In Kafka’s “Before the Law” reveals  a sense of control. Here we have a citizen who is trying to make his way past the gate but is having a hard time getting through. When people attain a a certain position in life especially of authority, it somewhat  reveals their personality. There is a deep routed issue with some authorities over using their power feeling they are better than the citizens below them. The gatekeeper watched this man suffer and repeatedly  denied his request . It is unclear the reasons why his request was overturned for all those years but from a readers point of view shows a man of authority taking advantage of a powerless man. For example (Kafka Before the law pg 19) The gatekeeper says, “If it attempts you so much, try going inside in spite of my prohibition. But take note. I am powerful”. The gatekeeper uses his power as a way to control the situation by scaring the man. This shows that as much effort as you put in to succeed , sometimes you can’t win. The man was near death and gave up almost everything however the gatekeeper didn’t  want to make him feel like he was a failure because he got a personal gain. This indicates a form of bribery that happens all the time especially in the governments. Unfortunately, this is what it came down to. The gatekeeper had control over this situation.