"But time's marching on, the execution ought to be starting and I haven't finished explaining the apparatus yet." Kafka's work Into the Penal Colony drives into the heart of man's soul with his references to justice and compassion. A traveler is sought to witness an execution by use of an extraordinary machine called the harrow. He is explained the entire process by the officer in charge, who delights in describing the capabilities that this death machine offers. Yet as the story progresses, the traveler grows less and less fond of this execution, and determines to speak out against it. The lack of justice and difference of the penal colony's judicial system is the main theme of this story, and this is seen in many facets of Kafka's creation.
             The reader is first introduced to the harrow right in the very beginning of the story, signifying what the colony's "justice" is based upon. "It's an exceptional apparatus," speaks of the unique capabilities of the harrow, and that is found out soon after. "Both the bed and the designer have their own electric battery; the bed needs one for itself and the designer needs one for the harrow." The heart of life in this penal colony is the excitement surrounding this murder machine and its functions.
             The process of execution also startles the traveler as well as the audience, especially when described through the officer's own words. He tells the traveler that the man does not know his sentence and will not be allowed to give a defense; "The guiding truth for my decisions is this: Guilt is unquestionable." This one-sided justice is met with a reaction in us like that of the traveler's: "He was not satisfied with the explanation of the judicial process." Kafka leaves the reader with a furrowed brow, trying to decipher what this legal system really revolves around. The officer sees...