The New Advocate

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"The New Advocate" (German: "Der neue Advokat") is a short story from A Country Doctor by Franz Kafka. [1] [2] It is a very brief piece that illustrates Kafka's view of lawyers. [3] A firm has hired a new associate, Bucephalos. The narrator realizes that times have changed, but hopes that people will hold back on any judgement and accept this new associate for who he is, and what he is capable of.

One scholar has suggested that this story and Kafka's letters illustrate his distaste for the legal profession. [4]

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References

  1. The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, and Other Stories. Franz Kafka, tr. Willa and Edwin Muir.
  2. Franz Kafka (1988). "The Complete Stories".
  3. "Max Weber and Franz Kafka: A Shared Vision of Modern Law" by D. Litowitz, in Law, Culture and the Humanities, 2010
  4. "Reclaiming Franz Kafka, Doctor of Jurisprudence" by G. Dargo, in Brandeis Law Journal, 2006.