Before the Law is a parable by Kafka that tells the tale of someone who wanted to get into a gate specifically made for him, had the opportunity to, but died before being able to do anything.
This parable is used because it gives the reader an easy time connecting this idea of "Law" to their lives and tragedy itself. Summed up, I believe that Kafka describes tragedy as the struggle of trying to reach what is right, and how there are infinite obstacles that will stand in your way. Along with these obstacles, there are people who can reach your destination without experiencing the struggles that you have to deal with, and this gives the person trying to reach the "Law" a feeling of failure, because of how the only thing that stopped you from reaching your destination is the fact that you are yourself.
Overall, I thought this was a very well made representation on tragedy as a whole, especially when connected to Antigone. For Antigone, the gate and gatekeepers were Creon and the law that Creon created. For Creon, the gate and gatekeepers were Antigone and his family, and they tried to stop him from reaching his ideal law.
This parable is used because it gives the reader an easy time connecting this idea of "Law" to their lives and tragedy itself. Summed up, I believe that Kafka describes tragedy as the struggle of trying to reach what is right, and how there are infinite obstacles that will stand in your way. Along with these obstacles, there are people who can reach your destination without experiencing the struggles that you have to deal with, and this gives the person trying to reach the "Law" a feeling of failure, because of how the only thing that stopped you from reaching your destination is the fact that you are yourself.
Overall, I thought this was a very well made representation on tragedy as a whole, especially when connected to Antigone. For Antigone, the gate and gatekeepers were Creon and the law that Creon created. For Creon, the gate and gatekeepers were Antigone and his family, and they tried to stop him from reaching his ideal law.