Abstract: The proverbial debate over the influence of ethical conundrums and their reflection on the lives of impressionable youth is at its precipice. The contemporary law student – more so than students in any other discipline – isdelving into the question, “Whether the moral exhortations and ethical dilemmas, averring an existential crisis that haunts the protagonist of a literary work,give life to their own emotional quandaries.” The evolving paradigm and the resounding implications of literary works are being acknowledged, as the student evolves to become more conscious. With the march of time, it is apparent that the misunderstood geniuses of their times find vindication in the reverence warmly proffered by the current generation. The central idea that the legal world is both marred and particularly decorated by the vices and virtues of literature has become the nexus in a law student’s search for ideological clarity. The complex relation that an individual has with their own conscience is being brought forth more frequently, articulated with an air of dissonance that permeates society. The era of intellectual pursuits is nigh, and the individual is lost in search of their own identity, constantly yearning for authenticity.
I. INTRODUCTION
“Cogito, Ergo Sum”
The seven stages of life, born again to die again, the inevitable cycle insinuated by Shakespeare, is a remarkable summation of man from cradle to grave. But where in these stages does the man develop a conscience, a personal set of ethics, a morality or a sense of justice and fairness?
It cannot be indubitably stated that life in college is the sole reason for the ‘becoming’ of a person, the character and characteristics, yet it can be affirmed with surety that the life of a law student differs from others in this aspect. In the quiet corridors of a law school, a novice law enthusiast is plunged into confusion and the Age of Sensibility, as Dr. Samuel Johnson would indubitably agree, brings forth a perennial existential crisis. The throes of a complex and daunting legal system laid bare; along with the inner moral and ethical quandaries, exaggerated by a youthful vigor, confounds the naïve student and propels him to explore abstract ideas. Rather a personal turmoil than philosophical musing, it leads him to a fundamental question which has troubled thinkers across cultures and religions since time immemorial – the question of existence and essence.
The meaning of existence and essence lies in the difference between the objectivity and subjectivity possessed by an individual, as Jean-Paul Sartre observes in his illustrious work Nausea, wherein a rock by the sea plays a part similar to that of the apple on Newton’s head. Whereas existence is the state of being that precedes essence; essence ponders whether in a quixotic scheme of existence that constitutes all perceivable factions of life there is authenticity or only antiquity. A legal scholar in his early days is burdened with existence, yet he is wholly unsure of his essence. The experience of an individual then plays a vital role to segregate the two.
Now, this experience need not be original to inspire thoughts; it can be borrowed from famous fictional character as well. These fictional anomalies aid our legal students because the essence of the protagonist, along with their quirks and peccadilloes, are laid bare, not as insignificant details but as the bedrock of the protagonist’s ideologies.
The essence is then built steadily by the novice’s own whimsy and fancy through the works of these luminaries who have walked the same road. One finds that The Road Not Taken is perhaps more frequented by other birds of like feather than one might imagine, and though it is scarcely
pleasant, it is more often than not rewarding.
The role that a fictional character plays is subtle yet powerful. Characters like Mowgli and Peter pan, for instance, are held up as an ideal to a jubilant juvenile to spark nobility and creativity. Fictional characters are an inseparable part of growth and the same is apparent for in our household fables and folk tales which are regaled repetitively with affection and fascination.
However, the quantum and depth of enquiry must progress and with the next stage of life, the echoes of characters such as Josef K., RodyaRaskolnikov, Antoine Roquentin, Sisyphus, Big Brother & Winston Smith, etc., are found relevant in the initial development of the unique essence of a law student. The dubious nature of these caricatures of life in rusty pages helps us delve further into the human psyche and explore in a wonderland of hypotheticals. A mental landscape with ethical and existential turbulences is built to protect, preserve and, in time, raze the accepted social and legal norms of the society.
The turbulence in one’s perspective towards abstract ideas of existentialism is essential to turn the coal of ideas into diamond. Once the self is assured and the battle within settles, the time comes to address the elephant in the room, i.e. the established redundant and tyrannical bureaucracy of the legal pantheon. Thus, on his inception into the legal field the student gets to peek behind the curtain and it is revealed to him in whispers of generations of his forbears that within these hallowed and decorated walls not all that glitters is gold.
It is now pertinent to understand the myriad of trials a cognitive and inquisitive student goes through for he is the instrument of change, the prodigal son that must return to take up the mantle and ingratiate himself in a towering legal system and begin to sow the seeds of change.
II. ETHICS AND EXISTENTIALISM: LEGAL NARRATIVES FROM A LAW STUDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
Law is a function of hypotheticals. A law student usually starts his understanding of these hypotheticals with problems like the Trolley-Footbridge Dilemma, Doctor’s Dilemma, Grandfather Paradox, Lifeboat case and similar others. In law schools, these hypotheticals are
usually conjoined with classes on ethics wherein the subjectivity that these dilemmas were meant to inspire is shaped objectively to one end or the other.
A greenhorn’s such didactic introduction to ethical conundrums can draw him to substantial existential questions. The novice might find himself navigating the grey mist of ethics and existentialism akin to Sisyphus rolling the boulder up the hill only for it to roll down midway again and again. Whereas Sisyphus’s condemnation under the god’s indifferent gaze symbolizes an unending struggle, he is left to ponder whether his own existential quandaries hold any promise of resolution.
Trolley dilemma, designed by Philippa Foot in 1967, is a classic thought experiment that has since been adapted by various philosophers into different versions – well, some of those don’t even involve trolleys. The experiment introduces a scenario wherein a runaway trolley is on course and it is you – the driver – whocan pull a lever, rerouting the trolley, and save five people by sacrificing one person.
Nine years later in 1976, J. J. Thomson introduced his versions of the trolley problem. In one of those, you – a bystander on a footbridge – can shove down a fat man to stop the trolley in its tracks thereby saving those five people. Thomson’s version makes the original problem even more intriguing and ethically challenging. Thomson argued that since the way out of this dilemma lies in minimization of harm, pushing the fat man onto the tracks is a morally justified act. Foot disagreed with Thomson and opined that it would be morally justified to let one person die in the first case but killing the fat man in second one isn’t, because where former is an oblique consequence, the latter is a directly intended act. This trolley-footbridge dilemma stands at the crossroads of consequentialist moral philosophy and deontological ethics and have sparked mixed opinions ever since. Though, do we have one right answer to it or more importantly, should we have one right answer?
Any such non-contextual ethical conundrum when introduced in this constricted manner with binary and mutually-exclusive answers to it ironically serves only one purpose – fracturing the individuality of thought with which a student enters this chaos that legal education is. Though, this is not to be construed to mean that all solutions to such ethical puzzles are justifiable but that it is not the solutions that these puzzles seek which has unfortunately been the focus of academic curriculums in our law schools.
This inadvertent imposition of conformity in the name of professional precepts is where the seeds of perturbation are sown in law freshmen. Those with an exposure to existentialist ideas of Sartre, Beauvoir start to perceive these problems as an imposition of absolutes and erosion of their personal authenticity – the resilient battles, the vulnerable yields. With progression and introduction of relatively grounded ethical dilemmas, the relentless tide of self-reflection ebbs and flows and inevitably, an existential breakdown emerges from the depths nonetheless.
“Where do we belong” or “What is our purpose” are fundamental existential questions that all mortal beings have pursued in their lives at one point or the other. The ethical pathos of the legal field when intertwined with this perennial quest brings forth a rather discrete existential question- How can personal authenticity be explored outside the bounds of professional conformity?
Legal narratives have always fascinated laymen and lawmen alike, a bold protagonist subjected to a breathtaking challenge or him invoking a grit and mettle in the process of overcoming that challenge has always gained empathy from readers of all age, race, creed and descent. But the influence of these legal narratives on the lives of law students especially those in the cradles of law, is condemnably obscure.
Beyond the intricacies of legal statutes and legal jargon, story narratives have the potential to be an evolving intellect’s guiding light. Whether it’s Atticus Finch from Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird or Jake Brigance from John Grisham’s A Time To Kill, both stand as moral compasses and icons of personal integrity in their respective narratives. Apparently, they both stand tall against societal biases and prejudicial deliverance of justice. But this is not the Phial with the Light of Earendil as the whole conundrum is neatly wrapped up in little pairs of lessons in these stories.
Upon reading To Kill A Mockingbird, a troubled first year law student may grapple with several questions such as indifference of Atticus Finch’s character towards Bob Ewell – father of alleged rape victim, especially considering Ewell’s act of spitting in Atticus’s face and threatening his children; and the emotional detachment he maintains throughout with his client, Tom Robinson, which is quite apparent in the way he deals with Tom’s demise. Similarly, an attentive reading of the book surprisingly suggests Atticus being a white supremacist as his defence of Tom is wholly based on himself being an honorable man. He plays to white prejudice, never questioning American racial system – an observation which is buttressed upon reading Lee’s Go Set A Watchman.
Furthermore, on the question of gravity of indifference to societal norms it will be remiss if one does not consider the harrowing and thought provoking work of Albert Camus, The Stranger. The Stranger or The Outsider, deeply entrenched in existentialist work of Camus, plays out an intriguing bureaucratic process through which Arthur Meursault was condemned. The peculiar aspect of the condemnation was the emphasis of the judges, jury, the Magistrate and the lawyers on the lack of conformity of the accused to the societal norms. It was irrelevant that the violation to the proposed conformity was passive rather than aggressive, more internal than external and inconsequential. He was portrayed as a heathen by the people, his indifference viewed as apathy, and the one defender of the accused the lawyer in his corner refused him the opportunity to be candid and honest. The Stranger evokes a bad taste in the mouth of a young law student yet akin to medicine it strengthens the acumen of the student towards the idiosyncrasies of the legal system.
Another fictional character who is the opposite face of the same coin, one who tries vigorously and religiously to rise above societal morality, unlike Arthur Meursault, and fails miserably at the hands of his mother, sister and dear Sonya is Roskolnikov. A young ex-law student who lived in extreme poverty with only his wits and superiority complex about him, ironically both of which are compromised in due course of events. Fyodor Dostoevsky in his acclaimed novel Crime and Punishment depicted the ‘divided’ and ‘schismatic’ mind of a law student which is due to the inert state of society. The inert state is marred with societal norms and values which were discredited by Roskolnikov and the consequences were dire. The inner turmoil of the character, the disdain towards society and the willingness to alienate from society are not sufficient for his existence. It must not be taken lightly that the murderer was once a student of law and what led to his downfall was the absurdity of the legal institutions, unable to reconcile with the institutions amicably he turned to abhor it with a vengeance. The character is an excellent lesson to young intellectuals regarding the perils of pride and intellectualism. The collapse of Roskolnikov can also be accredited to his belief that the moral standards set in the society must be transcended to join the ‘supermen’ occult to which Napoleon belonged.
The observations made in these fictional worlds bring to the understanding of an individual a conceited truth. It is not the glaringly obvious “righteous” path for readers in literary fictions paved by the convoluted author that can be a fructuous resort in times of existential dilemmas but pondering upon the open-ends of the quandary that troubles the protagonist. It is only in exploring those loosely knitted fabrics of the narrative that a reader can actually find himself in the shoes of protagonist battling the conundrum that surrounds him. Only then can he will himself free while also being within the narrative. Only then can he be authentic.
III. CHALLENGING THE MACHINE:A LAW STUDENT’S ICONOCLASTIC JOURNEY
Authenticity is an often underappreciated commodity, particularly when held by neophytes lost in ideological pursuits and therefore, authenticity keeps on looking for pathways to manifest itself. In these campaigns of newly embraced subjectivity, a young law student often resorts to challenging existing legal institutional framework.
He is catapulted beyond the walls of the law school into the external world with its injustices and absurdity. Now, the novice looks at the legal world not as an aspiring lawyer but as a discerning reformist – someone who can’t help noticing all the flaws within the system he was taught to revere and strengthen. He begins to feel like an insider who is, in reality, an outsider – a sentiment capsulated by none better than the 20th century German iconoclast Franz Kafka.
Kafka’s works, prominently The Trial and The Castle, offer a very lucid depiction of this alienation. The law in Kafka’s works is an impervious labyrinth – inconceivable to traverse and unconcerned to individual’s misery. The student, upon an exposure to Kafka’s works, sees his own quandaries being mirrored in the ordeals of Kafka’s protagonist as they both wrestle with the dehumanizingeffects of an institution which pushes for self preservation before heeding to injustice.
The Castle, a convoluting and perplexing maze traversed by K., who arrived in a peculiar village as a land surveyor. The village is governed by a magnificient dreary Castle, which is host to a baffling bureaucratic system. Even though K. is himself a part of the governing authority, an agent of the State, he is thwarted by the elusive nature of the officials of the foreboding Castle. The people of the village persistently subservient are of no help. Here, the acute sense of helplessness and alienation is permeated in a crude manner. The novel was ultimately never finished; it ends abruptly and unsatisfactorily perhaps to evoke the parable of the Chinese Farmer. Morbid themes are unquestionably present in the novel; however, it represents a reality which even in the land of fantasy cannot be denied. If even the insider of a supposed bureaucratic system is not allowed audience with the overlords then who shall cross the impregnable walls to effect novelty in the prevalent system.
In The Penal Colony by Kafka is yet another eerie and ominous short story that delves into the theme of justice and purpose of punishment. It highlights the philosophical exigencies that prevail in a corrupt penal system. The haunting book dives into the trademark style of Kafka with the exploration of bureaucratic absurdity and the persistent existential dread. The novel reflects a dystopian legal system where punishment is devoid of humanity and rationality and serves as a frightening allegory for the pitfalls of blind obedience to authority and the dehumanization palpable in bureaucratic systems. A legal system is not spared, thus, the authenticity of any individual must be preserved through any means necessary. A part must not be lost within the whole. To prevent decay the parts which are rotten must be shed willingly, similar to the execution of The Officer by his own volition.
The fictional world has also been leaned upon by other classical writers to criticize the absurdity of a legal system, for instance, Bleak House by Charles Dickens, The Fixer by Bernard Malamud, The Man Who Was Thursday by G.K. Chesterton, The Process by Peter Weiss, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey and others. Dickens’ masterpiece Bleak House stands on a pedestal of its own balancing a critique of the British legal system and the farcical society that encourages it. The scathing indictment of the Court of Chancery in the interminable case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce is subtle yet powerful enough to depict the futile bureaucracy of the legal system. The case in this fascinating novel drags over a ridiculous amount of time rendering the process of law by itself obsolete. The saving grace which inspires hope in the story is the morality and ethos of Esther Summerson whose intricate individuality is a pleasure to read and emulate. There are complex characters in the novel that nudge the reader gently towards the realization that the throes of institutionalized oppression are immense and can carry forward to generations.
Not delving into the the Posner-West debate surrounding Kafka’s works but whether they be personal reflections or institutional critiques, the Kafkaesque absurdity is not just confined to the hardbound sheets in a grisly library. It resonates with the real world critique of socio-legal institutions by a number of thinkers such as Michael Foucault’s Discipline and Punish which brings into light the ways in which institutional power perpetuates itself through the narrow corridors of complex bureaucratic systems.
As the young iconoclast questions the entrenched norms and practices of the legal realm, he witnesses the sobering reality – the sheer resilience that the rotten frameworks hold. These institutions, as he discovers, are much more than mere collections of statutes and procedures – they are deeply intertwined with societal power dynamics and vested interests of certain classes.
This realization is redolent of Max Weber’s analysis of bureaucratic systems. Weber highlighted how institutional structures are designed to maintain stability and perpetuity, often at the cost of individual agency and meaningful reforms as the vulnerability of legal institutions to being used as the arm and ammunition of tyranny is not hidden from a prudent foresight. George Orwell in his polemic work 1984 has vividly visualized this dystopian era of law. Also, in The Origins of Totalitarianism, Hannah Arendt illustrated how the institutions can become so focused on this that might lose sight of their original objective and thereby transform from instruments of justice into mechanisms of control.
Tested with these hindrances, the student’s initial ardour gives way to a more nuanced understanding of the complexity of legal institutions and the limits of individual action within them. He recognizes that the institutions he wishes to reform are far more resistant than they appear and the changes he envisioned require much more than passion and perspective. This evolving awareness doesn’t just temper his enthusiasm – it pushes him into a deeper confrontation with his ideals and his position within the task before him.
The student’s discerning perspective collapses under the weight of this revelation. The institutions that seemed ripe for transformation now appear as gigantic entities unmoved by his efforts. On the other hand, he has come to realize the futility of stability within the system too. Struck and shrunk, he enters into a somber space wherein seeds of his next evolution are planted and the stage for a profound rethinking of his approach to law, justice and reform is set.
VI. REIMAGINING THE LEGAL THOUGHT: VOICES FROM THE GLOBAL SOUTH
While the preceding discussion has predominantly engaged with Western literary narratives and their impact on legal consciousness, alternative epistemologies from the Global South offer equally compelling insights into the formation of legal identity. It is irrefutable that there exists an imposition and to a certain extent the pervasive effect of the colonial rule and mindset in the literature and law of the Global South. Though, the evolving perspectives on the synergy of law and literature have been led by activists and socialists in these countries unlike the literature elite in European diaspora. The ubiquitous nature of these authors reflects the perpetual idea of challenging the hegemony of Eurocentric paradigms and to incessantly advocate for an inclusive and contextually grounded understanding of law. Satish Deshpande’s work on learning and evaluation in Indian higher education, for instance, underscores the importance of culturally rooted pedagogy. Eminent legal scholar Upendra Baxi extends this by questioning the universalizing assumptions that often underpin Western legal frameworks. Baxi’s analysis foregrounds the lived realities of postcolonial societies, arguing for a justice system that reflects the complexities and pluralities of these diverse contexts.
Now, the pluralistic tendencies emphasized in these countries relate to personal laws that are dubbed as draconian by the European world due to one or another reason. The 2025 Booker Prize winner BanuMushtaq, a writer, activist and lawyer, in ‘Heart Lamps’ details experiences of women in a small corner of the world, the novel through its myriad of stories reflects the impervious position upheld by religious leaders acting on behalf of a presupposed and predetermined law, the gender bias theme is a result of an oppressive patriarchal regime common in many of the countries in the Global South.
The subtleties of religious commandments under the garb of law against the pragmatic and the presumed liberal law has been the focal point of much of the literature in the Global South. Writers such as Arundhati Roy, in ‘the God of Small things’revealed that the laws on incest, property, and civil liberties in India are a mere shadow of the colonial era. She has also written essays and consolidated the same in her novel ‘Azadi’ to invoke the causal effect between and amongst the three most controversial Fs – Freedom, Fascism and Fiction.
We have numerous other authors littered throughout the Global South eulogizing the struggle for the recognition of a law that is able to respect and embrace their comeuppance. We can understand the paradoxical nature of law that has trickled down from the North to the South and around from the acclaimed novel “Waiting for the Barbarians”,by J.M. Coetzee wherein the local magistrate has to face his own daunting conscience to justify the grotesque nature of law, which dictates a magnanimity comically absent for the “barbarians”. Thus, integrating these diverse voices not only broadens the analytical framework but also enriches our understanding of legal consciousness as inherently pluralistic, bringing us to acknowledge-accept-fathom the very foundational quandaries that haunted the sheltered corridors of our law schools.
V. CONCLUSION
Man is inherently built to outlast every struggle if due diligence and perseverance are adhered to rather than an indulgence in impulsive thoughts. The obstinate hardheadedness of youth is unparalleled and must be tempered to steer clear of unrealistic expectations from an equally stubborn legal system. The well-read student in the face of such daunting institutions of deceitful truths thus heeds to the words of Karl Marx “Necessity is blind until it becomes conscious”.
Once the veil of self-delusion is lifted regarding the authenticity of golden laurels of the prevailing legal system, it becomes incumbent upon the person to become conscious. One must become conscious to become authentic and the struggle for the same is reflected time and again through these literary works.
This profound understanding developed by the student enables him to transition from naïve idealist to a reflective rational practitioner. The resultant individual perceives the truth in its totality that law is not carved in stone rather written on sand and the waves of change are inevitable. Law cannot be perfected; it is a living, evolving entity – a narrative that shapes and is shaped by human stories. Therefore, one must ensure the push and pull of the tide is not mechanical; the waves of change must bring forth a novelty induced by an acute consciousness. Similar to Sisyphus, the ideal law student embraces this perpetual struggle as his professional and personal identity.
It cannot be understated that through this literary lens, the journey through law school becomes not just an intellectual endeavor but a rich and deep existential one as well. The law student emerges out of the law school not with all the right answers but with a renewed commitment to ask the right questions. Only through this furnace can he truly commit to his role in the broader socio-legal discourse. The law student must insistently chip away at the edifice of his resolve to renew the vigour with which he perceives and tackles the treacherous path ahead in the legal field.
