka identified strongly with Orwell’s novel 1984
1984, aligns with the oppressive and grotesque
qualities of his Jewish heritage—intellectualism, mysticism, and struggles of individuals living in an oppressive authoritarian
devotion to learning—but was culturally German. Kafka’s state that is depicted in “In the Penal Colony.”
relationship to his father and his struggle with depression and
social anxiety dominated his life. He never married, despite
KEY FACTS
taking three different lovers, and he felt isolated all his life,
unable to commune with other human beings or God. Upon • Full Title: In the Penal Colony
obtaining a law degree in 1906 from Charles University of • When Written: October 1914
Prague, Kafka entered the civil service and though well-liked by • Where Written: Prague, Austria-Hungary
his colleagues, despised this work, which took a toll on his
• When Published: 1919 (German), 1941 (English)
physical and mental health. He was diagnosed with tuberculosis
in 1917, and this persisted until his death in 1924. Having • Literary Period: Modernism
strong misgivings about his work, Kafka published few of his • Genre: Short story, allegorical fantasy
stories in his lifetime and asked that his work be destroyed, a • Setting: A penal colony on a tropical island
wish that was ignored by Max Brod, a close friend from college
• Climax: The officer fails to achieve redemption on the
and executor of his estate, who had the foresight to recognize apparatus and instead dies a brutal death.
the importance of Kafka’s work.
• Antagonist: The officer and the system of authoritarian
structures that do not value human life
HISTORICAL CONTEXT • Point of View: Third person
Kafka wrote “In the Penal Colony,” on the cusp of World War I
in Prague—a key center of the Austro-Hungarian empire that EXTRA CREDIT
would collapse after the war. The war began after the
Prophesy. Some suggest that “In the Penal Colony” was a
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie
prophetic vision of the fate of the Jews in the Nazi death camps
by a Serbian protestor acting in defiance of the empire’s claim
in World War II.
on his country. In addition to the psychological chaos at the
start of the war, Kafka’s Jewish heritage would have made him a
target of derision. However, it is not clear that Kafka himself In Print. “In the Penal Colony” was one of the few stories that
had political motivations that were inspired by the times. was published in Kafka’s lifetime.
Kafka’s work appears to be motivated by his personal
experiences, dominance of his father, his mental and physical
illness, and the taxing nature of his professional work.
PL
PLO
OT SUMMARY
The apparatus, the machine used to execute prisoners in the
RELATED LITERARY WORKS penal colony, is the focus of attention for the officer despite an
Kafka’s writing is widely considered to be some of the most unenthusiastic response from the residents of the penal colony.
important in Western literature. A feature of Kafka’s work that The prisoner, who is to be executed, is guarded by a soldier,
makes it so enduring is the ambiguity of the tales and the vast who looks on as the officer explains the nature of the apparatus
array of different interpretations that can be rendered from and the methods of execution to the explorer, a visitor to the
the text. His work even has its own adjective, Kafkaesque, penal colony whose fame and notoriety comes from his
which means having nightmarish, complex, and illogical background as a Westerner with a European education. Giving
qualities. Often situations in Kafka’s work involve individuals a brief history of the penal colony in the tropical heat, the
who are hopelessly overpowered by terrifying and confusing officer talks of the old Commandant, who he believes perfected
systems. Such themes appear in Kafka’s other works, such as society on the penal colony, including inventing the apparatus,
The T
Trial
rial, a novel written in the same year, where an unassuming and made the officer his right-hand man.
worker is arrested and held captive to stand trial without As the officer gets into the detailed components of the

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machine, the explorer’s interest is piqued. Even the prisoner
moves to get a closer look at the intricate machine that will CHARA
CHARACTERS
CTERS
eventually write out his sentence onto his flesh. The explorer
The Explorer – A protagonist with an ambiguous moral
derails the officer’s long-winded explanation of the apparatus
compass, the explorer is a distinguished visitor to the penal
by inquiring about the prisoner’s sentence and trial. Frustrated
colony implied to have a European background. As the explorer
at the new Commandant for not explaining his methods to the
witnesses the officer’s dying way of life, he comes to represents
guest (a duty the old Commandant always took seriously), the
a Western, liberal mindset. Invited to attend the execution by
officer explains the prisoner is never told of his crime, instead,
the new Commandant,the explorer is initially bored with the
he learns of his wrongdoing when the apparatus writes the
officer’s explanation of the apparatus and its specific method
sentence on his body right before his death. To the officer, who,
of execution. However, his indifference soon shifts to horror as
conveniently, is also the judge of crimes, any sort of defense is
he learns the exact nature of the punitive system in the penal
forestalling the inevitable because he believes that anyone
colony and the inhumane methods used to dispense the
accused of a crime is consequently guilty.
officer’s idea of justice. Nevertheless, throughout the story the
The longer the officer explains the workings of the apparatus, explorer downplays his authority and does not intervene in the
the more the explorer is uncomfortable with the system of execution of the prisoner despite his private misgivings. The
justice and the cruel form of execution, which becomes more explorer couches his lack of action as deference to cultural
absurd with the increasing level of detail in the apparatus. The difference in order to absolve himself of culpability. When the
explorer begins to feel guilty for even witnessing the execution, officer pushes the explorer to speak up about preserving the
but he calms himself by suggesting he has no right to interfere use of the apparatus, however, the explorer tells him he will not
with the cultural norms on the island. support the officer, pointing out that because the new
While loading the prisoner onto the apparatus, the officer tells Commandant does not support the officer, his way of life is
the explorer that he needs help to maintain this authoritarian likely over anyway. When the officer then straps himself to the
system of justice and continue to use the apparatus. Evidently, apparatus, the explorer seems to believe that the officer is
the new Commandant does not approve of this judicial system, doing the right thing—dying for his convictions. Ultimately, the
and instead prefers to holds conferences that are open to the explorer’s conscience does get the best of him as he tries in vain
public. The officer hopes the explorer will make a case for the to save the officer before his death. As he leaves the island, the
old Commandant’s system of justice and the new Commandant explorer notably prevents the soldier and prisoner from coming
will see the error of his ways. with him—thereby further distancing himself from any
The explorer responds that he cannot support the connection with life on the penal colony. Though he condemns
officer—even if he will do nothing to stop the present the officer’s version of justice, the explorer’s cowardly, self-
execution—and he cannot tell the new Commandant that the serving actions also suggest that the West is not immune to
apparatus is the proper way to administer justice. Upon hearing inhumanity and cruelty.
this, the officer quietly releases the prisoner, tells him that he The Officer – The story’s antagonist, the officer acts as judge,
can go free, writes his own sentence, feeds it into the jury, and executioner in the penal colony and is the last person
apparatus, and then disrobes and places himself on the who adheres to the rule of law created by the old
apparatus. The explorer looks on and concedes that the Commandant. The officer is obsessed with the apparatus, a
officer’s actions demonstrate his appropriate conviction to his machine created by the old Commandant to torture and kill
beliefs. The officer judges himself to be guilty of the crime of prisoners. The officer also took part in the early development of
failing to uphold justice because he cannot maintain the old the apparatus and demonstrates this fondness for the device
order. through his loving attention to every detail of the machine,
As the officer dies, the apparatus falls apart in front of the which literally etches a sentence onto the body of the
explorer, soldier, and prisoner, who do reluctantly try to save condemned and as it slowly kills them over the course of twelve
the officer from the malfunctioning apparatus, which is now hours. In an effort to continue the way of life he’s known (and
brutally murdering (instead of methodically torturing) its fiercely believes in), the officer gives a detailed explanation of
victim. After the officer’s death, the explorer goes to the the apparatus to the explorer, who he believes can convince the
teahouse to view the grave of the old Commandant, whose new Commandant to reinvest in apparatus and all it represents.
headstone suggests he will someday return to the penal colony. The officer reflects an older, authoritarian society in which the
The explorer distributes some money to a group of few elite rule over the masses and use their authority to
dockworkers before leaving the teahouse and walking to a boat maintain power while cruelly inflicting punishment on anyone
to take him to his ship. The soldier and prisoner follow, but the who breaks their rules. He does not give prisoners any chances
explorer does not allow them to board the boat with him and to defend themselves, believing that anyone accused of a crime
instead leaves them on the island. is guilty and that entertaining any counterarguments is a

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tedious and unnecessary part of a system of justice. At the end very close to the officer, making him his right-hand man and
of the story, the officer maintains his allegiance to the old enlisting the officer’s help in constructing the apparatus. The
Commandant by sacrificially offering himself on the apparatus old Commandant also conferred the power of judge, jury, and
and sentencing himself to the crime of being unjust. This executioner to the officer, who remains worshipful of the old
suggests a biblical parallel with Christ’s crucifixion, Commandant even after his death. The old Commandant
underscoring the fanaticism of the officer’s beliefs. In its final represents systems of justice that are dehumanizing and have
execution, however, the apparatus begins to break down, no regard for the rights of individuals. This is in contrast to the
ultimately killing the officer by driving a spike through his head. new Commandant, who does not approve of the old
The parallel fates of the officer and the machine demonstrate Commandant’s ways and is slowly decommissioning the use of
the finality of his system of justice. the apparatus and the officer’s power. The old Commandant’s
The Soldier – A man in charge of watching the prisoner and gravestone, which claims he will rise again and tells his
assisting with the execution. The soldier is unable to followers to have faith, has a messianic quality that strengthens
understand the explorer and the officer as they converse in the story’s suggestion that religion has a part to play in
French and is generally uninterested in the execution itself, authoritarian systems of power.
although he dutifully follows the officer’s commands and helps The New Commandant – The current leader of the penal
to strap the prisoner to the apparatus. After the prisoner is colony who replaced the old Commandant. The new
freed, the soldier helps him gather his clothes and is reluctant Commandant does not appear in the story in person, though he
to save the officer after he straps himself to the is clearly loathed by the officer. The new Commandant invites
apparatus—suggesting he has more in common with the the explorer to view an execution during his visit to the penal
prisoner than the higher ranking official. Throughout the story, colony, a move that the officer assumes is made to further
the solider is primarily a mute presence who finally speaks near devalue the old Commandant’s system of justice and the
the end when he gives the explorer a brief explanation about apparatus. Despite the officer’s criticisms, the new
the old Commandant’s grave and tries to escape the penal Commandant has made seemingly positive changes to the
colony with the prisoner, only to be thwarted by the explorer. penal colony, such as holding conferences that the public can
The soldier’s attempt to flee suggest that even though the view as a way of participating in political life. The new
apparatus and the officer are gone, life is still undesirable in the Commandant represents a societal shift in the penal colony
penal colony. toward a more liberal, Western mentality further reinforced
The Prisoner – A man sentenced to death for failing to wake up when the explorer tells the officer that he will not try to
and salute his captain’s door, an arbitrary and absurd convince the new Commandant to keep using the apparatus.
conviction. The prisoner is described as a stupid and naïve Even with the new Commandant’s changes, it is suggested by
individual, representative of the average person in the penal the prisoner and the soldier’s attempted escape at the end of
colony who lacks power. The prisoner is guarded by the soldier the story that life on the penal colony remains unpleasant.
and sentenced to die by the officer. Before being put on the The Dockwork
Dockworkers ers – A group of poor, humble men who spend
apparatus, the prisoner takes a keen interest in the officer’s time at a teahouse in the penal colony. The dockworkers show
explanation of the machine despite the fact that he does not the explorer the grave of the old Commandant and collect a few
understand the officer’s French. The prisoner delights in his coins for their trouble. These men reinforce the state of the
freedom when the officer eventually sets him loose and average person in the penal colony—listless and powerless.
chooses to sacrifice himself to the apparatus instead. As he
sees the officer beginning to be tortured, the prisoner senses
that change is coming to the penal colony and attributes this THEMES
shift to the explorer. The prisoner also tries to escape from the
In LitCharts literature guides, each theme gets its own color-
penal colony with the soldier by running after the explorer, who
coded icon. These icons make it easy to track where the themes
nevertheless leaves the pair standing on the dock. The prisoner
occur most prominently throughout the work. If you don't have
recognizes that the change he feels coming to the penal colony
a color printer, you can still use the icons to track themes in
is not enough to want to make him stay, but he is unable to
black and white.
escape despite his newfound freedom. This suggests a certain
insurmountable class or cultural hierarchy between the
prisoner and explorer, who can come and go as he chooses. TRADITION VS. PROGRESS
The Old Commandant – An authoritarian leader and inventor “In the Penal Colony” is a story of the planned
of the apparatus, the old Commandant is dead at the outset of demonstration of an execution using a machine
the story but at one point had the power to command the called the apparatus by the military officer of a
respect of the entire penal colony. The old Commandant was penal colony on a foreign island. The officer, well acquainted

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with the apparatus, sets up the machine and explains its use to a holds his conferences in public with a gallery that is “packed
foreign guest, the explorer, all the while detailing how the with spectators.” This contrasts with the public who, during the
machine has fallen out of favor with the new Commandant and time of the old Commandant, would gather to watch the
the residents of the island. In a bid to continue the old way of apparatus work. This comparison suggests that the public is
life, the officer tries to convince the explorer to make a case for participating in the way the society is run rather than being
using the apparatus to the new Commandant. Kafka’s tale entertained and kept in line by grotesque displays of execution.
shows a shift in society from highly concentrated hierarchal The entire world around the officer is progressing, then, and he
authority represented by the officer to a more liberal, modern clings to the past at his peril.
society represented by the explorer. In condemning the The officer’s death and the destruction of the apparatus make it
officer’s stubborn devotion to decaying machinery and the clear that the ways of the new Commandant and the explorer
backwards “justice” it represents, Kafka’s story suggests the are significant social changes that cannot be reversed. The
futility of clinging to outdated tradition in the face of forward officer abandons the sentencing of the prisoner telling him that
progress. he is free to go, all the while looking like an “old man.”
The irrelevancy of the apparatus is reflected in its physically Comparing the officer to an old man underscores the age of his
dilapidated state. The officer repeatedly points out how the opinions and procedures and that by letting the prisoner go,
device used to be a marvel of engineering elegance and the officer is allowing the traditional structure he supported
ingenuity. Now, however, it is loud and often breaks. The officer collapse. After observing the officer strip naked, the prisoner
further lacks the necessary spare parts to repair the apparatus, senses that “some great change was impending.” This clearly
as the new Commandant—“always looking for an excuse to demonstrates that the officer, naked and deprived of any
attack [the] old way of doing things”—withholds the necessary weapon, lacks his former authority in this new, modern society.
funds and sends along only “shoddy material.” New laws also As the apparatus breaks down, it changes from a machine that
prohibit the officer from using acid to increase prisoners’ pain, is delicate and has an exquisite way of administering torture to
leading him to lament that the apparatus can “no longer wring a machine that only murders. The true purpose of the machine
from anyone a sigh louder than the felt gag can stifle.” And is laid bare as its wheels start to fly out and its structures
where large crowds once gathered to gawk at the proceedings, collapse: to maim and murder, rather than to truly assist in the
now “the execution has no support from the public, a shabby process of justice. The officer does not experience the
ceremony-carried out with a machine already somewhat old redemption he suggests other men found before they died but
and worn.” Together these details present a physical continues to look “calm and convinced.” The apparatus gave
manifestation of the fact that the apparatus—and the entire insight and redemption to past prisoners, according to the
system of “justice” it represents—is in a state of continual decay officer, but his argument turns out to be a lie. This is an
and no longer has a place in society. argument in the story for the failing of such hierarchical forms
The officer is aware that his way of administering justice is of authority even if the adherents, like the officer himself,
changing. Nevertheless, he upholds slavish devotion to the cannot admit to its failings.
apparatus, wistfully dreaming of returning it to its former The officer dies at the hands of the machine he knows better
glory—a desire that is clearly futile in the face of the progress than anyone, and the social order in the penal colony is forever
suggested by the explorer. The explorer quickly notes that the changed. No more adherents to the old way of dealing out
officer’s uniform is “far too heavy for the tropics,” and that the justice remain, and the new Commandant is a leader who does
latter is also “amply befrogged and weighed down by not appeal to such absurd and brutal methods. Even still, the
epaulettes.” The uniform is a direct link to the officer’s home flight of the prisoner and the soldier show that no penal colony
country and the tradition therein, and the fact that it is wholly is appealing; however, the explorer’s approval of the change
out of place in the colony reflects the officer’s failure to adapt suggest that the shift at work is a movement toward a liberal,
to his changing circumstances; he is literally “weighed down” by democratic society.
tradition. The officer further worries that the explorer will liken
his methods to torture in the Middle Ages yet fails to POWER AND JUSTICE
internalize the antiquated nature of the justice he upholds.
“In the Penal Colony” explores what constitutes
Indeed, the explorer muses that the new Commandant is going
due and fair process in society. Kafka centers the
to bring in “a new kind of procedure which the officer's narrow
plot on the planned execution of a prisoner who,
mind was incapable of understanding.” By bringing in a new way
instead of receiving a trial, has been sentenced to death by a
of dealing with offences, the new Commandant shifts away
high-ranking officer who automatically assumes that every man
from the painful and absurd punishment of the old
who is charged with a crime is guilty. The crime of the prisoner
Commandant, creator of the apparatus, and his sole remaining
is one of disrespecting authority, further centering the
devotee: the officer. The officer also says the new Commandant
importance of power structures in this world. What’s more, the

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prisoner doesn’t even know what he’s been accused of, says the prisoner would “have told lies” were he given a chance
underscoring the fact that the penal colony’s justice system is to defend himself and that a trial would have been a “confused
unconcerned with protecting or rehabilitating individuals. tangle.” Even explaining this point is a waste of time for the
Kafka’s story ultimately argues that “justice” used only to officer, who is more intent on impressing the explorer with the
maintain power and punish transgressors isn’t really justice at intricacies of the apparatus itself than the intricacies of why the
all. apparatus is being used in the first place. If justice is a means to
The descriptions of the prisoner, the most powerless character deter future crime, then Kafka’s story would suggest that there
in the story, illustrate the disparity of power in the penal colony. can be no justice without an understanding of that crime in the
He is described as “stupid-looking” and compared to a first place. As such, justice cannot exist in a society in which the
“submissive dog” that would not try to escape his punishment punishment is meant solely as a display of power and is more
even if he weren’t tied up. Such a description suggests the important than the crime or, indeed, than an individual’s life at
dehumanization of the powerless in this society, who are so all.
robbed of dignity and autonomy that they passively accept the The officer’s sentence and death, in turn, solidifies this idea that
orders of their superiors. To the “horror” of the explorer, the any system of justice within the matrix of such strict
prisoner joins their tour of the apparatus examining the hierarchical power is faulty. The officer shows the explorer that
machine with “uncertain eyes” without being able to his own sentence, which will be written on his body, is to “BE
understand the object of conversation. Later, after being JUST!” This shows that the officer, by letting the prisoner go,
released, he begins to play with the soldier and their end of believes that he is violating his code of justice. Ironically,
wrestling “in jest.” These depictions reinforce a view of the however, it is only through this final act of letting the prisoner,
prisoner as childlike—at least in the eyes of his superiors—and likely an innocent man, go—a direct inversion of power
create the picture of a naïve individual who has no capacity for structures—that the officer does something that approaches
directing his own behavior and needs to be ruled by those in justice. The explorer, for his part, cannot “decipher” the officer’s
power. The prisoner’s crime is also notably one of disrespecting sentence for the prisoner and for the officer himself, try as he
authority. As a servant for a captain in the colony, the prisoner might. This shows that the officer’s idea of justice is only
had been ordered to sleep outside the captain’s door and wake relevant to the elite who hold power and does not have broader
to salute that door every hour to prove his alertness. The meaning to those who do not participate in that type of society.
prisoner, rather understandably, slept through the 2:00 A.M. Right before his death, the officer doesn’t receive the
salute. The order had been an absurd show of power in the first “promised redemption” that others had found after the brutal
place, and the prisoner’s sentence—to have “HONOR THY inscription of their sentence. This suggests that in fact the
SUPERIORS!” etched into his skin by the apparatus until he officer did not commit a crime by letting the prisoner go free
dies—is an equally absurd and cruel punishment. A society built and that ultimately his view of justice is faulty.
on deference to authority above all else, Kafka suggests, is Even as the prisoner is freed from death by the apparatus, he
inherently at odds with the nuance and reason required of notably is still stuck in the penal colony—that is, a place where
genuine justice. criminals are sent to be separated from “just” society. Both the
The officer is wholly unconcerned with the idea that the prisoner and the soldier who’d been charged with guarding him
prisoner should learn of his punishment beforehand or have follow the explorer as the latter leaves the colony via boat, with
any hope of defending himself, which reflects a single the implication that they, too, would like to escape from what is
concentration of power that intends on keeping individuals in essentially a giant prison. Given that absurd display of crime
line rather than allowing them a chance to learn and mend their and punishment within the story, the question arises as to
ways. The officer explains the prisoner does not even know of whether any of the prisoners in the penal colony deserve to be
his offense, saying, “There would be no point in telling him. He'll there in the first place, or if they, too, were victims of a system
learn it on his body.” The officer’s opinion that divulging the designed to maintain power at whatever cost; perhaps their
sentence would be pointless shows the punishment is not own transgressions back home were just as arbitrary as the
about rehabilitation. Instead, the man is used as an example to prisoner’s “crime” of falling asleep on the job. Kafka thus
maintain the social order. The officer explains that his one broadens his critique to condemn purely punitive justice at
principle is that “Guilt is never to be doubted,” and shares with large and encourage consideration of the purpose of any justice
the explorer that any differing opinions are merely system itself.
interferences with justice. The prisoner’s guilt is a
predetermined condition based on the charges of a superior RELIGION
officer. The foregone conclusion of guilt shows that the only
truth in a brutal hierarchy is the truth that is decided by those Religious fervor is an explicit undercurrent
in authority. When explaining the justice system, the officer throughout “In the Penal Colony.” The old
Commandant, who used to run the penal colony

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and is rumored to someday return, is reminiscent of an “shoddy material” to the officer to use the apparatus and takes
authoritarian god, while the officer acts as his lone remaining control of the money for the machine. These are slow changes
disciple. So devoted is the officer to the way of life embodied by that do not reflect the sweeping use of power by the old
the old Commandant that he follows his savior into death, Commandant. The explorer is also hesitant to openly express
sacrificing himself to his beloved apparatus in a sort of his disdain for the apparatus, his aversion to conflict proving
perversion of Jesus Christ’s Crucifixion. The foreign explorer stronger than his belief that such a tool and the justice it
views the officer’s dated and brutal beliefs with repulsion represents is morally wrong. All these details suggest that the
befitting his status as a more modern and worldly citizen. At the new order, the new Commandant, the explorer, and the
same time, however, the explorer—and, really, all those who residents of the penal colony that no longer attend the
have turned towards a society based on reason rather than executions are not motivated by any guiding frameworks that
blind faith—equivocates in his condemnation, lacking the make them act with force or conviction.
officer’s conviction when it comes to his own vision of morality. Nevertheless, the fate of the officer and the old Commandant
As such, Kafka’s story grapples with how the modern turn away suggests that the way of life they enforce is doomed. The
from religion is in many ways a step towards progress, yet also officer places himself on the apparatus instead of the prisoner,
leaves human beings without the clear, guiding conviction they making himself a martyr to his system of justice. The officer’s
once enjoyed. dies by the sentence “‘BE JUST!’” and hopes to find the same
The officer’s description of the old Commandant and the rules sense of enlightened redemption he believes he witnessed in
of the penal colony allude to the symbolic and allegorical other prisoners’ eyes in his last hours. However, he is not
connection to religious belief. The officer tells the explorer redeemed and is instead finally killed by a piercing blow from a
about the old Commandant and his “perfect” design of the “great iron spike.” The death parallels that of Jesus Christ, who
penal colony. Further, the officer explains that the rules that offered himself up for humankind and was ultimately killed with
must be followed are “doctrines” and the sentences inscribed a spear—further supporting the connection between the
on prisoners are similar to the biblical language of the Ten officer and old Commandant’s system of justice and religion,
Commandants. These details suggest that the system of and perhaps suggesting that both have no place in modern
authority that the officer follows has a deep religious emphasis. society. The old Commandant’s gravestone suggests that he
The officer says that the “prophecy” that the new Commandant will “rise again” in order to lead his adherents. This messianic
cannot alter any of the old designs has come true. This points to promise shows that the old Commandant and his system fall
his unquestioning belief in the ways of the old Commandant squarely within the same structures that dictate religious
that is guided by a prophecy, which is an explicit connection to belief, one that is—rather ironically—rejected by the priests in
ways that religions operate. The officer’s fervor for his way of the penal colony who will not let the old Commandant be
life is clearly demonstrated when he strips off all his clothes buried in the local cemetery.
before getting onto the apparatus himself. The explorer In the absence of an authoritarian god, all the characters,
observes that this is due to the deterioration of the “judicial particularly the people of the penal colony, lack the motivation
procedure” that the officer believes in so strongly and believes to take specific action. They attend forums that the new
that he would do the same under similar circumstances, thus Commandant holds rather than executions, and there is indeed
justifying the action in the officer’s context. These details more nuance to this existence. Yet there is clearly little industry
reinforce the allusion to the officer’s devotion as religious belief or motivation to live or work within the society; these men may
to the system of order created in the penal colony by his “god,” have comparative freedom, but it is unclear if they have any
the old Commandant. purpose. The benefit of this existence is complicated by the end
The explorer and other residents of the penal colony lack the of the story as the soldier and prisoner try to flee the colony
same disciplined zeal that the officer possesses, further with the explorer: the absence of a strict god may lead to
reinforcing religion’s ability to imbue life with order and freedom, but with that comes the burden of finding meaning for
motivation—for better or for worse. The officer explains that oneself.
the adherents to the old Commandant’s ways have “skulked out
of sight” because the colony’s new leader does not have an CULTURE AND OTHERNESS
“atom” of the old Commandant’s power. This shows that the
Though it is unclear where the central officer in “In
people were principally motivated by the force of the old
the Penal Colony” is from, the explorer is clearly
Commandant rather than meaningful consideration of the
distinguished as a Westerner who is conditioned
system of justice he created and enforced; without a leader
with European ways of thought. The explorer is the onlooker of
who inspires such blind devotion, they are no longer motivated.
a planned execution of a prisoner that he quickly learns is
The new Commandant notably has not outlawed the use of the
unaware of his crimes and did not receive a trial that included
apparatus despite his discomfort with it. Rather, he gives
any sort of defense. The explorer is highly regarded by the

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residents of the penal colony, especially the new Commandant, of the execution, it is clear that his main priority is to be
and ultimately disapproves of the procedure. The actions and comfortable and to be polite. Kafka thus subtly undermines
position of the explorer is one of a power imbalance between assumptions of Western superiority and authority.
Western culture and a different culture. However, Kafka The explorer’s hesitancy to intervene in the use of the
complicates this relationship throughout “In the Penal Colony” apparatus and the life of the culture of the penal colony is an
by showing that neither the explorer nor the residents of the indication that Western culture does not value human life
culture of the island are totally willing to embrace universal universally. Even as the officer is disrobing, and it is clear to the
values such as inhumanity or cruelty. explorer what is about to happen, he continues to believe that
The explorer holds esteem in the other culture of the penal he has “no right to obstruct” what is happening and even goes
colony because he is explicitly denoted as Westerner. The so far as to explicitly state that the officer is doing “the right
officer notes that the explorer is described as a “famous thing.” This is extreme apathy and complacency on the part of
explorer” who has been influenced by “European ways of the explorer, whose own commitment to humanity is suspect
thought” and as such will have influence over the new based on his unwillingness to get involved. When explaining his
Commandant. That the explorer has more social capital than position to the officer, the explorer says, “I fear the end of your
the officer suggests the superiority of the explorer’s position. tradition is at hand, even without any humble assistance from
As the prisoner reflects on the fate of the officer he believes me.” This shows that the explorer is unwilling to participate in
that the “foreign explorer had given the order for it.” The the change of the procedure on the island (one that he knows is
prisoner is happy and satisfied at this result, and by ascribing undeniably unjust and inhumane) and that he shirks from using
the new change to the explorer he is also amplifying the the power that is granted to him by this foreign culture. The
explorer’s power from the position of the culture of the penal story ends with the soldier and prisoner wanting to leave the
colony. Before the explorer leaves the teahouse, he passes out island with the explorer. However, the explorer threatens them
“a few coins” to the dockworkers who are described as “poor, with “a heavy knotted rope” that keeps them from leaping into
humble creatures.” This again positions the explorer as an agent the boat. This is the only action taken by the explorer—to deny
of higher status who confers value on the laborers and can the soldier and the prisoner freedom. The explorer is unable to
afford to distribute wealth. All these details reinforce the status allow himself to help anyone except the dockworkers to whom
of the explorer and the position of Western culture as superior he passes out a few coins. These points show that though
to the other culture of the penal colony. Western culture may be deemed to be superior and more
The explorer balks at the apparatus, yet his sense of (decidedly humane, in actual practice it lacks the conviction to affirm the
Western) propriety—and his cowardice—stops him from value of human life and dignity.
interfering. Throughout the officer’s explanation of the The actions of the explorer and the high position of esteem that
apparatus, the explorer is uninterested and ultimately he carries in the penal colony point to privilege and
concludes that “The injustice of the procedure and the enlightenment that is deservedly undermined by Kafka in the
inhumanity of the execution were undeniable.” The explorer story. The explorer is incapable of saving the officer or helping
also believes that the officer will be incapable of understanding the soldier and prisoner find a new life outside of the penal
anything different than what he knows. These judgements colony. Though the explorer has Western values that can
show a strong sense of superiority that the explorer maintains identify inhumanity, cruelty, and injustice, this worldview does
over the officer and how this sense somewhat ironically not assist the man in actually acting in service of these values.
prohibits him from even attempting to “better” the officer. As Kafka thus shows that the superiority of Western culture in the
the explorer considers the apparatus disapprovingly, “with a face of Otherness is an illusion; despite the cherished values
frown,” he immediately justifies its use by explaining to himself that a person with power might espouse, if they do not use
that the penal colony use “extraordinary measures” that it is their power to act, they are complicit in perpetuating barbaric
basically a necessary part of military discipline. By allowing acts of violence.
himself to accept the procedure as necessary the explorer
diminishes the cruelty of the practice for his own comfort.
When the prisoner joins the officer and the explorer to get a SYMBOLS
closer view of the apparatus, the explorer’s impulse is to “drive
Symbols appear in teal text throughout the Summary and
him away” because the man’s close presence induces guilt that
Analysis sections of this LitChart.
he is “probably culpable” in the execution. By showing his
squeamishness in the face of guilt, the explorer is further
demonstrating he cares more about himself and being polite THE APPARATUS
than anything else. By the explorer’s reaction to the officer’s
In the story, the apparatus is a machine used to
tour of the apparatus and his passive stance to the groundwork
represent the cruel and exacting torture of a

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system of justice that is more concerned with upholding power
than it is with the dignity of human life. The apparatus, which rather than rehabilitation.
the old Commandant invented, is a grueling piece of machinery. In this aside, the officer reveals that the foundation of the
It takes twelve hours to finish an execution by repeatedly traditional judicial system in the penal colony rests on the
etching the prisoner’s sentence into his flesh. Giving a detailed fact that guilt is assumed. Therefore, those accused of
explanation of his beloved machine (which he helped create), crimes—ostensibly always low status prisoners subject to
the officer explains that the apparatus keeps prisoners alive by the whims of other officers—are automatically guilty and
feeding them and staunching their blood therefore painfully have no chance to defend themselves. The officer’s word
prolonging their death. Eventually the prisoner learns the thus becomes truth, further cementing his power in this
nature of his crime, usually after the sixth hour of being authoritarian world. By situating himself as the old
tortured. The apparatus has three main components—the Bed, Commandant’s assistant in all penal matters the officer is
the Designer, and the Harrow—and it is clear from the officer’s also underscoring how closely his views adhere to the old
long, technical descriptions of the machine’s inner-workings Commandant’s. In the officer’s opinion, courts that do not
that he is more interested in the mechanism’s performance rely on the judgement of one authority figure are flawed
than he is with the prisoners’ quality of life. The methods the because they are less efficient and have to resolve multiple
apparatus employs reinforce the extreme nature and absurdity opinions.
of capital punishment in a system that does not even tell the
accused of their sentence or regard their life as having any
value. Ultimately unable to maintain the old Commandant’s
“Enlightenment comes to the most dull-witted. It begins
legacy in the face of the new Commandant, the officer disrobes
around the eyes. From there it radiates. A moment that
and sacrifices himself to the machine. However, the apparatus
might tempt one to get under the Harrow oneself. Nothing
instantly falls apart, suggesting that the system of justice that
more happens than that the man begins to understand the
the officer and the apparatus represent is broken and defunct.
inscription, he purses his mouth as if he were listening. You
have seen how difficult it is to decipher the script with one's
QUO
QUOTES
TES eyes; but our man deciphers it with his wounds.”

Note: all page numbers for the quotes below refer to the Related Characters: The Officer (speaker), The Explorer ,
Schocken Books edition of The Complete Stories published in The Prisoner
1995.
Related Themes:
In the Penal Colony Quotes
“For I was the former Commandant's assistant in all-penal Related Symbols:
matters and know more about the apparatus than anyone. My
Page Number: 150
guiding principle is this: Guilt is never to be doubted. Other
courts cannot follow that principle, for they consist of several Explanation and Analysis
opinions and have higher courts to scrutinize them.”
As the officer continues to explain the workings of the
apparatus to the explorer, he points out a crucial part of the
Related Characters: The Officer (speaker), The Prisoner, machine—the way it reveals “justice” to the prisoner. Instead
The Old Commandant of simply being told their sentence, the guilty learn the
reason they are strapped to the apparatus through its
Related Themes: excruciating work, which carves the sentence into their
body with needles over and over again. What’s significant
Page Number: 145 about this form of punishment is that its aim is not to offer
Explanation and Analysis any chance of rehabilitation or repentance to the person
who committed an offense; their fate is clearly death. The
Diverting from his tour of the apparatus, the officer takes a
reason for the punishment is solely to uphold the current
moment to explain the prisoner’s crime and the system of
system of power and the authorities that want to maintain
justice that he follows to the explorer. This is a system he
that power. Justice becomes whatever the people in power
learned from the old Commandant, one that enforces
say that it is, and the people accused of crimes within this
punishment for the sake of maintaining the social order
system are simply sacrifices to demonstrate the power of

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those in charge. The way that justice is “written” in the strongly uphold.
officer’s system is overly complicated in order to prolong
the torture of the apparatus. The fact that the explorer
literally cannot understand the text that bears the
“He has calculated it carefully: this is your second day on
prisoner’s sentence suggests the officer is part of a system
the island, you did not know the old Commandant and his
of justice that is literally incomprehensible to modern, ways, you are conditioned by European ways of thought,
liberal sensibilities. perhaps you object on principle to capital punishment in
general and to such mechanical instruments of death in
particular…”
You are a foreigner, mind your own business. He could
make no answer to that, unless he were to add that he was
Related Characters: The Officer (speaker), The Old
amazed at himself in this connection, for he traveled only as an
Commandant, The New Commandant, The Explorer
observer, with no intention at all of altering other people's
methods of administering justice. Yet here he found himself Related Themes:
strongly tempted. The injustice of the procedure and the
inhumanity of the execution were undeniable.
Related Symbols:

Related Characters: The Prisoner, The Officer, The Page Number: 155
Explorer
Explanation and Analysis
Related Themes: The officer explains his theory about the schemes of the
new Commandant to oust the use of the apparatus, and
Related Symbols: subsequently the officer’s entire system of justice, from the
penal colony. Using the opinion of a famous guest like the
Page Number: 151 explorer would enhance the new Commandant’s viewpoint
and finally put the officer’s way of administering justice to
Explanation and Analysis an end. The officer cites the explorer’s “European ways of
The explorer, watching the officer and soldier begin to strap thought” as the reason for his potential objection to the
the prisoner to the apparatus, continues to have conflicted apparatus. This reinforces the idea that the explorer, and
thoughts about his role in the proceedings. He wants to the new Commandant, represent a liberal mindset that is
avoid conflict and assure himself he is simply a casual oriented toward progress and way from tradition;
observer, yet he also understands that by not intervening he Europeans on the forefront of democracy would be aghast
is complicit in an undeniable demonstration of cruelty. The at the treatment of prisoner in the penal colony. Mentioning
explorer is struggling with his role in the penal colony as he the explorer’s ties to Europe also highlights the cultural
is only guest, yet his Western sensibilities balk at the system differences at work and acknowledges that Westerners are
of justice the officer has explained to him. The “inhumanity” often granted unique power because they are assumed to
of the procedure is a keen judgment against the systems of represent the apex of civilization (a viewpoint that the story
power that the officer upholds and suggest a modern, liberal takes care to complicate through the explorer’s ambiguous
view on the part of the foreign explorer. The explorer, morality).
though, tells himself he must mind his own business
specifically because he is foreign; this deference to cultural
sensitivity allows the explorer to judge the penal colony “Of course the Commandant is the kind of man to have
while keeping his distance. Despite identifying the failings of turned these conferences into public spectacles. He has
the officer’s system, then, the hesitancy of the explorer had a gallery built that is always packed with spectators. I am
demonstrates the failings of a mindset that judges compelled to take part in the conferences, but they make me
horrendous acts but does nothing to stop them. It’s sick with disgust.”
questionable whether the Western viewpoint of the
explorer is really more civilized or advanced than that of the
officer if the explorer is not willing to actually follow Related Characters: The Officer (speaker), The New
through on the principles his own culture purports to Commandant, The Explorer

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The explorer bit his lips and said nothing. He knew very
well what was going to happen, but he had no right to
Related Themes:
obstruct the officer in anything. If the judicial procedure which
Page Number: 158 the officer cherished were really so near its end—possibly as a
result of his own intervention, as to which he felt himself
Explanation and Analysis pledged—then the officer was doing the right thing; in his place
The officer continues to rant about the new Commandant the explorer would not have acted otherwise.
to the explorer and explains how the new leader has made
changes to the way that society operates in the penal Related Characters: The Officer, The Explorer
colony. In the past, residents of the penal colony would only
participate in public life at the executions, crowding around Related Themes:
the apparatus to watch prisoners be tortured. In contrast,
the new Commandant invites the public to conferences Page Number: 163
where there is accountability and participation in civic life
Explanation and Analysis
that doesn’t inherently involve death. This develops the
notion that the new Commandant is aiming toward The explorer understands that the officer, having placed his
progress in a democratic manner that tries to promote sentence in the apparatus and stripped naked, is going to
public good. The officer is disgusted because this is clearly sacrifice himself and die for the system of justice he believes
an abdication of power. The fact that he whole affair is in so much. Despite his disgust for the apparatus, the
actually popular with the residents, however, further shows explorer respects the conviction that binds the officer to his
how everyone has turned away from the officer and the way of life. This conviction notably contrasts with the
antiquated system he believes in. explorer’s own hesitancy to speak up throughout the story,
suggesting that his own morals, however progressive, are
more loosely held than those of the officer. The explorer’s
thinking here again helps him rationalize his lack of action:
Now the officer began to spell it, letter by letter, and then
he cannot disturb the course of events because he respects
read out the words. “‘BE JUST!’ is what is written there,”
the officer too much. Again, he conveniently does not have
he said, “surely you can read it now.”
to put his own culture’s ideals regarding respect for human
life into action.
Related Characters: The Officer (speaker), The Explorer

Related Themes:
The condemned man especially seemed struck with the
Page Number: 160 notion that some great change was impending. What had
happened to him was now going to happen to the officer.
Explanation and Analysis Perhaps even to the very end. Apparently the foreign explorer
Having resolved to become the final victim of the apparatus, had given the order for it. So this was revenge. Although he
the officer spells out his own sentence for the explorer, who himself had not suffered to the end, he was to be revenged to
is still pained to make out what is written on the slips of the end. A broad, silent grin now appeared on his face and
paper that direct the Harrow’s writing. By revealing the stayed there all the rest of the time.
text, the officer is stating that his crime is injustice. From his
perspective, the officer could not maintain the structures Related Characters: The Explorer , The Officer, The
that would properly ensure justice. The fact that the Prisoner
explorer still cannot read the script, however, again
suggests that understanding that this system is Related Themes:
unintelligible to a progressive outsider. The officer is also
imploring the explorer to, at the very least, understand that Page Number: 163
there is some sense to the way that he lived his life and the
Explanation and Analysis
way that he plans to end it.
The prisoner, now freed from the apparatus, is slowly
realizing that the officer is going to suffer the fate that was
originally planned for himself. The dawning realization on

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the part of this member of the penal colony points to the system of justice is shown to be flawed and murderous
bigger shift at work with the officer’s death—the social shift instead of the pinnacle of human order that the officer
toward progress and away from the traditional believed in, and the officer dies without dignity. This
authoritarian structures. The awakening of the prisoner implicitly undercuts his reverence for the apparatus and
also shows the extremity of the reversal of power at work as signals that his way of life is truly over. The way that the
the officer dies. For the first time it appears that the officer is killed is also reminiscent of Jesus’s being pierced
prisoner is even able to formulate thoughts in response to with a spear on the cross. This would suggest a critique of
things that were previous unthinkable, such as a superior dogmatic religious belief, including that which officer felt
officer getting punished instead of the prisoner. That this toward the old Commandment’s system of justice. The
retribution is gleeful suggests that though the officer and officer maintains his belief and conviction until the very
his system of justice are fading away, there is still, end—yet that conviction, clearly, is for naught.
unfortunately, capacity in men’s hearts for delight in the
destruction of others. This, in turn, reflects the story’s
ultimate ambiguity surrounding the way of life suggested by Here rests the old Commandant. His adherents, who now
men like the explorer. must be nameless, have dug this grave and set up this
stone. There is a prophecy that after a certain number of years
the commandant will rise again and lead his adherents from this
[…] no sign was visible of the promised redemption; what house to recover the colony. Have faith and wait!
the others had found in the machine the officer had not
found; the lips were firmly pressed together, the eyes were
Related Characters: The Old Commandant, The Explorer
open with the same expression as in life, the look was calm and
convinced, through the forehead went the point of the great Related Themes:
iron spike.
Page Number: 167
Related Characters: The Officer, The Explorer Explanation and Analysis
Related Themes: The soldier takes the explorer to a teahouse, where the
explorer reads the headstone of the old Commandant. The
Related Symbols: message of the headstone clearly shows the religious
significance of the old Commandant, who ruled the penal
Page Number: 166 colony like an authoritarian god and commanded religious
devotion from his adherents. The stone suggests that the
Explanation and Analysis old Commandant will, like a messiah, come back to help his
In the officer’s final moments, the explorer sees that his face followers. The role of the headstone near the end of the
does not bear the mark of redemption that the officer had story lends more significance to the officer’s sacrifice
boasted comes with dying via the apparatus. Instead, the because it couches the death in the context of religious
officer dies with conviction but no sense of being belief, which the story suggests is a strong, motivating force
enlightened or redeemed. This is an ambiguous ending that for action. For the officer, a true believer, the ways of the old
could suggest redemption via apparatus is impossible and Commandant were worth dying for. By clearly linking
instead was a projection of the officer onto dying men. This religious themes to the old Commandant, the story is
condemning unquestioning belief and autocratic dogma.

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SUMMARY AND ANAL

ANALYSIS
YSIS
The color-coded icons under each analysis entry make it easy to track where the themes occur most prominently throughout the
work. Each icon corresponds to one of the themes explained in the Themes section of this LitChart.

IN THE PENAL COLONY

An officer is proudly showing an explorer a machine called the The story immediately makes plain the difference in power of the
apparatus, which will be used for an execution on a penal characters present. The prisoner is described like a dumb dog
colony situated on a tropical island. The explorer has agreed to unaware of his fate, being executed by a superior officer for the
watch the execution “merely out of politeness.” Behind the pair, purpose of reinforcing obedience to authority. The difference
a soldier guards a lethargic prisoner who will be executed for between the officer, soldier, and prisoner, and the explorer, who is a
disobedient and insulting behavior to a military superior. guest, establishes the cultural divide that persists throughout the
Despite being heavily chained, the prisoner looks “like a story.
submissive dog” who could be set free and then “whistled for
when the execution was due to begin.” The officer is, too,
weighed down in the tropical heat by his uniform that the
explorer notes is unfit for the tropical heat.

Proudly detailing the functions of the apparatus, the officer The officer’s slavish reverence of the old Commandant reveals his
explains that he helped with the development of the delicate near-religious devotion to the leader and his ways. The apparatus is
machine but credit for its invention goes to the old an essential part of the fabric of the old Commandant’s system, and
Commandant, a leader who structured the whole society on as such the officer’s devotion to this order is wrapped up in the
the penal colony. The officer is worshipful as he describes the machine. Holding their conversation in French, meanwhile,
old Commandant’s work as “flawless” and clearly shows disdain illustrates the difference in education and therefore power between
for the new Commandant by suggesting that the new leader the officer and his subordinates, the soldier and the prisoner. French
couldn’t come up with any better ideas even if he had “a also suggests that the explorer is related to Europe and European
thousand new schemes.” The explorer (who is disinterested and ways of thinking.
hardly listening) and officer hold their conversation in French,
though this doesn’t deter the prisoner from also taking an
interest in the officer’s explanations with “a kind of drowsy
persistence.”

As the officer animatedly explains the various parts of the The difference between the old and new ways of the penal colony
apparatus, its three different components—the Bed, the emerge with the officer’s evident scorn for the new Commandant.
Designer, and the Harrow—the explorer becomes more The officer’s attention to detail and enthusiasm for the apparatus
interested in the machine. The officer shows contempt toward also further develop his close relationship to its function in the penal
the new Commandant, who didn’t explain the procedure to the colony. His easy delight in such a grisly sentence also underscores
explorer in the way that the old Commandant always did for that the apparatus makes a cruel spectacle of punishment, and that
guests. Continuing to drone on, the officer explains the the system of justice upheld by the officer is utterly unconcerned
function of the apparatus is to write a prisoner’s sentence with humane treatment.
directly onto their body. The officer cuts his rant short and says
that regardless, he is “certainly the best person to explain the
procedure,” as he has the original drawings that the old
Commandant made.

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Learning of the prisoner’s sentence troubles the explorer, who Describing the system of justice that the officer enforces begins to
becomes curious about the exact system of justice in the penal make clear that the ways of the old Commandant prioritize
colony. The officer explains that he is both judge and maintaining an established system of power over respect for the
executioner, that the prisoner had no defense, and that in his individual. Assuming guilt essentially makes the officer’s word the
proceedings the officer assumes that “Guilt is never to be only truth in this world, robbing the accused of any autonomy or
doubted.” However, this is a system that is beginning to be hope. The new Commandant is beginning to change this situation,
overturned by the new Commandant. suggesting the social shift in the penal colony away from such
antiquated notions of justice.

The officer continues to explain the exact nature of the Learning of the exact nature of the crime makes the sentence even
prisoner’s crime: failing to wake up every hour to salute a more absurd, and this revelation disturbs the explorer, which
captain’s door during the night. After discovering the prisoner’s reinforces the difference between the officer and the explorer’s ways
disobedience, the captain whipped him. Instead of begging for of thinking. By enforcing obedience to arbitrary rules, the officer is
forgiveness, though, the captain claims that the prisoner had making it clear that upholding the system of power is more
screamed wildly, “Throw that whip away or I’ll eat you alive.” important than the nature of the crime being committed.
The officer explains that this is evidence enough, but he adds
that if there were any defense, it would have been totally
constructed of the prisoner’s lies. The officer switches the
subject back to the apparatus, more eager to explain its
function than the rule of law, as the explorer begins to be
agitated by the proceedings.

Ready to be finished with the tour, the explorer exudes distaste The explorer dislikes the officer’s way of dispensing justice yet
for the officer and his system by rationalizes the methods of doesn’t do anything to stop it; he refuses even to speak up at first,
execution to himself as “extraordinary measures” that must be hiding cowardice behind a guise of cultural respect as he tries to
needed on a penal colony. However, he hopes that the new justify the use of the apparatus to himself. Regardless of how
Commandant might intervene. Satisfied with his explanation of inhumane he believes the apparatus to be, the explorer seems to
the judicial system, the officer enthusiastically returns to the value avoiding confrontation more than boldly defending human
“essentials” of the apparatus. The guilty sentence is written on rights. Given that he is throughout the story treated as an emissary
a script that is in turn written onto the flesh by the Harrow that of QWestern civilization, this suggests a subtle jab at the supposed
is made of needles that can be seen through glass. To the superiority of Western culture and social propriety in general.
horror of the explorer (who begins to feel more “culpable” in his
role as an observer), the prisoner gets even closer to the
apparatus. Not wanting the life of the prisoner to absorb the
interest of the explorer from the apparatus, the officer rouses
the dozing soldier to pull the prisoner back onto his feet.

Showing the explorer the “most important” part of the The precious plans are another instance of the officer’s complete
execution, the officer carefully reveals the guiding plans of the devotion to the apparatus. The “embellishments” to the script, too,
apparatus. So precious that only the officer himself can touch are a way of prolonging the work of the apparatus and show its cruel
them, he lets the explorer look but the visitor cannot make out enforcement of justice.
any words on the page. The officer explains that the sentence
has to have lots of “embellishments” along with the script of the
sentencing because the apparatus keeps a man alive for at least
twelve hours, turning him over, staunching his blood, and
feeding him to ensure he lives until the punishment is over.

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Going into excruciating detail, the officer notes the tortured Once again, the more that is revealed about the apparatus the
men are fed warm rice pap but lose the desire to eat in the sixth clearer it becomes that the machine was built for exacting torture
hour—the same time at which they achieve enlightenment. rather than ensuring justice. Not even mentioning a prisoner’s
Breathlessly careening through his explanation, the officer sentence to them, and expecting they will learn as they die, also
continues explaining that ultimately a prisoner “deciphers” his shows the system of the old Commandant does not even consider
sentence with his “wounds,” which he admits to the still silent rehabilitation to be an option.
explorer, is very hard work.

Beginning the work of the execution, the soldier haphazardly By withholding resources to the officer and allowing the apparatus
cuts off the clothing of the prisoner, leaving him surprised and to deteriorate, the new Commandant shows that he is a different
naked as the soldier and the officer secure him to the leader than the old Commandant. The breaking of the apparatus
apparatus. As a strap on the machine breaks, the officer also suggests the breaking of the officer’s system of justice.
complains about the lack of funds to keep the apparatus
operating smoothly. Nostalgically pointing out that under the
old Commandant there was “free access” to money when it
came to maintaining the apparatus, the officer bitterly notes
that the new Commandant is “attacking” the old ways of doing
things by distributing inferior parts for the apparatus and
always with great delays.

As the officer and the soldier busy themselves with preparing It is clear to the explorer that the apparatus and the system it
the prisoner for execution, the explorer struggles with his role represents are inhumane, yet his sense of propriety and fear of being
in the situation. He notes that it’s “ticklish to intervene in other culturally insensitive prevent him from speaking up. In this way, the
people’s affairs” and imagines that if he objects his opinion will story again condemns the explorer for failing to enact the supposed
be dismissed because he is a foreigner. Yet, the explorer is virtues of the Western culture he represents. He is ultimately
“strongly tempted” to act because of the “undeniable” cruelty ineffective at protecting the dignity of human life, and his behavior
and injustice of the apparatus. contrasts with the fervent belief of the officer.

The prisoner vomits. this further infuriates the officer, who The officer’s language and the way he describes the members of the
says that the new Commandant has a “mild doctrine” because penal colony he dismisses are strongly related to religion and show
he does not starve the prisoners before the execution. As the that the officer is the only one who truly has faith. Being on his own
soldier futilely tries to clean the apparatus, the officer reveals also means that the officer’s system is dying out, further showing
that he is the “sole advocate” to the old Commandant’s ways in the change at work in the penal colony.
the penal colony. Others that used to follow the old
Commandant no longer continue to advocate for the apparatus
because they have lost all interest, which makes them useless
to the officer.

Whisking the explorer back to a better time, the officer Again, the language the officer uses to describe the fate of the
describes the days of executions during the time of the old prisoners in the sixth hour has religious significance as he describes
Commandant when there would be “hundreds of spectators” in a change that could also be used to describe a person’s soul. The
attendance. The silent, glittering apparatus would do its work officer’s total rapture in the story also develop his position as the
and the people would see that it was the work of “Justice.” The most faithful follower of the old Commandant.
all-important sixth hour brought the spectators so close that
there had to be spots reserved, sometimes only for children, to
look at the “transfiguration” on the face of the man being
tortured. The officer’s memory is so sweet and absorbing that
he forgets who he’s talking to.

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Embarrassed by the officer’s passion, the explorer remains Here the officer makes it clear that, even if he’s not from Europe, the
quiet. Realizing it is quite hard to believe, the officer explorer still represents a more liberal, Western way of approaching
nonetheless argues that the current state of affairs—namely justice. This signals the transition to progress and continues to
the emptiness of the valley and the decrepit apparatus—is develop the cultural differences at work in the story.
shameful. The officer suspects that the new Commandant will
use the authority and opinion of the explorer, a famous guest
“conditioned by European ways of thought,” to finally put an
end to executions using the apparatus.

The officer continues to rant, pointing out that the explorer is Ironically, the officer is aware enough to recognize that methods of
probably thinking that in Europe they haven’t used torture torture used in the Middle Ages were cruel but cannot make this
since “the Middle Ages.” The officer cautions the explorer, connection with the apparatus. It’s clear that the explorer, not
saying the new Commandant will twist anything the explorer wanting to risk action, is happy because he doesn’t have to be the
says into a pretext to discontinuing the apparatus. Gleeful, the one to interfere with this other culture to uphold his values. The
explorer explains that he indeed does disapprove of the officer’s suspicions about the new Commandant show that, once
apparatus but downplays his authority, saying his opinion again, there are social changes at work in the penal colony.
would be “private” and if the new Commandant wants to end
the use of the apparatus he already has the power to do so.

The explorer’s resistance causes the officer to become even The new Commandant’s public meetings suggest a more liberal,
more fervent about the importance of preserving the progressive environment that contrasts sharply with the public
apparatus. He bluntly pleads for the explorer to help him. spectacle of executions under the old Commandant. The officer
When the explorer rebuffs saying he cannot help or “hinder” truly believes that the explorer has the power to shift the views on
the officer, the latter gets even more insistent, encouraging the the penal colony and create a change, which suggests that the
explorer to believe in himself and his authority. The officer lays explorer does have authority as a visitor from the West and outsider
out his plan: the explorer will make an eloquent speech when to the culture.
the new Commandant holds one of his conferences that are
“public spectacles” open to the anyone. At the end of this
rousing defense of the apparatus, or even a mild, subdued,
defense, the new Commandant will see the error of his ways
and humble himself before the system of the old Commandant.

Patronizing and steadfast in his convictions, the explorer says By making it plainly clear that he will not help the officer, the
he is “touched” by the conviction of the officer but refuses to explorer—who was the officer’s last hope— effectively declares the
help him maintain the apparatus and the system it represents. end of the apparatus. The officer looking like an “old man” connects
The officer realizes that the explorer will not change his mind him to an antiquated tradition that has no place in the new social of
and that his “procedure” was not convincing. Dazed, he looks at the penal colony. The officer exercises his power one last time by
the explorer like an “old man” looks at a young, foolish child. The letting the prisoner go, suggesting the arbitrary nature of the man’s
officer releases the prisoner, telling him that he is free. Unsure selection for punishment in the first place; he’d been chosen largely
of the reason for his change in fate, the prisoner is excited to put on a show for the explorer, rather than to pay for any real
nonetheless and struggles on his own to break the straps of the crime.
apparatus.

Admonishing the prisoner for being rough with the apparatus, The sentence is a declaration of what the individual who is guilty
the officer spells out his own sentence—"BE JUST!”—and shows should do. Therefore, the officer is guilty of being unjust for being
it to the explorer. As with the previous script, the explorer unable to continue to preserve the system he believes is the only
cannot read the words, but the officer is at least “partly way of achieving justice.
satisfied” with the explorer’s efforts as he mounts the
apparatus to input the new sentence.

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The officer quickly and stoically strips naked, breaks his sword, It’s clear that the officer is going to sacrifice himself in the place of
and climbs onto the apparatus. The explorer is uncomfortable the prisoner in the name of his beliefs, which suggests a twisted
with the officer’s behavior but ultimately believes that the parallel with Jesus Christ sacrificing himself on the cross. The
officer’s decision to execute himself is “the right thing” because unwavering, religious dedication to the judicial system impresses
it demonstrates his unflinching dedication to his judicial the explorer, who again chooses not to interfere.
system.

After a brief bit of wrestling with the soldier, the prisoner, upon The prisoner is happy to see an inversion of the former order of
seeing the officer naked, realizes a change is at hand and “grins” power—so much so that he enlists the soldier to help ensure there is
at the revenge about to take place, attributing this change to no way for the officer to escape from the apparatus. That he and the
the explorer’s intervention. With grace and an adept hand, the soldier team up so quickly suggests the arbitrary nature of the
officer turns on the apparatus and demonstrates his working power hierarchy under the Old commandant. Further, the fact that
understanding and intimacy with the machine. So dedicated is the prisoner attributes this change to the explorer’s doing further
the officer that he doesn’t need to be strapped down; the props up the power of the Western individual in this context.
prisoner and soldier eagerly decide to do it anyway because it
seems like the execution would be “incomplete” otherwise.

Starting of its own accord, the apparatus does its work, at first Once again, the explorer has disdain for the members of the penal
silently to the explorer, who is completely entranced before colony. Ironically, though, when he finally tries to use his authority it
noticing the curious and rapt attention of the soldier and the is meant as a show of respect for apparatus and the
prisoner. Seeing the men delighting in the execution makes the officer—perhaps suggesting his own sense of social superiority to
explorer disgusted. Finally using his authority, the explorer lower class men like the prisoner and soldier, despite his ostensibly
orders the two men to go home, but the prisoner begs to stay. more democratic Western beliefs. The state of the apparatus further
Before his annoyance turns to violence, the explorer is shows that the system it represents is crumbling and mirrors the
distracted by the apparatus, which is no longer silent but quite dying officer who is also the last proponent of that system.
loudly falling to pieces.

The explorer finally decides to act once he realizes the officer’s In the climax of the story, the officer dies without receiving
death will be “plain murder” rather than “exquisite torture.” redemption. This might suggests that he was not actually guilty of
Attempting in vain to free the officer from the bonds of the the crime he committed—by letting the prisoner go and sacrificing
apparatus, the explorer receives help reluctantly from the himself, he was in fact being just for once. However, this moment
soldier and prisoner. As they try to save the officer, the could just as easily be read as evidence that the entire system of
explorer gets a last glimpse of the officer’s face, which is absent “justice” the officer represented was fundamentally flawed, and that
of the “promised redemption” the man had suggested that no prisoners ever actually achieved “enlightenment.” The explorer
prisoners attained on the apparatus. Despite this, the officer acts too slowly to save the officer and his description of the
continues to look “calm and convinced” as the apparatus drives apparatus shows the machine for its true purpose—murder. That
a spike through his head. The officer dies, and the apparatus the officer is ultimately killed by a spike is another connection to
finally stops working. Jesus Christ, who was stabbed by a spear when he hung on the
cross.

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The explorer, soldier, and prisoner return to the penal colony The old Commandant’s grave is a clear indication of his religious
and visit a teahouse, which holds the grave of the old significance, even as the priest’s instructions suggest that the old
Commandant. Speaking for the first time, the soldier tells the Commandant was an aberration of the priest’s God. The
explorer that the “priest wouldn’t let him lie in the graveyard.” instructions to followers to “Have faith and wait!” is a messianic
The explorer reads the old Commandant’s headstone, which is expectation that is common in both Christianity and Judaism.
actually a prophecy that the leader will someday rise again and
tells the adherents to “Have faith and wait!”

Before leaving the teahouse, the explorer distributes some The explorer’s wealth is further evidence of his power as a foreigner.
coins to the dockworkers, a quiet, homely group of men who He would rather hand out money than talk to anyone at the
are just hanging out without any real purpose. The explorer teahouse in the same way he would rather think about his ideas of
quickly exits the teahouse, showing he has no interest in talking justice and the right of human dignity without actually enacting
with anyone. The soldier and the prisoner run after the them in the penal colony. The soldier and prisoner’s mad dash
explorer, attempting to “force him” to take them off the penal suggest that despite the disappearance of the apparatus, life in the
colony. The explorer has no interest in saving the men, penal colony is still undesirable. The explorer’s reaction to the men
however. Instead, he threatens them with a rope as the boat shows that though Western minds may value justice, he is hesitant
leaves the dock, and the two men, perhaps scared or to actually help those in need and considers himself innately
intimidated, don't try to follow him any further. superior to men like the prisoner and soldier.

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To cite any of the quotes from In the Penal Colony covered in the
HOW T
TO
O CITE Quotes section of this LitChart:
To cite this LitChart: MLA
MLA Kafka, Franz. In the Penal Colony. Schocken Books. 1995.
Judy, Mason. "In the Penal Colony." LitCharts. LitCharts LLC, 7 Feb CHICA
CHICAGO
GO MANU
MANUAL
AL
2019. Web. 21 Apr 2020.
Kafka, Franz. In the Penal Colony. New York: Schocken Books.
CHICA
CHICAGO
GO MANU
MANUAL
AL 1995.
Judy, Mason. "In the Penal Colony." LitCharts LLC, February 7,
2019. Retrieved April 21, 2020. [Link]
the-penal-colony.

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