"In the Penal Colony" by Franz Kafka is written in 3rd person omniscient point of view. The main character in the story is the commandant, one of the most sadistic characters I have ever read about. The Commandant designed a "device" that tortures a person for twelve hours slowly cutting the person in half. The antagonist in this story is the commandant. The explorer who is introduced as a witness to this device is expected to give criticism and to state his horror when a prisoner is about to face this torture. The characters in this story represent different parts of society.
The imagery surrounding this device is well crafted. Kafka describes to the reader a device that is so complicated as well as foreign expertly until the reader can actually imagine the device.
The main conflict for the commandant is that he is a member of an old dying regime and he finds himself on the outs with new leadership. He doesn't need to use the device but he loves it dearly. The sickness and the dialogue in this story is amazing to me.
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