Throughout history, even fictional, we have read and heard stories of people who took the justice system into their own hands. The story of Robin Hood, for example, was about a man who took from the rich and gave to the poor. Then there's Martin Luther King, a man who wanted equal justice for anyone who breathed. These are men who believed that they had to take justice into their own hands in order to be heard. Knowing the purpose that theses men had, society saw them as heroes. They were heroes who wanted justice. Such is the same for Michael Kohlhaas, the fictional character of Heinrich von Kleist's short story, Michael Kohlhaas. This is a story of a man living in the 16th century who suffers injustice, and takes the law in his own hands to see that justice would be done. He seeks revenge by establishing a private army, gets the support of the population and becomes a threat for the whole establishment. Though the outcome is brutal, the question is: was Kohlhaas unlawful? -Or was Kohlhaas treated unjust?
             It seems that the simple answers lies within the law. If Junker Wenzel von Tronka broke the law, then Kohlhaas was treated unjustly. –But through the civil disobedience that Kohlhaas acted upon, he was acting unlawfully. So, how should Michael Kohlhaas be judged? In the beginning of the story, it is easy to see that he was treated unjustly. He was asked for a permit that was not really needed, his horses were mistreated, and his faith in the justice system failed when his request for trial was denied. Therefore, because of terrible mistreatment, he searched for revenge and acted unlawfully. He burned the castle of Junker Wenzel von Tronka, destroyed the town that hides the Junker and continued to cause chaos until the Junker was delivered. He seeked justice through all the right officials and it is only after justice has been denied that he takes that law into his own hands.
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