The Trial of KafkaComparing Franz Kafka with a more modern author, like JK Rowling, is a bit like comparing Wilt Chamberlain to Kobe Bryant. It is extremely difficult to compare these two NBA stars when they played sixty years apart. There are so many factors to consider including: quality of coaching, competition, etc. Like Chamberlain and Bryant, Kafka and any modern author are very difficult to oppose. Kafka comes from a place and situation that is foreign to almost everyone who reads him. How can he be compared to anyone other than himself? Who determines whether Kafka is great or not? Even in basketball, there are statistics (points, rebounds, blocks) that can be compared, but in writing the only thing that can be compared is sales. According to this, JK Rowling is in a league of her own compared to Kafka. The point I'm trying to make is that you, as the reader, may be the sole determiner of that greatness. Yes; schools and universities make you read the novel, but the only person who can decide if it truly is a masterpiece is you. This essay will attempt to explain my opinion on why I think Franz Kafka, and specifically The Trial, is something that has been taught and analyzed for over fifty years..