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ASPECTS OF THE ABSURD I MODERN N FICTION, WIT H SPECIAL PDF

166 Pages·2011·7.99 MB·English
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ASPECTS OF THE ABSURD IN MODERN FICTION, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO UNDER THE VOLCANO AND CATCH-22 by SHIRLEY ELIZABETH ATKINS B.A., Dalhousie University, 19^7 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Department of English We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA September, 1969 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree tha permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department The University of British Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I Background and Directions of the Absurd in the Contemporary Novel 1 II Under the Volcano . . . . . . .. 38 I II Catch-22 . 102 IV Conclusion.' 150 A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY ' . 158 ii i ABSTRACT This thesis acknowledges the presence of a clear note of affirmation in some novels of the mid-Twentieth Century. Finding a similar affirmation in Albert Camus' essays, The Myth of Sisyphus and The Rebel, i't attempts to demonstrate a basic agreement between the essays and a limited selection of such novels. It then attempts to support this conclusion by examination of two novels in some d e t a i l. It considers that this relationship arises naturally from the a r t i s t s' mutual perception of man's perilous condition in the modern world, and that it does not imply the necessity of conscious imitation of Camus' thoughts on the absurd. Nevertheless, since this thesis intends to show that the affirmation in the novels arises from an attitude that Camus termed "absurdist" and inheres in a way of l i fe that he termed "absurd^" such novels, f or the purpose of this study, are called "Absurd." Chapter One attempts to explain man's e x i s t e n t i al anxiety as a s p i r i t u al state germane to h is condition as an i n t e l l i g e nt being in an obscure universe, and to describe how this natural anxiety, painfully intensified in a godless, m a t e r i a l i s t ic age, has resulted in s p i r i t u al s t e r i l i ty and paralysis of creative action. Of this condition, such novelists as Malcolm Lowry, Joseph Heller, William Golding, Lawrence D u r r e ll and William Styron seem acutely aware. In addition, it attempts to define Camus' uses of the term "absurd," and to explain the nature of the absurd l i f e — t he i ii iv l i fe of absurd r e b e l l i o n — t h at he advances as the only- positive answer to the challenge of the times. While recognizing that the d i v e r s i ty evident among these novels a t t e s ts to their nature as independent creations, Chapter One attempts to e s t a b l i sh their basic agreement with Camus' ideas of the absurd, and to trace the existence among them of broad s i m i l a r i t i e s. F i n a l l y, by examination of values implied, it notes that these authors seem to a r r i ve at Camus' conclusion that "everything is permitted," limited, as Camus l i m i ts i t by the necessity of individual responsi r b i l i t y. Chapters Two and Three, detailed examinations of the absurd in two novels, Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano and Joseph Heller's Catch-22. attempt to c l a r i fy the nature of the authors' protest by pointing out what forces, both external and internal, are attacked. As this process involves an analysis of the nature and r e s u l ts of destructive escapism, whether individual escape into alcoholism or mass escape into meaningless conformity or excessive ratioanlism, it suggests also the urgency of the individual struggle f or the "lucid awareness" that Camus demands. In particular, these chapters hope to c l a r i fy the a f f i r m a t i on implied by the individual l i b e r a t i on from i l l u s i on and anxiety to defiant joy in conscious l i v i n g. The Conclusion restates the fundamental agreement between the c o n t r o l l i ng themes of these novels and the tenets of the V absurd delineated by Camus. Also, it demonstrates the d i v e r s i ty of method and approach by which the two novels deal with common themes and a r r i ve at affirmative con clusions. F i n a l l y, it warns against the i n t e r p r e t a t i on of this f i c t i on as the expression of a doctrine f or universal salvation. The Absurd Novel is not, therefore, what Camus would c a ll disparagingly a "thesis-novel" ; at most, l i ke The Myth of Sisyphus, it issues a positive challenge to the i n d i v i d u al in the modem world. CHAPTER I Background and. D i r e c t i o ns of • the: Absurd in the . .Contemporary Novel The s p i r it of that contemporary f i c t i on which is tentatively called "The Absurd Novel" is essentially one of enquiry into a basic human question: Is human existence desirable or even tolerable? This question is as o ld as human experience, and Hamlet's "To be, or not to be;" merely a r t i c u l a t es the uncertainty and anguish of man's attempt to understand h is obscure universe. In Christian myth, the trouble began with Adam. The symbolic eating of the forbidden f r u it marked the b i r th of consciousness and, hence, the end of primordial innocence. With consciousness came an uneasy perception of man's uniqueness among a ll created beings, and of h is ambiguous position in a universe with which h is intelligence rendered him incongruous. For ced by the evidence of h is physical being to recognize h is subjection to natural laws, man is yet impelled by h is intelligence to seek metaphysical absolutes, by which he • • may transcend the limitations of h is earthbound state. In this uncertain condition, he is beset by ceaseless doubts and nameless fears. If he can assuage this e x i s t e n t i al anxiety by making a transcendental leap to f a i th in an absolute Divinity.,, he restores unity, order and purpose 1 2 to his l i f e. If not, he must either s t i ll his anxiety- forever by the act of suicide, or determine to l i ve with his questions unanswered. Even the f a i th that resolves the problem of existence occasionally needs j u s t i f i c a t i o n. The history of l i t e r a t u re is not without i ts Jobs, strong believers who, shocked into recognition of unexplain- able e v il and injustice, lapse momentarily into questioning God and cursing the day of their birth. In ages marked by the general acceptance of moral institutions and absolutes, however, such flashes of r e b e l l i on are reconciled by an ultimate submission to an omnipotent, if inscrutable, author i t y. Affirmation succeeds the temporary plunge into negation. These "Absurd" n o v e l i s t s, unfortunately, are in a much more d i f f i c u lt p o s i t i on than their fellow a r t i s ts of e a r l i e r, more secure eras. Not only are they deprived of the firm reassurance offered by generally accepted absolutes, but also they are acutely aware that man's basic insecurity and i s o l a t i on have been grievously accentuated by social, p o l i t i c al and technological pressures in modern times. Thus, they endeavour to assess the human condition from the point of view of the modern i s o l a t ed and confused individual. As a result of their enquiry, they a r r i ve at a decision that echoes the affirmation of William Styron's Cass Kinsolving. With varying degrees of enthusiasm and defiance, they choose "being" instead of "nothingness", " in the hope of being what [they] could be for a time." x The o f f i c i al spokesman for the absurdist attitude toward human existence was a French-Algerian, Albert Camus. In his essay, The Myth of Sisyphus, published in Paris in 19^0, he deals with the problem of s p i r i t u al s t e r i l i ty and despair a r i s i ng from the absurdity of modern existence, and delineates an attitude by which he feels man can best meet the challenge of his hopeless state in present godless times. In the legendary figure of Sisyphus, he establishes the prototype of the absurd man in his endless and defiant struggle against the contradictions of his existence. In this essay, the term "absurd" and i ts derivatives take on varying shades of meaning. Jean-Paul Sartre has defined two meanings as: "a state of fact," and "the l u c id awareness 2 which certain people acquire of this state of fact." To these may be added a third, loosely defined as, the con sequence of this " l u c id awareness," or more s p e c i f i c a l l y, a way of thinking and l i v i ng that arises from, and is determined by, this "lucid awareness", constantly maintained The f i r st is the usual meaning: the incongruity and ob scurity of man's condition in the universe. The second is a more s p e c i f ic meaning: a man's consciousness of what Camus terms the "divorce" between his desires and his environ ment; between his i n s t i n ct for order, harmony and permanenc and his painful awareness of chaos, injustice and death. 4 The third is a meaning peculiar to Camus: it designates an attitude and a way of l i fe of constant struggle and rebellion against the limitations of human existence, rebellion i n i t i a t ed and maintained in the name of man's highest aspirations. Such a l i fe demands the steadfast -maintenance of the " l u c id awareness" described above. In this sense, the word "absurd" is frequently used as an adjective, as i n: the absurd l i f e, the absurd struggle, the absurd man, etc. This absurd way of thinking and l i v i ng i s, to Camus, the only reasonable consequence to be derived from an honest facing up to the facts of the human condition, and the only p o s i t i ve way of GombaJtlngthe atmosphere of despair, n i h i l i sm and v i o lence in the present age. In a r r i v i ng at this conclusion, Camus clearly states his divergence from most e x i s t e n t i a l i st thinkers. As f ar as his perception of absurdity in the human condition and his insistence on the l u c id confrontation, he finds himself in a common i n t e l l e c t u al climate with E x i s t e n t i a l i s m; but he castigates as "philosophical suicide" the conclusions that are drawn .from that confrontation. He repudiates what he c a l ls "the leap," by which many philosophers who have clearly apprehended absurdity in the universe, part company with reason and i l l o g i c a l ly jump to a conclusion, by which "they deify what crushes them and find reason to hope in what impoverishes them."3

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aspects of the absurd i modern n fiction, wit h special reference to under the volcan anod catch-22 by shirley elizabeth atkins b.a., dalhousi universitye 19^, 7
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