In the Penal Colony
by Franz Kafka
The story is set in an unnamed penal colony. Internal clues and the setting on an island suggest Octave Mirbeau's The Torture Garden as an influence. As in some of Kafka's other writings, the narrator in this story seems detached from, or perhaps numbed by, events that one would normally expect to be registered with horror. In the Penal Colony describes the last use of an elaborate torture and execution device that carves the sentence of the condemned prisoner on his skin in a script before letting him die, all in the course of twelve hours. As the plot unfolds, the reader learns more and more about the machine, including its origin, and original justification.
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Public Domain Information: In the Penal Colony is identified by us as a public-domain work in the United States based on its publication history and applicable copyright terms. Copyright status can differ between countries, so readers should consider the laws applicable to their location.
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