The Trial

I think Kafka was trying to communicate how intricate and complex the law is, to the point that even the people inside the law dont know how it works, with endless circles of hierarchy, formalities and rites. Josef's cause was lost from the beginning and he allowed himself to be lead on by his lawyer and other people who claimed to know how the tribunal operated (such as the painter and the business man) but none of them actually knew how the tribunal worked and were only guided by superstition and rumors. The whole story was a futile attempt of a normal man who was slowly dragged to the deep by the trial, but refused to become an animalized version of himself, such as the business man, who behaved like a dog whose leash was held by the lawyer. The verdict was inexorable, and nobody really knew why and how. This is further exemplified by the priest's metaphor, the priest himself admitting that there isn't a definitive interpretation of the metaphor.