“In the Penal Colony” centers on the use of an unusual instrument of punishment invented by the deceased former Commandant of a penal colony on an unnamed island. The story unfolds as a demonstration of the machine, which inscribes name of the crime of the convict during a 12-hour period, given by its only operator, the Officer, to a visiting dignitary, the Traveler. The machine is about to be decommissioned on the order of the new Commandant, and the Officer appeals to the Traveler to intercede for its continued use, citing the “religious epiphany” the prisoners undergo in the latter stages of the procedure. In the meantime, the Soldier stands by guarding the Condemned, who is blithely unaware that the procedure he is about to undergo will kill him. The Traveler deflects the Officer's appeal but promises to speak privately to the Commandant, which leads to an unexpected turn of events. Like much of Kafka's work, the story is dark, surreal, and bleak, and here strikes to the very heart of issues of justice, punishment, cruelty, and shame.

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